If you are part of a discussion group who is reading The Restorer or any of The Sword of Lyric books, this is a personal greeting for your group, along with answers to frequently asked questions.
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Multi-author Book Signing – Mall of America
What: ACFW booksigning
Who: 127 Christian novelists
Where: Best Buy & Sears Rotundas and connecting hallway, Mall of America, Bloomington, MN
When: Saturday, September 20, 2008
1-3 p.m.
Why: To meet your favorite authors
This is an amazing gathering of some of the top fiction writers in our field, and a fun opportunity to meet the authors, bring your books to be autographed, and celebrate the wide array of genres represented. It’s FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.
Here’s a list of participating authors:
Tamera Alexander
Jennifer AlLee
A.K. Arenz
Diane Ashley
Karen Ball
Janet Lee Barton
James Scott Bell
Joseph Bentz
Terri Blackstock
Robin Caroll
Patricia PacJac Carroll
Jeanie Smith Cash
Eleanor Clark
Debra Clopton
Gloria Clover
Brandilyn Collins
Mary Connealy
Lyn Cote
Kathryn Cushman
Margaret Daley
KM Daughters
Susan Page Davis
Mary Davis
Janet Dean
Megan DiMaria
Brandt Dodson
Lena Nelson Dooley
Cecelia Dowdy
Sharon Dunn
Wanda Dyson
Lynette Eason
Meredith Efken
Leanna Ellis
Sharon Ewell Foster
Miralee Ferrell
Tina Ann Forkner
Darlene Franklin
Jonathan Friesen
Rhonda Gibson
Terri Gillespie
Debby Giusti
Beth Goddard
Cathy Gohlke
Rene Gutteridge
Cathy Marie Hake
Kelly Eileen Hake
Karen Harter
Rachel Hauck
Roxanne Henke
Cynthia Hickey
Patti Hill
Sharon Hinck
Joan Hochstetler
Steven Hunt
Angela Hunt
Denise Hunter
Jennifer Johnson
Jenny B. Jones
Golden Keyes Parsons
Deb Kinnard
Julie Klassen
Kathleen Kovach
Harry Kraus
Patti Lacy
Maureen Lang
Jeanne Marie Leach
Tosca Lee
Julie Lessman
Michelle Levigne
Sherri L. Lewis
Elizabeth Ludwig
Christine Lynxwiler
Richard L. Mabry
Sharlene MacLaren
Gail Martin
Debby Mayne
Vickie McDonough
Andrew McGuire
Susan Meissner
Becky Melby
Dana Mentink
Amber Miller
Judith Miller
Sara Mills
Siri Mitchell
Nancy Moser
Janelle Mowery
Elizabeth Musser
Mark Mynheir
Jill Nelson
Mae Nunn
John Olson
Donita K. Paul
Trish Perry
Marta Perry
Allie Pleiter
Cara Putman
Deborah Raney
Sandra Robbins
Paul Robertson
John Robinson
Martha Rogers
Cynthia Ruchti
Gail Sattler
Kim Vogel Sawyer
Shelley Shephard Gray
Virginia Smith
Lynette Sowell
Candice Speare
Kathryn Springer
Denice Stewart
Sarah Anne Sumpolec
Michelle Sutton
Camy Tang
Donn Taylor
Janice Thompson
Cindy Thomson
Missy Tippens
Carrie Turansky
ML Tyndall
Amy Wallace
Susan May Warren
Linda Wichman
Beth Wiseman
Cheryl Wyatt
Kathleen Y’Barbo
Amazing!!!
Please come out and find me! If you bring a copy of Stepping Into Sunlight to be autographed, I’ll have an extra special gift for you (while supplies last). 🙂
Blessings!
Sharon
There is a woman whom I suspect is an angel in disguise.
Her name is Cynthia Ruchti.
Last fall, I met her as I was waiting for the shuttle to the airport in Dallas after a writer’s conference. We talked about the writing journey and her eyes sparkled as I shyly told her a new concept that I was playing with for a novel. She instantly “got it” – and encouraged me in my unusual idea.
Then last winter, out of the blue, she emailed and said, “For some reason, God has put on my heart to pray for you today. You might think this sounds weird, and I don’t know if anything is going on with you, but I wanted to let you know I’m praying for you.”
Very kind; but hardly remarkable, right?
Wrong. That very morning as I read that email, I was about to go to the hospital for an angiogram–and based on my earlier tests, the surgeon was preparing us for the possibility of bypass surgery. I was trying to muster my very feeble courage and her email reminded me that God was very present. (By the way, when they roto-rootered my arteries, they didn’t find the expected blockage – hooray!)
I heard from Cynthia again the day before I left for my road trip to South Bend a few weeks ago.
She had read an early galley of Stepping Into Sunlight and sent this email (snippet shared with permission):
“After finishing it, I wanted to press it into the hands of everyone I meet and say, ‘THIS! This is what my God is like! This is where you can find hope! This is what it means to live for Christ even when things are horrifically ugly around you. This is healing. This is what it looks like to hurt and to heal.’ No pious platitudes. Reality Faith.”
I printed out her email and brought it along to help bolster my courage for all the drop-in visits to stores, and the television interview. She didn’t know how precious her timing was. She also didn’t know that I’d been confronting some intense discouragement in recent days.
Then she did something even more remarkable.
She told me about the magazine her ministry puts out, and asked if she could feature info about Stepping Into Sunlight in the Fall/Winter edition, which will come out in October.
Wow.
See what I mean about suspecting she’s an angel constantly on call to jump in and bring encouragement?
Bethany house created a GORGEOUS page for the magazine.
Please check out the website of Heartbeat of the Home. You can also find out if you are in the listening area for her radio program at that site. And you can learn more about the magazine and access back-issues. You can also read some of Cynthia’s thoughts on her blog, Splashing in the Deep End.
In the novel Stepping Into Sunlight, Penny is led to do a small step of kindness for a new person each day–as part of her journey toward healing.
Cynthia reminded me again that when we take a risk and reach out to do something kind, God can use us to make a tremendous difference. Pain, discouragement, and suffering feel like overwhelming enemies sometimes, but
God’s grace is ALWAYS bigger – and sometimes He lets us be part of offering that grace to others. I’m so grateful Cynthia was a conduit of God’s grace in my life through her kindness.
Blessings!
Sharon Hinck
The first photo shows a ridge we climbed in a state park near Wisconsin Dells. It felt good to work our muscles a little after all the hours in the car, and the scenery fed our souls.
While up on the ridge, we watched some eagles, and captured this one rare shot from overhead. I think this is the first time I’ve gotten a picture of a soaring eagle while looking down from above.
As I pondered the cross that Jesus was willing to carry for me, I prayed for the courage to bear my own little crosses in life with more strength, submission, and gratitude.
Have you ever walked along a trail and felt like the journey was a time of prayer?
I’m so glad that God has put the beauty of mountains, oceans, trees, rivers, flowers and deserts into this world and continues to allow us to meet Him in all those places . . . as well as in cathedrals, churches . . . and our own living rooms.
Blessings!
Sharon
P.S. – if you haven’t found it yet, be sure to check out the Penny’s Project blog, where you can join Penny Sullivan (the character in Stepping Into Sunlight) as she seeks to do a small step of kindness for a new person each day.
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After hours of traffic around Chicago, we stopped in Elgin for one of our last two store visits.
The manager, Kerrie Vujnovich, of the Family Christian in Elgin greeted us with a huge grin and thanked me for coming in. She shared her enthusiasm for the new store’s growth, in spite of challenges of the economy or competing stores. She described herself as an avid reader, and was delighted to get signed book-plates and bookmarks from me. She said there are some fiction readers on her staff who would be thrilled. I felt very blessed to be wrapping up my store visits with this extra-positive experience. Please stop in and visit her!
With one last bag of goodies to deliver, we stopped in at an independent bookstore in Janesville, WI, called BookWorld. A cozy seating area is surrounded by loads of shelves with an eclectic mix of genres. I found quite a bit of Christian fiction (Jan Karon, Bev Lewis, Jerry Jenkins) intermingled with all the other fiction. It was fun to see these voices side-by-side with various NYTime bestsellers. The young clerk told me how much she loves working among books. We both agreed that books are like friends—and spending time in a bookstore is a dream job.
Feeling like I’d done all I could to let a few more retailers know about my books, and happy that I’d offered a bit of gratitude and encouragement for all their efforts, Ted and I headed to KFC for a well-earned supper.
The next day we did a little hiking in Wisconsin. I’ll share some photos from our downtime next.
Blessings!
Sharon
One thing he mentioned echoed something several other retailers had said. “It’s good you’re making visits to stores. You can’t rely on the industry to get your books on the shelves these days.”
I’d heard that message even before my first novel was contracted, and I understand the value of making connections with the folks who do the work of getting my books into the hands of readers. But it does raise the question for me—how do I balance speaking, media interviews, bookstore visits, and office work with my primary calling to write fiction?
Recently I was privileged to hear a top best-selling author speak about marketing. She said she spends about ten hours doing office/administrative/marketing work for each one hour she actually writes. It has clearly worked, and is the right balance for her. But if I did that, at my modest writing pace, it would take me the rest of my life to complete another novel. So I’m still chewing on how God is calling me to spend my hours.
One last stop in Mishawaka, at the Barnes and Noble. One of the staff at the information desk was happy to have me sign the books they had on the shelf. They had a huge section of Christian fiction, and I thanked them for carrying such a great variety.
Tomorrow – ending the road trip on a high note. 🙂
Blessings!
Sharon
After the television show taping, Ted and I headed to the South Bend, Indiana, Family Christian Store. Jacqueline Johnson was so fun and hugely encouraging to me. If you live anywhere near, be sure to stop in and see her. They had the largest stock of my books I’d found so far.
There I met up with Kelly, a teacher, writer, and fan of Christian speculative fiction. She’d heard I was going to be in the area and wanted to meet. That’s Jacqueline on the left, me in the middle, and Kelly on the right in the beautiful Family Christian store.
Then it was time to hit the road again. Next stop, Family Christian Store in Mishawaka, Indiana. Marie kindly took time to visit with me. She showed me to the books by me that they had on the shelf, and had me sign the copies. I left bookmarks and autographed bookplates there, too, so if you live near Mishawaka, stop in and ask about them.
Reports on more of my ten stops tomorrow!
His,
Sharon
A brief interruption to my road trip report, because the awesome Merrie Destafano tagged me for a book list game.
HERE ARE THE RULES (I THINK)
Becky Miller at A Christian Worldview of Fiction listed five MUST Read novels and five Keep Your Eyes on These novels, then she tagged five bloggers who posted her list on their site. They may then add one book to each list but must also subtract one book. Finally they should tag five other bloggers, link back to the person who tagged them, and comment to this post so visitors here know to check out how they may have changed the list.
(Just a note – I haven’t read all of these, but I’m passing along Becky and Merrie’s recommendations and plugging in one of my own.)
🙂
My additions are in bold.
Five MUST Reads:
Demon: a Memoir by Tosca Lee (NavPress)
Broken Angel by Sigmund Brouwer (WaterBrook)
To Dance in the Desert by Kathleen Popa (Cook Communications)
The Restorer by Sharon Hinck (NavPress)
Healing Promises by Amy Wallace (Waterbrook/Multnomah)
Five Keep Your Eyes On These:
Scarlet by Stephen Lawhead (Thomas Nelson)
On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness by Andrew Peterson (WaterBrook)
Auralia’s Colors by Jeffrey Overstreet (WaterBrook)
Shade by John Olson (B&H)
The Legend of the FireFish by George Bryan Polivka (Harvest House)
The bloggers I’m asking to post the lists (and make one book-for-book change to each list if they wish):
Shannon
Chawna
Rachel
Camy
Rel
and since I noticed a couple of these friends were already tagged…I’ll add another.
If you’ve been following my blog, I’ve been posting about my road trip to South Bend and the great bookstores I visited along the way (which I’ll continue with tomorrow). The purpose of the trip was for an interview with The Harvest Show on Friday, August 1, 2008.
Friday morning I was excited to head to the studio. We’d spent about twelve hours on the road the day before, so even after two cups of extra-strength English Breakfast tea, I wasn’t sure I was capable of speaking coherently, but we prayed for God to guide my words.
We found the LeSEA studio and had fun learning about their international broadcast ministry. We sat in the studio while they taped the live show. Because they had some unexpected extra features, they decided to tape my interview after the show, and it will air on August 7th. That was nice, because I had a chance to watch the show, and get to know more about the co-hosts.
Kelly Morgan and Chuck Freeby were as easy to talk to as old friends. At one point, I almost referred to something Chuck had said in a devotional thought during the live show…then I remembered that I couldn’t reference it because my interview would air a week later! Eeek! I caught myself just in time. Ted said it went well, but of course once it was over, I thought of things I wished I’d said. Still, I was able to share my passion for Christian arts, and for the new book.
Here I am on the set of The Harvest show with Chuck and Kelly. Kelly is holding a copy of Stepping Into Sunlight.
During the taping of the live show that day, one of the staff read some email prayer requests from viewers struggling with depression and anxiety, and it reaffirmed to me how many people will be encouraged by this new novel.
I’m so excited for its release, and praying God accomplishes His purposes with this story.
Blessings!
Sharon
Buffeted by some strong wind gusts, and racing ahead of black thunderclouds, we pulled into Rockford, Illinois and stopped at a Borders store. We met a manager, Mike, who talked about some of the books that have been doing well (like Stephanie Myers’ books). He also shared how well religious fiction does for them, and we had a nice chat.
We continued toward Chicago and reached the outskirts around 2:30, but even at that time of day, got caught in hours of bumper-to-bumper traffic. We made it to the LifeWay Christian store by Moody Bible Institute, and Ted drove around the block while I went in to meet the staff. Audrey, the assistant manager, showed me her fiction section and was very warm and welcoming, as were Hector and Manny. I discovered we had a lot in common. When I worked at a Christian bookstore, years ago, all my paychecks went straight back into buying things from the store. ☺
Audrey said that keeping the store thriving is a challenge. They can’t compete with online prices, or Walmart. But they see their work as a ministry, and care about relationships with their customers.
If you are in the Chicago area, you’ll love the warm welcome of the staff at the LifeWay store. I left plenty of bookmarks with them, and signed bookplates for the upcoming release of Stepping Into Sunlight.
Blessings!
Sharon Hinck
The Secret Life of Becky Miller (2007 ACFW Book of the Year – 2nd place, Lit category)
Renovating Becky Miller (2008 Audie Award Finalist, ACFW BOTY finalist)
The Restorer (2008 Christy Award Finalist, ACFW BOTY finalist)
The Restorer’s Son (Romantic Times 4.5 stars, Reviewer’s Choice Award – Road to Romance, ACFW BOTY finalist)
New Releases:
The Restorer’s Journey
Symphony of Secrets
Coming Soon:
Stepping Into Sunlight
