Lovely author Amy Wallace is offering a free copy of Restorer’s Son at her blog.
Stop by and read her fun post and leave a comment, and you’ll have a chance to win. 🙂
Blessings and gratitude!
Sharon Hinck
The Secret Life of Becky Miller (Bethany House, June, 2006)
Renovating Becky Miller (Bethany House, February, 2007)
The Restorer (NavPress, May 2007)
The Restorer’s Son (NavPress, September 2007)
Recently, work pressures have squeezed creative joy right out of me. Not external pressures. As a recovering workaholic, I create self-imposed expectations and pressures. And the recent plunge into being a published author has stirred those unhealthy compulsions to always do “more” and “better” to the point of getting out of balance.
I love books on margins, simplicity, priorities, and Sabbath rest. Time to dust off my copies and implement some of the tools I’ve learned over the years.
So I’ve scheduled intentional times of rest, extra prayer, and longer times of Bible study during the past few weeks.
I’ve also been looking for little treats to enjoy.
The trouble is, when I get really burned out, I can’t remember what little things bring me joy because I forget what simple pleasures feel like.
It’s taken me some time, but I’m beginning to identify some treats, and thought I’d share them in case they might serve as restorative joys for you, too. 🙂
As I tried to think of what I find “fun,” I remembered some story-type computer games I discovered decades ago. I fell in love with computer games back when I learned to program simple games in Basic on my Vic-20 and later on my Commodore 64. So I went hunting for modern-day similar games and stumbled across a gardening simulation computer game called Plant Tycoon. I can’t begin to describe how much fun I’ve had with this game. I tried the free download and loved it so much I bought the full game. Every spare moment, I’ve been cross-breeding plants, selling them in my virtual nursery, and enjoying the color graphics and soothing music of the game.
Somehow I’ve got it in my head that God is supposed to refresh me only through spiritual-feeling activities like prayer and worship. Or maybe long walks in the woods and high art like classical music. What a surprise to discover that He has met me (and sparked my creative energy) through a fun computer game. I love when He turns my expectation upside down. He has reminded me that we often create a false dichotomy between ordinary and sacred.
A friend recently told me to “watch for the ravens.” When Elijah was exhausted and resting by the Cherith brook, God sent food to Him through the unlikely source of ravens. In the coming days, I’ll share some more of the restoration He is sending me – and the unusual ravens He is using. 🙂
Blessings and gratitude!
Sharon Hinck
The Secret Life of Becky Miller (Bethany House, June, 2006)
Renovating Becky Miller (Bethany House, February, 2007)
The Restorer (NavPress, May 2007)
The Restorer’s Son (NavPress, September 2007)
Yesterday was a beautiful fall day in Minnesota. I’d been invited to speak at a library a few hours south of my home, and so my hubby and I made a day of it. Along the way, we stopped at the Barnes and Noble in Rochester. I was delighted to find The Restorer on the shelves, and I met some of the store staff and signed their copies, and gave them plenty of bookmarks.
Then we had lunch and continued our drive south. At the Stewartville Library, I enjoyed meeting the lovely women from the community. I spoke, answered questions, and signed books. It was great to hear their enthusiasm for Christian fiction, and just being with them lifted my spirits.
After our time there, we stopped at a large Christian bookstore in Rochester, Christian Book and Gift Shop. It’s a beautiful store, and the staff were warm and enthusiastic. I was thrilled to discover that they had all four of my books in stock on their generous wall of Christian fiction titles. Again, I signed their stock, thanked the staff for all they do, and left some bookmarks. The store has enough Christian fiction to divide it by genre – so I had two titles in the contemporary fiction area and two in the fantasy/allegory area. Seeing their many categories really brought home to me how much terrific variety is now available in Christian fiction.
Writing is so often a solitary profession, so I’m grateful for these sorts of days. Nothing is quite as encouraging as meeting a reader face to face and hearing how much they enjoyed a book. It was also fun to hear them praise other Christian authors they’ve read recently. Many of those were friends of mine. That had me beaming!
I’ve been “nose to the grindstone” on some revisions recently, so this was a refreshing break.
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DiAnn Mills is releasing an addition to The Texas Legacy series, just in time for the holidays.
A Texas Legacy Christmas by DiAnn Mills
Zack Kahler is ready to head out of New York City and back to Texas to take over his hometown paper. Just before leaving town, the newsman finds himself the intended victim of a pair of lively six-year-old pickpockets by the name of Curly and Charlie. After learning the two are homeless, Zack decides to bring them back to Kahlerville. But will Zack be able to run the newspaper, recover from a lost love, and still manage to keep his unruly charges out of trouble?
Chloe Weaver has been an outcast all of her life. When she and the twins are thrown together, they form a unique bond. Through their relationship, Zack begins to learn some lessons about life and feels his heart stirring with love for this delightful woman. But when a misunderstanding threatens to drive them apart, Zack is in jeopardy of failing the biggest test of his life.
Zack, Chloe, and the twins each have past reputations to overcome. Will they succeed in finding the acceptance for which they’ve longed? Could it take a Christmas miracle for their dreams to come true?
Snuggle down between the covers of A Texas Legacy Christmas, where the miracle of love and life awaits you on every page.
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Q & A with the author – DiAnn Mills
1. God has really been moving in your writing life. What do you see on the horizon?
Do we ever really know what God has planned? ☺ I’ve been contracted to write more contemporary romantic suspense, and I’m very excited. I’m also excited about writing historical fiction for Avon inspire.
2. Tell us a little about your family.
I have four sons – stair steps. Three are adopted. They are grown, and we have one precious granddaughter. Dean and I have been married thirteen and a half years. He is a tremendous help and support to my writing ministry. I often say that he is my best cheerleader and my worst critic.
3. Has your writing changed your reading habits? If so, how?
I read critically while enjoying a good story. One change is if I’m not hooked from the first sentence, I’ll continue the page and maybe a few more pages, then I’m done.
4. What are you working on right now?
Contemporary romantic suspense. My head is spinning with the characterization and plot elements.
5. What outside interests do you have?
I mentor writing students for Jerry Jenkins Christian Writer’s Guild. I also teach writing. I’m actively involved in ministering and raising awareness about the critical situation in Sudan, and I volunteer at a Biblical counseling center. Oops! I’m finishing up a degree at Moody Bible Institute.
6. How do you choose your settings for each book?
It is all about “what-if.” Many times the setting is a character too. For example: if a character is afraid of water, then the setting will be near a body of river. If a character cannot tolerate heat or cold, then the setting will be there.
7. If you could spend an evening with one historical person, who would it be and why?
Louisa May Alcott. Her book Little Women and those that followed were my childhood treasures. They inspired me to adopt boys, write, and give back to others.
8. What is the one thing you wish you had known before you started writing novels?
☺ To read Donald Maass’ Writing the Breakout Novel and Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook along with taking his workshops. But I don’t think he was in the forefront then.
9. What new lessons is the Lord teaching you right now?
• To understand forgiveness.
• To continually challenge myself in writing.
• To grasp how wide and deep His love.
10. What are the three best things you can tell other authors to do to be successful?
• Pray about your writing ministry.
• Read and write everyday.
• Take what you learn and help other writers.
For those of you who are part of the ACFW online bookgroup, or who signed up for it to discuss The Restorer in October – be sure to check your emails (or yahoo group posts). The discussion has begun! The moderator posted her first question.
On the 20th of the month they begin discussing the book of the month. I’ll be popping in every couple of days to answer any questions – so discuss away!
Blessings and gratitude!
Sharon Hinck
The Secret Life of Becky Miller (Bethany House, June, 2006)
Renovating Becky Miller (Bethany House, February, 2007)
The Restorer (NavPress, May 2007)
The Restorer’s Son (NavPress, September 2007)
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I first met Deb Raney at a small brainstorming retreat. She has such a sunny heart, that it made me feel better about the world just because of meeting her.
I recently attended her class at ACFW and soaked up every detail she shared about her writing process. I tend to stress out about a lot of issues, but she helped me take a deep breath and remember that writing can be joyful and peaceful (at least some of the time).
The brand new sequel to A Vow to Cherish, (her first novel, which inspired a World Wide Pictures film by the same name) will release this week from Steeple Hill in mass market format. Within This Circle continues the story of John Brighton and Julia Sinclair. After a tumultuous courtship, John and Julia Brighton have a second chance at happiness, a fresh marriage and, now that their children are grown, a new era in their lives to revel in the promise of the future. Only such a promise is never guaranteed. And life can change in a heartbeat. The Brightons life is turned upside down when John’s daughter, Jana, abandons her husband Mark and three-year-old daughter. As Jana struggles through delayed grief over her mother’s death, her actions put her marriage and her own daughter in danger. John and Julia reach out to little Ellie, to give the young couple time to heal, but the little girl is confused and longing for her mother. How much sorrow and stress can both fledgling marriages endure? Two very different couples––each with only their love and faith to guide them––can only pray it will be enough.
A Vow to Cherish released in mass market format last month. This beautiful book duo would make a wonderful Christmas gift for your favorite reader.
Deborah Raney is at work on her seventeenth novel. Her books have won the RITA Award, the HOLT Medallion, the National Readers’ Choice Award and the Silver Angel from Excellence in Media, and Playing by Heart was a Christy Award finalist. Her new Clayburn Novels series from Howard/Simon & Schuster kicked off with Remember to Forget. Leaving November will be out in March 2008 and Yesterday’s Embers early in 2009. Deb serves on the advisory board of American Christian Fiction Writers and loves teaching at writers conferences. She and her husband, Ken Raney, enjoy small-town life in Kansas. They have four children and two little grandsons who live much too far away.
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Barber’s Adagio for Strings is playing from my iTunes.
Outside, a blustery gray wind is rippling the golden prairie grasses on the far side of the pond. The tall maple in our back yard shakes like a wet dog and sheds clumps of leaves.
It’s a melancholy day.
I love the Fall…the “sharpened pencils, clean notebooks, back-to-school” feeling.
I love the vibrant leaves, the scent of woodsmoke, and the harvest from my backyard garden.
Yet sometimes as Fall days grow brittle and dark,
I feel a dull ache.
I miss the people I’ve lost – more than in any other season.
I fear the dark cold days ahead.
Nostalgia twines around my limbs and tugs me backwards.
I feel old…
and a little lost.
So Barber’s Adagio is the perfect accompaniment.
The music coaxes me to let go of another season.
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A friend just sent me a photo she took of me leaving the stage after getting the second place Book of the Year Award in the Lits category for The Secret Life of Becky Miller.
Since I was having too much fun to remember to get my camera out, I didn’t have any good photos until this one. You can catch a glimpse of the book cover on the screen behind Cheryl (at the podium).
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I’m back from four wonderful days of tromping in the forest with my hubby. We explored some remote old-growth forests and I’ll post photos and share a few thoughts in my next blog post.
Blessings and gratitude!
Sharon Hinck
The Secret Life of Becky Miller (Bethany House, June, 2006)
Renovating Becky Miller (Bethany House, February, 2007)
The Restorer (NavPress, May 2007)
The Restorer’s Son (NavPress, September 2007)
Lyn Cote’s first historical series, BLESSED ASSURANCE, is reissued, revised and revamped–all three in one book by Avon Inspire. The love of God conquers all as three generations of women struggle to find true love in these three historical dramas.
In Whisper of Love, Civil War widow Jessie Wagstaff must fend for herself and her own son against the Great Chicago Fire.
In Lost in His Love, San Francisco heriess Cecelia Jackson meets social activist Linc Wagstaff who opens her eyes to her role of the abuse of the helpless as they face the Great 1906 Earthquake.
And in Echoes of Mercy, Meg Wagstaff, just back from volunteering in WWI, must now face the challenge of the racial barriers of the 1920’s New Orleans in order to prove her childhood friend did not commit murder.
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“The omnibus collection of the three superb Wagstaff BLESSED ASSURANCE
inspirational historical tales will elate fans of the genre as each
era comes alive due to the strong lead couple and a deep support
cast.” – review by Harriet Kausner
Also drop by www.shoutlife.com/LynCote and read Lyn’s blog about
Chicago 1871. The latest Blog discusses a Chicago institution, the
Marshall Field’s Department Store, which after over a century of
doing business in Chicago was bought out by Macy’s in the past few
years.
Lyn, thanks for letting us know – and congratulations on this new three-in-one release!
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Last night I was driving to a meeting. On the horizon, I saw mountain peaks.
In my normal, muddled state, I wondered when a mountain range had developed to the north of Minneapolis.
Minnesota is a beautiful state, but we don’t have towering mountains that pierce the stratosphere. Yet as I gazed down a street that looked like a perspectives-exercise from art class, there in the distance were purple mountain’s majesty.
After my brain caught up with my senses, I figured out that I was looking at a thick bank of clouds, in the triangular shape of mountains – dark enough to contrast with the dusky sky and create the illusion of the Rockies transplanted to my neighborhood.
It made me wonder about how many of the mountains that seem to bar my way are mere mist. From the distance they look sturdy, powerful, daunting. But if I wait awhile, a strong wind will blow them away.
Maybe I’d have more faith to move mountains if my vision were clearer and I saw some of those mountains for what they really are.
Lord, open our eyes.
Blessings and gratitude!
Sharon Hinck
The Secret Life of Becky Miller (Bethany House, June, 2006)
Renovating Becky Miller (Bethany House, February, 2007)
The Restorer (NavPress, May 2007)
The Restorer’s Son (NavPress, September 2007)