WHY DO WE LOVE HER?

Last night as I was watching the new Masterpiece movie Sense & Sensibility, I finally figured out what I love about Jane Austen stories: the idea of women waiting for true love, even when the odds and social conventions are against them. When I place myself in their shoes, life could be a frightening prospect if you didn’t find a husband, especially as you grew older and less desirable. What a relief that things have changed in our day, and women have an opportunity to make their own way in the world. For women in Austen’s time this was not so–and that’s what makes matters of love and marriage so urgent in her stories.

That said, I have a confession to make, and some of you are going to think I’m nuts, while others of you are going to have the same secret: I’ve never read a Jane Austen book. There, I said it. A giant weight of guilt lifted off my shoulders. Everything I know about Jane, I know from the movies, and from Kaye’s blog. (Which you should check out, by the way, because she’s done an excellent series!)

So here’s my question for you: who among you is brave enough to admit you’ve never read the books but desperately enjoy the movies? And two, what is it about the stories that, in your opinion, strikes a chord with so large an audience? How can you apply it to your own stories?

IT’S ALWAYS A GOOD TIME TO…

…relive the 80s!!! I may have done this one before, but today my 80s hunk is:

Your 80s Hunk Is

Scott Baio

Who’s Your 80s Hunk?

Come back and tell us who your 80s hunk is! (This includes people who are children of the 90s–you know who you are!)

BETRAYED

Do you ever get so absorbed in a book that you literally think you’re there? This happened to me while reading Betrayed because the setting was done incredibly well, without slowing the pace or distracting from the excitement. The twists created by the hidden identity thread gave the ending some teeth! If you like suspense, grab a copy of this book.

Here’s the blurb:

Fires smolder endlessly below the dangerous surface of Guatemala City’s municipal dump.

Deadlier fires seethe beneath the tenuous calm of a nation recovering from brutal civil war. Anthropologist Vicki Andrews is researching Guatemala’s “garbage people” when she stumbles across a human body. Curiosity turns to horror as she uncovers no stranger, but an American environmentalist—Vicki’s only sister, Holly.

With authorities dismissing the death as another street crime, Vicki begins tracing Holly’s last steps, a pilgrimage leading from slum squalor to the breathtaking and endangered cloud forests of the Sierra de las Minas Biosphere. But every unraveled thread raises more questions. What betrayal connects Holly’s murder, the recent massacre of a Mayan village, and the long-ago deaths of Vicki’s own parents?

Nor is Vicki the only one demanding answers. Before her search reaches its startling end, the conflagration has spilled across international borders to threaten an American administration and the current war on terror. With no one turning out to be who they’d seemed, who can Vicki trust and who should she fear?

A politically relevant tale of international intrigue and God’s redemptive beauty and hope.

As the child of missionary parents, award-winning author and journalist Jeanette Windle grew up in the rural villages, jungles, and mountains of Colombia, now guerrilla hot zones. Her detailed research and writing is so realistic that it has prompted government agencies to question her to determine if she has received classified information. Currently based in Lancaster, PA, Jeanette has lived in six countries and traveled in more than twenty. She has more than a dozen books in print, including political/suspense best-seller CrossFire and the Parker Twins series.

TO GET YOUR COPY, CLICK HERE!

GENERATION NEXT MARRIAGE

I have the awesome privilege of telling you about Tricia Goyer’s new book, Generation Next Marriage. The first cool thing that I have to mention is that it took me back in time. Yep, I’m an 80’s girl through and through, and this book is geared right at me! Cool thing number two: even my husband was interested–and never reads anything but the newspaper. He saw the book and said, “Hey, let’s do this together.” A-ha, the point of the book was already being made.

If your family is anything like mine, you’re going to love Chapter 4–Under Pressure. Tricia stresses the importance of balance, and tells us the ground rules that keep them from over committing to activities outside their family. Here’s a quote she uses that really illuminates what many of us feel:

The problem with most roubled marriages is that both partners are trying to accomplish far too many things in the world…(The Mystery of Marriage, 1985).

Ain’t that the truth? While I consider our marriage relatively healthy, the busyness of life can have a major stress on us at times. This goes back to establishing ground rules to avoid over committment.

If you’re married, or plan on getting married someday–this book is a must-have. At the bottom of this post is a contest–enter today!!!

Here’s the official blurb:

Do you still find yourself humming the love songs of the 80s and 90s?
Do you still believe that every marriage should be between soul mates?
But — do you wonder how you can succeed at love and marriage when the generation you grew up in didn’t?
Marriage isn’t what it used to be-it can be better than ever.

If you are a Gen Xer, your marriage has challenges and potentials that no other generation has known. A Gen Xer herself, Tricia Goyer offers realistic help to achieve the God-honoring marriage you long for. She includes:
·Ways to protect your marriage despite the broken relationships modeled in your youth
·Stories, suggestions, and confessions from fellow Gen Xers facing the “What now?” question of real-life marriage
·Advice from the ultimate marriage survival guide: the Bible
·Stats, quizzes, sidebars, and study questions related to this “relationally challenged” time in history
·Practical helps for negotiating kids, work, sex, money, and dirty laundry-sometimes all in the same evening
If you are part of a generation of adults who don’t want to bow to their culture or live and love like their parents did — this book is for you.

Tricia Goyer is the author of twelve books including From Dust and Ashes, My Life UnScripted, and the children’s book, 10 Minutes to Showtime. She won Historical Novel of the Year in 2005 and 2006 from ACFW, and was honored with the Writer of the Year award from Mt. Hermon Writer’s Conference in 2003. Tricia’s book Life Interrupted was a finalist for the Gold Medallion in 2005. In addition to her novels, Tricia writes non-fiction books and magazine articles for publications like Today’s Christian Woman and Focus on the Family. Tricia is a regular speaker at conventions and conferences, and has been a workshop presenter at the MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) International Conventions. She and her family make their home in the mountains of Montana.

HERE’S A CONTEST!!!

Love Gen X Style!

Share your story and WIN a dinner for TWO to the restaurant of your choice! ($50 maximum)

Tell us the story of how you and your spouse met. If you have photos, send those along, too! The winning story will be chosen at the end of the blog tour and will be posted on Tricia’s GenX blog. More comments on your post increases your chance of winning … so tell your friends!

Contest entry formfor Generation NeXt Marriage blog tour!

CLICK HERE to get this book!

I SAW THEM CRINGE WHEN I WALKED IN THE DOOR…

…of the Post Office. What a way to make a girl feel good. The reason? I was pushing one of those carts, overflowing with boxes. People in front of me sighed with relief, people behind me were tapping their feet, and the postal workers? I’m sure they were hoping their buddy to the left or right would get stuck with me.

So why, you ask, was I at the Post Office with all those boxes? This year I volunteered to be a category coordinator for the annual Inspirational Readers Choice Contest, sponsored by the Faith, Hope, & Love chapter of RWA. Last week I finished judging a few entries for the Genesis contest, sponsored by ACFW.

You know what I discovered in all this? How much I appreciate the large community of Christian writers. This is my first time getting involved at this level, and I love it! It’s eye-opening to see how much time and effort people put out to keep organizations running and make things special for all of us. You can be sure that I’ll continue to contribute as time goes on.

If you don’t mind tooting your own horn–and really, it’s not tooting since I’m asking–please let us know how you stay involved and contribute to the writing community. You might spark interest in others to join the fun!!!

FOR PETE’S SAKE


For Pete’s Sake is a remarkable story about the unlikely live between a grown-up tomboy and the millionaire next door.

Ellen Brittingham isn’t sure true live exists until she contracts to do the landscaping of the estate of the sophisticated widower next door, Adrian Sinclair. Adrian has it all—at least on the surface, He’s engaged to a beautiful woman who helped him build a successful business and he’ll soon have a mom for his troubled son Pete.

Yet, from the moment Ellen rescues a stranded Adrian on her Harley, his well-ordered world turns upside down, cracking his thin façade of happiness and revealing the void of faith and love behind it. Even more, his son seems to have his own sites set on Ellen – as his new mom.

As Ellen’s friendship grows with Pete, she realizes that his father is about to marry the wrong woman for the right reasons. And despite her resolve to remain “neighbors only” with the dad, the precocious boy works his way into her heart, drawing Ellen and Adrian closer. Close enough for heartbreak, for Pete’s sake!

But how can her heart think that Adrian Sinclair is the one when he’s engaged to a sophisticated beauty who is everything Ellen isn’t. When Ellen’s three best friends see she’s been bitten by the love bug, they jump into action and submit her to a makeover that reveals the woman underneath her rough exterior and puts her in contention for Adrian’s love.

But Ellen must ask herself whether she’s ready to risk the heart that she’s always held close. Will Ellen be able to trust that God brought this family into her life for a reason? Or will her fear of getting hurt cause her to turn away from God’s plan and her one true chance at love?

Maryland author Linda Windsor has written some twenty-nine historical and contemporary novels for both the secular and inspirational markets, but she is most noted for delivering “The Lift of Laughter and Spirit” in her modern inspirational romances.

A Christy finalist and winner of numerous industry awards, Linda has written for Multnomah Publishing (historical fiction and contemporary romances), Barbour Publishing (romcom novella), and Westbow Press (the Moonstruck romantic comedy trilogy). Wedding Bell Blues the first book in her new The Piper Cove Chronicles series, is featured on Avon Inspire’s launch list.

In addition to writing and doing fiction-writing workshops at conferences across the country, Linda continues a music and lay speaking ministry started by her and her late husband, and she is a part-time financial analyst. She also works on “as desperately needed” home improvement projects on the 18th-century-plus house that she and her husband began restoring in 1986. Wallpaper and paint are definitely in her near future.

LINDA WINDSOR LOCAL APPEARANCES:
Saturday, April 5th, 2008

Jack’s Religious Gift Shop

701 Snow Hill RoadSalisbury, MD 21804

2:00PM

Saturday, April 12, 2008

The Gospel Shop

800 South Salisbury Blvd

Salisbury, MD 21801

11:00 AM

To get your copy, CLICK HERE!

HE’S ALIVE!!!

Happy Resurrection weekend, friends =)

COME VISIT…

…me at Julie Carobini’s beach pad today!

DISCIPLINE

Yesterday I climbed back on the treadmill after a long weekend of eating and, well, not exercising. I’ve been trying (emphasis on trying) to workout three times a week but lately I’ve failed miserably. The treadmill kicked my butt, and it was way harder than it would have been had I stayed disciplined.

It’s the same with writing. A few years ago when I started taking writing seriously, I had our third daughter and let the discipline of writing slip away. The less I wrote, the less I wanted to write. Thankfully I got past that, but in many ways it was like starting an exercise routine. Now that I have my routine established, my brain seems to jumpstart when the writing part of the day rolls around.

As soon as the kids fall asleep at naptime, it’s my time to crank out the pages. Too bad their naps are down to an hour. It’s okay though–that’s just my dedicated time. I’ll do anything to sneak in a few pages here and there with my book. The treadmill is another story.

What’s your routine? Do you have the discipline?

BOBBLEHEADS

Now that I’m in the process of reworking a manuscript, I’m starting to notice some sameness to the body language I’m assigning my characters. Here’s what keeps cropping up:

nodding heads
shrugging
smiling/grinning
crossing arms

Seriously, how boring is that? Now that I’ve finally noticed the pattern, I’m taking a closer look at each use and evaluating the necessity.

*Is this gesture adding flavor to the scene?
*Is it adding to the characterization?
*Did I use this gesture because it’s what I saw when I was writing and for no other reason?
*Is it conveying any emotion?
*If it is helping convey an emotion, is there any other way to say it?

In my first book, Table for One, when I did my final edits I noticed a lot of people “tossing their head back in laughter.” Not just one character, but all of them. Booo!!! I fixed several instances, but I’m sure you’ll still spot a few =)

Any pet gestures in your books? Have you found fresh ways to convey the same old thing?