Sorry I'm Late

Sorry for the late posting on this. I'm in beautiful sunny California. What a stark contrast. I left home in -6 degree weather and snow, and arrived to 70 degrees and sunshine. And there are oranges on the trees. No matter how many times I see them, it just looks amazing unreal to me. My friend picked me up from John Wayne Airport and as we drove down the street I spotted my first orange tree.

"Look! There are oranges on that tree!"




Having lived all of my life in Kansas or Montana (and two lost years as a child in Dallas, Texas) I just love seeing orange trees. Next to the Jacaranda trees they have (trees that are purple flowered instead of full of green leaves) I find oranges trees to be the most fascinating.


Jacaranda Tree

Add to this is the gorgeous ocean. We ate lunch at a restaurant in Laguna Beach and watched the sunset. There was gorgeous flowers, hummingbirds, folks surfing and the wonderful seafood. It was an incredible moment. So peaceful.



Again, I thought of the contrast. Winter at home. Spring/Summer here. I'm wearing flipflops here, but will don my boots tomorrow.

Such an amazing time and I wish I could share it with you all - hey, I guess I just did. I hope you feel a little warmer. :D

Now I think I'll go eat an orange.
Tracie

Back to reality

What a fantastic time of refreshment I enjoyed on the K-LOVE Friends & Family cruise! Of course, time with my soul sister is always so precious to me, but we truly had a spectacular time of renewal physically, emotionally, and spiritually. I haven't laughed so much in months...mostly in the elevator. Ha! Here we were on a ship, with limited places to go, and we were always lost! I needed my GPS. LOL But there's something about laughter--building endorphins--that makes a body feel better. :o) A few memories follow...

In the event the ship sinks, you need to be ready! I had teasingly told Kathy that if the ship went down ten feet from shore, I was pretty sure I could save myself, but any farther out than that, she'd need to rescue me. She can swim; I can't. She assured me she'd tote me to shore. What a friend! (I was glad we never had to use those things for real.)

A very special moment for me came when I was able to talk with Matthew West. His song, "You Are Everything," has become an integral part of my testimony. So many phrases--You're the One who looks at me and sees what I was meant to be...; [You're] everything that I can't believe is happening...--fit my life journey, almost as if he penned the words for me. As one writer to another, it gave me joy to share that with him.

And totally spectacular (one of those "can't believe it's happening" times): The night of his concert, I showed up 40 minutes early (just like a groupie!) because I wanted a good seat. The sweet lady at the door, after chatting with me about why a good seat was so important, allowed me to go in a few seconds before they opened the doors to the crowd, so I got my front and center seat. I could have reached out and untied his shoestrings (but I didn't)! Lisa Williams from K-LOVE, upon learning how I used Matthew's song as part of my testimony, even mentioned it during her introduction of his concert. What a neat birthday gift! (Kathy teased me afterward. I was on my feet much of that concert, clapping and praising God right along with Matthew and his band--she said I was "bustin' a move"! Can you imagine Gramma Kim bustin' a move? LOL)

I think most cruise lines have a "formal night," when you get all gussied up for dinner. Formal night hit on my birthday! We met a couple named Jim and Maureen in line (Jim took the picture at the left), and we joined them for dinner. Had a wonderful time of fellowship. Our server even brought me a piece of cake, complete with candles, when we'd finished our meal (which was fabulous, btw...lobster tail and shrimp--mmm!), and everyone sang to me. I felt very special and spoiled!

We spent quite a bit of time just soaking up sun. Kathy is from Nevada and is accustomed to sun year-'round. I left c-c-c-cold Kansas and appreciated the sunshine. Kathy even read one of my books while on deck! That was pretty cool. :o)

Our one stop was at Grand Turk Island. We took a short bus tour and were able to get out and walk the shoreline. There were cacti everywhere--kind of an odd sight, I thought, on a tropical island, and our tour guide told me the rumor is Columbus introduced cactus to the island. Regardless, the beauty and majesty of the view was beyond description! I stood with a lump in my throat as I gazed across the gently rolling water, unable to absorb it all. Funny thing...I turned in a manuscript several months ago that included one of the characters standing on deck looking across the ocean, feeling so full his chest was tight yet so small in comparison to the water's expanse, and I experienced the exact same feeling...full and yet so very, very small. God did an awesome job of creating this world. He didn't have to make it beautiful, yet He did. He truly gifts us beyond our deserving or expectation.

The last day of the cruise, Sunday, we attended the on-board worship service. And God met us there. A new group to me, the Annie Moses band, performed some hymns, and then David Nassar (of Glory Revealed) spoke. Using Isaiah 41 as his scripture reference, he encouraged all of us to refuse to live in fear, to remember that our God is with us and will not fail us or forsake us. Such a timely reminder given the upheaval in many lives right now, and such a beautiful message to carry home. We closed by singing "It Is Well With My Soul"--1,000 voices lifted together. I'm sure even the angels were singing with us by the time we ended that hymn.

And now I'm home (from a balmy 70 degrees to a frigid, snowy 18!), and it's back to reality. Writing, preparing for speaking events (I fly to Nashville in another week), writing, spending time with my grandbabies, writing....... *wink* But reality is good, too. It is well with my soul.

May God bless you muchly as You journey with Him! ~Kim

Winter's Fury

Wow, we live in Missouri and Mother Nature is frowning on us. Not as badly as Arkansas, which is about seventy miles to our south, but we're covered in ice, sleet and snow!

Thanks to Robin for posting my garbled post last week. Ever try to send something other than a few words on an IPhone. They're great instruments, but not for posts and editing.

My husband surprised me with a quick trip to Florida last week. Since I've been slow to gain my pep back from two surgeries, he thought some sunshine and business would work well. Of course we flew down, and the best part was getting to have lunch with a friend, Angela Hunt. Angie and co-authored the Heavenly Daze series together many years ago. Speaking of which, the Heavenly Dazers are having a four day cruise next January, and Angie and I will be aboard! For information please visit my web site loricopeland.com. Anyway, Angie and I had lunch and I got to visit her lovely lovely home. The following morning, I had three phone messages around 7:30 on my cell phone from her. When I called to see what was up, she told me that her husband had taken her to the hospital around 2am with food poisoning or worse, salmonella. Was I okay? I told her that I was fine, ready to leave for our 10:00 flight home.

I kept in close contact that day and night and fortunately for me (not for Angie) it turned out to be another problem. Some sort of infection, and she was stuck in the hospital a few days.

Anyway, my husband's theory on "sunny Florida" was very thoughful and sweet but off because it was very cold there. But I did sit on the deck a couple of days and drink in some coolish sun. That was great.

Hope you have a blessed week!

Roads Taken, and Not

When I first start writing a book, I have a vision, an expectation, of what that story, that journey, will look like when it's done. In the end, it's never the way it seems when I first start out. And quite frankly, it's never "as good" on paper as how I'd envisioned it. Frustrating, but there it is.

Something I can always count on though... 

My characters grow in ways I hadn't expected and they make decisions I hadn't foreseen. Either that or they don't make the decisions I'd planned on them making. It can be maddening but also very exciting (and excruciatingly agonizing, LOL) to see how everything fits together in the end.

All in all, there's nothing better than going on a journey with people whom I've grown to love and appreciate. Fictional people who become more real to me than some people around me with flesh and blood, and whose fates are inexplicably tied to my own. Because they lead me far more than I lead them, despite my fingers being the ones tapping on the keyboard. I mean, let's face it, most days they hold my sanity in their hands. ;)

So as I'm sitting here in my office, staring out the window into a cold, rainy, beautiful, "the perfect day to write" Tennessee afternoon, embarking on another journey, it strikes me how grateful I am to be doing what I'm doing even though--more than anything I've done in my life--writing novels has me gripping the wheel in fear, hanging onto Him for all He's worth, and trusting Him to lead my next steps wherever this journey takes us.

Which, you know, in the whole scheme of things, isn't a bad place to be.

~Tammy

Some quick pics:

After church on Sunday, we grabbed our son and daughter and some of their friends and went to Pancake Pantry in Nashville. Delicious!! And well worth the wait. Four words--Sugar and Spice Pancakes. Wow!

Kelsey, Amanda, Matt and Kurt

Joe and me (huddling to stay warm as we waited outside)

 

Lessons from God

On one of my writers' email groups, someone asked, "How many of you have your characters explore subjects or themes that we're exploring in your real lives?"

It was fun for me to think about this and discover my answer, which is: The theme of my books and/or my characters either springs from a lesson God has given me in the past or from a lesson God is giving me in the present through my writing. Sometimes it comes from a question I'm asking of God, and I am looking for the answer with the help of my characters.

I walked through a time of rebellion in my past, and after my restoration with the Lord, I thought for certain my testimony was ruined forever, that God would never be able to use me again. But then He drew me into a ministry of writing for Him. As a result of the lessons He taught me as He healed my heart and my hurt, I wrote The Shepherd's Voice, the lesson that when I think my sins are too big for God to forgive, it is my pride saying that Jesus' blood wasn't enough to cover my particular sin.

Because I knew the heartache, pain, and chaos of loving an alcoholic, I wrote Beyond the Shadows. I realized that there were countless men, women, and children sitting in the pews of our churches, hiding their pain because of what was happening in their families. Addiction is a disease that makes everyone close to the addict sick. It's a disease of secrets. I wanted to tell those who are experiencing or who have experienced what I did that there is hope in God. They have reached the end of their rope but they need not reach the end of their hope. God is there, waiting for them.

Ribbon of Years was born out of the Columbine Tragedy. As I watched the TV and listened to the hurting parents, I wondered how the Christians among them could walk out their faith in light of this senseless horror. That question led me to a bigger one: What does it really mean to "walk by faith"? And from that question came my character, Miriam. And so I told the story of her life from 15 to 80. When I was done, the main thing I knew was that I wanted to live out my faith as Miriam had.

Not all of my books have "big" themes. Some are much more "quiet," a whisper of love perhaps in a world too often lacking in unconditional love. Sometimes I have no idea what the theme of a book is before or during the writing. Sometimes I don't see it clearly until the book is done. But always I need God to guide me to write the book He wants me to write. I want to please Him first before pleasing myself or my readers.

~robin~

A Real Book!

Rejoice with me, I have a "real book!" Whenever I start a new project it never feels like I've got an honest-to-goodness book until I have 100 pages written. Now that I have accomplished that much, I feel definitely energized. This is the second book in what will be a three book series set in Sitka, Alaska, and I'm having such fun. The setting is one of my favorite--the characters are coming to life, and the history of the place is so vivid and full of intrigue.

It seems like other projects are this way as well. Sometimes there is just a mark--a point of accomplishment where we can look at something we're working on realize the potential. We can imagine the end result.

I look at my grandchildren and imagine the people they are to become. I look at winter around me and imagine the glory of summer. I think of the problems in this world, and know incredible hope of what is to come when Jesus returns.

There is great anticipation in the beginning of a thing, and wondrous satisfaction in the completion of the same, but sometimes we need to recognize that point of accomplishment in the middle and take joy in where it can take us.

I love being an author on this journey, and I love that I can share it with you.

Anchors away, with my friend...

About 25 years ago, God transplanted me from Hillsboro, Kansas, to Winfield. It was a rough time in my life. Due to circumstances too lengthy to explain here, I was without a job, without a husband, was solely responsible for my baby girl, and was on the verge of losing my home. In Winfield, the financial aid officer at Southwestern College needed a secretary. A former high school classmate set up an interview for me.

When I went in for my interview, I didn't hold out much hope. I had little experience and even less self-confidence. But for the sake of my daughter, I had to try. After an hour-long discussion, the financial aid officer--a beautiful woman with sparkling blue eyes--sat back in her chair and said, "Kim, from talking to you today, I think we would work well together. But I do have some concerns." I thought, "Here we go...she's going to show me the door." Instead, she said, "You need a place to live and a babysitter. Tell you what--it's noon. Go see what you can find out and come back at five. If you've got those things arranged, you've got a job."

Well, wouldn't you know, since God had arranged the interview, He made sure an apartment (in government-subsidized housing) "just happened" to open up, and He sent me to a babysitter who had "just happened" to lose a family the week before. It was with great elation I returned to the college at 3:30 to tell Kathy things were set. Three days later I was settled in my new apartment and I started working for Kathy.

Kathy believes (and I agree!) that God brings people into our lives for seasons, reasons, and lifetimes. Kathy came for a reason and has stayed for a lifetime. Even though we were at completely different stages in life (her son was in high school; my daughter was not yet two-years-old), we formed a bond of friendship. She encouraged me to return to school and earn my elementary education degree; I supported her emotionally when she went through an unexpected divorce. And over the years--even though most of the time we've lived states apart (me always in Kansas; Kathy in Mississippi, Louisiana, California, and now Nevada)--our friendship has continued to flourish. I call her my "soul sister," and I'm so grateful for her presence in my life.

Since we live so far apart, our times together are scarce and precious. We try to meet for a few days each year, and no matter how long it's been since we saw each other, we always pick up and go on as if we'd only been apart a few minutes. (The photo on the left was taken New Year's Day 2008, in Las Vegas, at the Hard Rock Cafe.)

As you read this, Kathy and I are on a birthday cruise together. Tomorrow I turn...um, older *wink*...and to celebrate we booked on the K-LOVE Friends and Family Cruise. So we're sailing toward the Grand Turk Island on the Carnival ship Destiny with Matthew West (I always close my testimony with his "You Are Everything"), Sanctus Real, 4Him, and many others. Kathy's goal for our together-time is to "build a memory," and I have no doubt I'll be treasuring this trip for years to come.

I think friendship is one of God's greatest gifts to us. He made us to be social beings. Joys increase and burdens lighten when shared with a trusted friend. Proverbs 17:17 says, "A friend loves at all times..." I've certainly found that to be true of Kathy, who's stuck with me through thick and thin (both figuratively and literally!). If it's been a while since you've told your friends how much you appreciate them, why not take the time to do it today? They'll be blessed by your words, and it'll make you feel good, too.

God bless you muchly as you journey with Him! ~Kim

Traveling this week

Kim, your posts are always a blessing,and i'm happy to know you!

I'm in tampa this week a be doing this post on my iphone so I'll be brief. It's chilly here, not beach weather. Sweet hubby brought me here to help me recover some zip from last surgery.

Wishing you all sunshine and blue skies.

Lori

[The above post was reposted by Robin because it posted five days early for some reason. Maybe Blogger doesn't like the iPhone as much as I do.]

Inaugural Tuesday

Regardless of who you voted for this past November, today is an historic day and I'm thrilled to watch some of the goings-on in Washington D.C. To see the ground where Barack Obama will be sworn in as our forty-fourth President, on the very ground where, three hundred years ago, slaves were auctioned. I am so proud that a black man will be our President. There's no other way to state it.

Have we arrived as a nation? Have we finally put racism behind us? Hardly. But this is a step. A huge one, and I'm praying for our new President and Michelle, their girls, Malia and Sasha, and their grandmother Marian Robinson as they all move into the White House this afternoon. And for Barack Obama as he takes first steps in officially leading this country. Wouldn't you love to be able to see that transition up close? Even more, wouldn't you love to see the look on Abraham Lincoln's face? 

So many people have contributed to this day. So many people have shed their blood, and had it shed, for us to enjoy the liberties and the privileges of living in this country. And of seeing this day.

The Gettysburg Address, given by Abraham Lincoln on November 19, 1863, had a special place in my last book, From a Distance. And all morning long, I've found snatches of that brief, historic speech, returning to me, reminding me of all that's happened to bring this day to fruition. If you're interested in reading the Gettysburg Address again and seeing it written in Lincoln's own hand, click here. 

Oh, and an interesting tidbit--the Bible that Barack Obama will place his hand on as he takes the oath of office this morning is the very Bible that Abraham Lincoln used to do the same.

Blessings all,

Tammy

A new book arrives

I'm not quite sure now why I visited the Amazon page for When Love Blooms, but imagine my delight when I saw it was no longer taking pre-orders. The book, my 59th, is available now. The release date for this book hopped around a bit. The publisher always had a good reason for changing it, but I did begin to get confused. First it was a January release, then it was a March release, and finally it was a February release. And here it is in mid-January. (It should make its way into other on-line sites and into brick & mortar stores very soon.)

I really enjoyed spending time with the hero and heroine of this historical romance. Emily is a young woman who wants to make a difference. Gavin is a man who is certain the beautiful young woman who has come to the rugged country of central Idaho to be governess to his daughters will never last. And, as I always say, problems and romance ensues.



I hope you'll celebrate with me the "birth" of a new book.

~Robin

Just A Note

The long and the short of things in my world is that I'm swamped this week and there just doesn't seem to be enough time for everything. Therefore, my blog today is just a brief note.

I want to encourage you to focus on the blessings. There are so many problems going on all around us, but just remember that none of this has taken God by surprise.

Jesus said in John 16:33 that in this world we would have trouble, but to take heart because He's overcome the world. Jesus doesn't want us to focus on the first part - the troubles. He throws that out there almost like a casual reference. The heart of this verse is the last part. We can take heart - be encouraged - dare I say, be content? He's overcome, and because we are His and He is in us - we have overcome.

Sometimes it's hard to remember that we really have that victory. But we do. We have overcome in Him. We can take heart!
Tracie

God's Amazing Ways

I love to hear people talk about how God met a need before they even knew it existed. So often He lays all the groundwork and, in the perfect time, things fall into place. I want to share an email I received from a dear writing friend and prayer warrior, Connie Stevens. Connie lost her son Jonathan to cancer three years ago. He was a Marine, and his brave battle with cancer--as well as Connie's amazing faith in the face of such heartache--was an incredible inspiration to me. Read her email...

"An incredible thing happened this morning—so amazing that even now I’m having a hard time wrapping my mind around the way God uses the simplest things, and puts them in place long before we realize their significance. All I can do is stand in awe of Him.

"I clicked on my email this morning. There were several so I started at the bottom and worked my way up. One was from my agent. It was another rejection. I had pitched NEW MERCY (my cancer book) to a publisher in September. They finally got back to my agent, telling her the book was well written, and blah, blah, blah, but they didn’t feel they could take on this project at this time. I was disappointed and disheartened to say the least.

"I went on to the next email. It was from a friend who had forwarded a bunch of cute letters to God written by children. Instead of being typed into the body of the email, these were the actual scanned photos of the letters the children wrote, so we read them in the children’s own handwriting. As I scrolled down and read each one, they made me smile. Just what I needed after a stinging rejection. I scrolled down a little more to read the next one, and the next one.

"Then my heart stood still and my breath caught in my throat as I started reading one of the letters. I knew that handwriting.

"As I read, the letter was very familiar. I’d read it before—25 years ago. I scrolled down a little more to reveal the child’s name. It was Jonathan’s. I started shaking. It was a copy of a letter he wrote when he was in second grade. He was in a Christian school and his teacher instructed the class to write a letter to God. I still have the original. It’s in a box upstairs in the attic. It was a cute letter, telling God that if He hadn’t let the dinosaurs become extinct, we wouldn’t have a country. (He was 7.) His last sentence in the letter told God, 'You did the right thing.' (Doing the right thing was something I was trying to stress to Jonathan during that time.) It was cute then. Today it was miraculous.


"It was like hearing Jonathan’s voice from heaven telling me, 'Do the right thing, Mom. Don’t give up.'

"I have no idea how that letter got on the Internet. I have no idea why his second grade teacher made a copy of that letter and kept it. What boggles my mind is the way God used such a small thing, put in place so long ago, and brought this new friend into my life a few months ago and used her to send me this email this morning. I am awestruck by the lengths God will go just to bless me."

KIM AGAIN: Doesn't that just bless your socks off? Partly because of what God did, and partly because Connie so clearly recognizes this isn't happenstance, but God giving her encouragement at the exact moment she needed it, and in a very special, personal way.

Psalm 66: 5 says, “Come and see the works of God; He is awesome in His doing toward the sons of men.” He is AWESOME in ALL His doing... What an amazing God we serve!

Connie and me with my granddaughter at the ACFW
booksigning in the Mall of America.

May God bless you muchly as you journey with Him! ~Kim

P.S.--When I go to Sonic...and I do, frequently...I order a Route 44 diet cherry limeade. :o)

Sonic Lover too!

I fully intended to write about other things but I saw the Sonic post and thought how small is the world? I can't work without my "Sonic fix: a large diet coke with three lemons. My local Sonic knows before I order what I want!

I just found out that Steeple Hill is reprinting Yellow Rose Bride in mass market format. Hooray!


Have a great week!

Sonic Slushes and Stephenie Meyer?

What do Sonic Lemon Berry Slushes and Stephenie Meyer have in common? Those are my two most recent "guilty pleasures," as my daughter calls them. ;)

When our son had his appendectomy a couple of weeks ago, I asked him late that night if he wanted a drink from Sonic. He said, "Sure! A Slushie." Long story short, he recommended the Lemon Berry Slush to me. I'd always gotten the Strawberry Slush but...

Oh. My. Goodness!! Where has this drink been all my life? (Thankfully, far away from me, once I looked up the calorie count). However, despite that, my car did just happen to find its way to a Sonic yesterday at 1:57p.m. And if you're familiar with Sonic's Happy Hour, then that will mean something to you. 

My next guilty pleasure (and I say "guilty" because these aren't books that I expected to love as much as I do!!) is Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series. I devoured Twilight a month ago and have had to exercise extraordinary discipline not to start the next book until my own was finished. I'm hooked! What can I say?

I've always enjoyed fantasy stories. I used to rush home after school to watch Dark Shadows (does anyone out there remember Barnabas Collins?) before my mom got home from work. I was so rebellious... I've long enjoyed reading suspense and fantasy novels, and Stephenie Meyer's books are filling that niche for me.

At a recent book signing, I saw lots of younger girls (ages 10-12) walking around with Twilight. It was interesting to talk to them and their moms about the story. They are both in love with Edward (the "good" vampire), as are millions of other readers. Whenever a story like this sweeps across a broad readership (as Harry Potter did, which I also loved), it's fascinating to me as both a reader and writer to get lost in these worlds.

Rarely does a book "sweep" me away anymore. Don't get me wrong. I read A LOT. And I LOVE what I'm reading. But rarely does a book come along that I actually "forget" to read the story as a writer and read it instead as solely a reader. Twilight did that for me. And what a fun ride it is! To be whisked away to another world. Ah...the joy of reading! ;)

Now, is it 2:00p.m. yet? 

~Tammy

like it or not, marketing must be done

Gracious, the day is almost gone, and I have yet to post.

I think the majority of published novelists would just as soon leave the marketing of their books to their publishing house so they can focus on writing their next books. But the reality is, most authors must become involved in at least modest ways in the marketing efforts. In the old days (back when I was first published in 1984, before the Internet changed the world), that might mean printing bookmarks and/or postcards and maintaining a mailing list. Today it might mean designing and sending e-newsletters and maintaining a Facebook and/or ShoutLife presence. Marketing efforts can be a distraction or they can be a reason to procrastinate. A writer must learn how to juggle and prioritize.

Over the past week, I've been learning to edit videos so that I can post them to YouTube, my web site, and my Facebook page. Having a Mac certainly made the process easier than I thought it would be, and as of today, I've completed three award clips and one interview clip. As soon as the new iLife software arrives in early February, I'll be hard at work designing a new book trailer for my May release.

I hope you'll enjoy watching the videos if you have the time. And what a difference between the two 1999 clips and the two 2001 clips. From long curly red-brown hair to short straight blond hair (I am naturally a dark blond). My, my. How time flies.

~robin

A New Year Thank You

First, I wanted to let you know that Rainy (my granddaughter) is doing much better. She's going to have her 23rd brain-related surgery to reimplant a shunt in her head. Hopefully if all goes well she will go home next week. Here's a pre-sugery photo. She and I thank you for all the prayers. Keep them coming, please.




Second - this time of year always puts me in the mind of reflection. The first ten days of January not only hold New Year's, but my birthday (50 years) and my wedding anniversary (29 years). It's been the best of times--it's the worst of times. Hmmm, that would be good in a book. :)

I'm still the kind of person that wants to put the past to rest and press on towards the goal, but I always want to appreciate what I have. This year I'm reflecting on all the wonderful people in my life. My family - husband Jim, kids Jen, Julie (and Geoff her husband), and Erik, my grandchildren Rainy, Fox and Max. My mom, my mother-in-law. My aunts and uncles, cousins and so forth. Then there are my dear friends who have walked so many valleys and mountain tops with me. There are work associates who have become dear to me--almost like family and definitely friends. There's my church family, and the list goes on and on.

I'm thankful for all the people in my life. Some I barely know and only hear about from time to time, but others are like an extended part of my heart. We have loved each other--cared for one another--bore each other's burdens and cried in each other's arms. We have laughed together and lauded each other for our accomplishments, and we have hurt together--and sometimes hurt each other.

But through it all, I reflect on the purpose of each person in my life--the reason God put you here--the reason God put me here. There have been so many lessons learned and so many lessons that will no doubt come down the road. You are precious to me for so many more reasons than I can write on this blog, and I cherish that we could walk through life together.

In the words of Philippians 1:3 - I thank my God upon my every remembrance of you.

Thank you for being a part of my life.
Tracie

Running in a new direction

Last week I typed "The end" on my latest historical manuscript; this week I'm in the throes of a new beginning. Most people know I was an elementary school teacher in my former life. I loved the kids, and especially enjoyed the time right after noon recess when we would settle in and I would read to them. I had written a children's story called Why Me?, and I usually read it to my class around Christmastime. It was fun to see their reaction to the heroine's attempts to escape playing the lead role in the school's Christmas pageant. But once I published in adult fiction, I quit thinking about trying to publish any children's works. I decided Why Me? was one story, written to entertain my own class of students. But God, apparently, had different ideas in mind.

Right now I am caught up in writing a young adult novel that will (hopefully!) be read by kids the same age as those I taught...and those a little older. :o) The story features a 16-year-old heroine--an Old Order Mennonite girl who has been given the unique opportunity of attending public high school. For her entire scholastic career, Katie Gingerich has shared a bench with her best friend-for-forever Annika and learned in a simple, one-room, fellowship-approved school. But now she mingles with 1,000 other students in a multi-complex campus. Can you say "culture shock?"

I admit to some momentary qualms about writing for this age category. After all, how long has it been since I was 16? (Let's not even explore that question...) I attended a small high school--my graduating class had 24 students! I wondered if I could really make this story realistic enough to hold the attention of teens who now are into iPods and DVDs and texting and building their own Facebook pages. But one thought kept returning: Be in the world but not of it. That will be Katie's challenge--being in the school, absorbing the education, without absorbing "the world."

Isn't that a universal issue for Christians everywhere, regardless of age? The apostle Peter wrote to the believers in his day, "Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us."

For the younger set--the teens who long for a place of belonging in a social circle--it is even more difficult to be labeled an "alien" or a "stranger." If Katie's struggle can help one Christian girl to maintain her standards in a setting that screams the opposite of the Holy Spirit's whispers, then all of the sweat being poured onto the page (as I struggle with "becoming" a 16-year-old again) will be worth it.

The Katie at 16 Series will release in September with Autumn's Awakening. If you have young girls or teens in your family, I hope you'll watch for it. :o)

God bless you muchly as you journey with Him! ~Kim

Some things never change

We usually spend New Year's Eve at home but this year we promised to get together briefly with six couples we used to run around with when our children were young. Many we haven't seen in ages, and I can't tell you how good--how comfortable it felt to be with these friends, many of whom we haven't seen for years. Time had altered a few of us, but the laughs and memories remain.

Where does time go? The phrase was repeated over and over that evening. Some had suffered tragedies, illnesses and lots of hair loss, but in my eyes I still saw the young, fresh faces of our youth. The weekend's camping at the lake, the church socials. Pictures of our children--what happened to those little gap-toothed imps? They've all turned into mom and dads and, well, us. How can that be?

The new year will see three new books out for me. I especially love the cover of my Christmas release this year, A Christmas Lamp.

Hope your new year is starting off well and happy!

Verbose, not pithy

This day is nearly done and I'm just now posting. Sorry gang. It's been a busy last two weeks. Our son is doing well since his emergency appendectomy last week, and also from his oral surgery yesterday (wisdom tooth extraction). Bless his heart, he's been through the wringer.

But he's recovering well and should have all this behind him soon. He's the sweetest thing too. Will come up behind me in my office and just hug me and thank me. What a guy!

I'm putting the final last minute, down-to-the-wire finishing touches on Beyond This Moment (releases in April) and (if there are any "Tamera readers" out there reading this) get ready because Beyond This Moment is the longest book I've written so far! Pithy, I am not. Ahem...

But what an adventure it's been. It's not been an easy book to write for me. In fact, it's been grueling at times.

I used to think the books would get easier to write as time went by. But that's not the case. I was talking with Karen, my editor at Bethany House, today on the phone (after sending her an email with the word "Struggling" in the subject line--not a good sign). I wasn't pleased with the ending I'd written, yet was stuck. And she helped me brainstorm a new ending--those last few paragraphs when everything comes together, or doesn't (depending on the situation), for the hero and heroine. And oh! She's so creative and a dream to work with. We came up with just the right thing and had such fun in the process, playing off each other.

So I'll write those final few paragraphs then will send it to her in the morning. Oh happy day! After a few more tweaks in the galley stage, another book will be done. And none too soon.

When I started this story, I never expected to so identify with my heroine, Professor Molly Whitcomb. But sitting here tonight, having had 12 hours of the sleep in the past 72, I can honestly say, along with Molly, that I'm so ready to be beyond this moment. ;)

Blessings all,

Tammy

writing with heart

There is nothing quite so wonderful for this writer of Christian fiction than to learn that one of my books (or a scene or a character in it) has touched a reader's heart in some way, that God took the words I wrote and used them to move someone closer to Him. It's fascinating to me to hear the kind of things that readers take away from one of my stories. Sometimes what they "see" is so different from what I envisioned as I wrote the book. Fortunately, God is not limited in what He can do with my less than perfect human attempts.

There is a question that was bandied about in writing circles a number of years ago. (Maybe it is still asked today.) "Have you written the book of your heart?" Meaning, are you writing to please only your readers or your publisher or have you attempted to write the book that you are dying to write? My answer to that question is that every book I write is a book of my heart. Why else would I spend months writing it? While I'm sure some of my books are better than others, while my contemporary women's fiction releases are quite different from my historical romances, every one of them began with an idea that intrigued me, with a character who demanded I tell her or his story, and I couldn't help but write it all down. Writing from my heart is the only way I know how to write.

My latest release, When Love Blooms, is on its way through distribution channels to bookstore shelves as I write this (perhaps a couple of weeks away). My prayer for it is that it will offer my readers a few hours of pleasure and perhaps some escape from the crazy, worrisome world we live in.

On a side note, I'm excited because Zondervan, as part of their new publishing paradigm, is also making When Love Blooms available in digital and audio formats. Most of the books I read today are read on my Kindle, and I listen to lots of audio books (always have one going in the car), so I appreciate these options for readers.

Now off to complicate the lives of the characters in my new WIP (work in progress).

~Robin

Happy 2009

I'm sure by now you've all made your New Year's Resolutions to lose weight, read more, exercise more, spend less, watch less television, and read the Bible from cover to cover in a year.



By next week half that list will be forgotten or delayed and by the end of the month...well...let's just say you'll probably be in the same boat the rest of the country. New Year's Resolutions? What are those?

I've never been big on New Year's Resolutions, but the one thing I have tried to do is remind myself each year at this time to analyze the past year and put it to rest. Kind of like Paul talking about putting the past behind him and pressing on toward the goal. For me the goal is falling more passionately in love with Jesus.

When I stop and think about 2008, I try to zero in on whether I lived up to that goal of passion and love in the Lord. Did I extend encouragement to the weary and heartbroken? Did I practice tolerance and love without compromising God's Word? Did I show respect for others even when I felt they didn't deserve respect?

I usually come up short in my accounting, but then God's grace kicks in and I'm reminded that He knows our shortcomings and inabilities. He knows how helpless we are without Him. He reminds me gently that He's never called me to do anything on my own, but has always promised to be there with me--helping me--loving me--guiding me. With that in mind, I put aside 2008 and all of its woes and problems. Like a well-used blackboard, I'm washing away all the markings and problems that needed resolution in 2008, and I'm starting fresh.

2009 looks like it will be a grand and glorious time. It promises the hope of starting fresh--rebirth. I wish you the best for this new year, and I thank you for being a part of my life.

Tracie Peterson

"The End"

No, I'm not speaking of the end of a year (although we just did that) or the projected end of publishing as we know it (I'm praying about that)--I'm referencing most writers' favorite words to type:

THE END.

There is a tremendous feeling of satisfaction when completing a novel. But, truthfully, for me, writing the end of a manuscript is the hardest part.

I love the beginning. A fresh start, new characters, new setting--that indescribable rush of creativity that propels me through the first few chapters as I become acquainted with the world that is rising to life beneath my fingertips. Midway through the book, the characters have become my friends, and they pester me when I'm away from the computer, enticing me to return and tell more of their story. I literally fly through the beginning and middle of a story. Then I come to the final chapters, and my typing lags--like slogging through cold molasses just to put words on the page.

My reluctance to bring a story to a close is two-fold: First, I've grown to care about these people. Yes, I know they're characters and not real people, but somehow, to me, they are real. They've grown and matured, experienced--and overcome--hardships, and they've taught me something (because I always benefit in some way, spiritually, through the writing of a book). When their story is finished, I have to tell them good-bye. And it's very difficult to tell friends good-bye.

Second, because they've become so important to me, I want to give them a satisfying ending. I want the reader to close the book with a sigh--an "ahhh" of fulfillment, and a recognition that these story people will be all right. I can't do that by rushing. A truly satisfying ending takes time. Sometimes days for me.

But yesterday (on the last day of 2008--how appropos!), I typed "The end" on my current, thus-far untitled manuscript, and tomorrow I'll be sending it to my publisher. Yes, there is great satisfaction in completing a story, but there's a hint of melancholy, too. I don't write series. I write stand-alones, so "the end" really is the end of my time with Tressa and Aunt Hattie and all the residents of Barnett, Kansas. So "the end" is bittersweet--a time of fulfillment and a time of good-byes.

Ecclesiastes 3 says it well: "To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:...a time to mourn, and a time to dance..." The end of a book is both a time of mourning and dancing. The characters have found their "happy ever after (dancing)," but I must bid them farewell (mourning). But then the process begins again, with new characters springing to life and new adventures to explore (more dancing).

I guess writing a book is a bit like living life. We come to the end of a season, or a year, and we look back at times both joyful and heartbreaking. We also look ahead to the new year and cling to hope for good things to come--for lessons learned, moments of celebration, and time with those we hold dear...

As we embark on a brand new year, may you walk closely with God, hold to His hand, and find peace in His presence no matter what challenges come your way. Wishing you a wonder-filled, God-kissed year of much dancing!

May God bless you muchly as you journey with Him! ~Kim

(BTW, I took the picture above of my wonderful old 1911 fold-away Corona that STILL WORKS! Too much fun...)