Skip to main content

Catching up

6/17/04
The time has just sped by. I finally finished a bit of Spring Cleaning, and now that I can see the floor in my guest bedroom, somehow my mind feels less cluttered, too.

The biggest news is from yesterday. I received a call from Sharon at Arabella Magazine, who said that they want to publish a short story I submitted to them in March! I'm so stoked. The story is "Dom Perignon," a romance about love at first sight in a San Francisco art gallery gala. God is soooooo good. This is a faboo publishing opportunity He's given to me.

I'll also have an article being published in "Nikkei Heritage," a quarterly journal published by the National Japanese American Historical Society. The Fall/Winter edition is themed "War," and my piece is a light-hearted description of how World War 2 impacted life in the Hawaiian country town of Waialua, O'ahu, where my grandmother lives. I had a great time interviewing my grandmother and my mother, and I learned a lot about the rich history of the time. My grandmother is one of the few people old enough and mentally sharp enough to remember the time back then, so it was a joy to record her reminiscences.

I'm now working on a new manuscript, a sequel to "The Corinthian Rules." It's coming along slowly, and I am trying to bathe the process in prayer so that I can write this for God's glory, and not my own. The one, tentatively titled "The Ephesians List," is also set in San Jose, with Asian characters. I am also thinking about gearing this book specifically for the secular market, rather than the CBA, but I still need to pray about it.

Right now, an agent is reviewing "The Corinthian Rules" to determine if he wants to represent me. I also emailed my manuscript to Jeff Dunn at RiverOak, because he had requested it.

I read "Self-Editing for Fiction Writers" by Renni Browne and Dave King (2nd edition), and I think it's an absolute necessity for every writer. I feel like my manuscript is so much cleaner and tighter now that I've applied the principles in the book. This ranks up there with "Techniques of the Selling Writer" by Dwight V. Swain.

I had a wonderful opportunity to read Meredith Efken's "SAHM I Am," a manuscript recently bought by Steeple Hill. It's hilariously funny! I learned a lot about Stay-At-Hom-Moms that I never realized before, while at the same time laughing my head off. I can't wait for it to come out—I want to buy copies for friends and family who might like it.

I also read Kristin Billerbeck's "What a Girl Wants." Ooooohhhh she's a riot! (Besides being a cool person, too!) I lent it to my friend Lorianne Lee, and she thought Kristin perfectly captured the foibles of life in Silicon Valley, surrounded by engineers. I also wrote a review for it, which is on Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, and Christianbook.com.

I read "Oxygen" and "The Fifth Man" by John Olson and Randy Ingermanson—terrific! Great science fiction! A nice faith message in both books, but not "in your face." I had "Oxygen" signed at Mount Hermon so I could give it to my dad for his birthday, but shamefully I admit I read it before sending it to him.

I'm still impatient to write full-time, but I am also praying for PATIENCE to wait on God's timing. I have received so much encouragment from the Lord and from other Christians about my writing, and I really do think God intends for me to write full-time one day. Just not right now. I need His strength to persevere until He gives me the signal to GO.

Well, that's it for now!
Camy

Comments

Popular Posts

I GOT A CONTRACT!

Captain’s Log, Stardate 03.29.2006 I had a wonderfully funny blog post planned for today, but I got sidetracked by some news yesterday! Zondervan has offered me a three-book contract on my Asian chick-lit series ! I’m still stunned by everything that’s happened. The series is actually a 4-book projected Asian chick-lit series about four cousins who fall under the infamous family title "Oldest Single Female Cousin," and their ruthless, wealthy grandma applies pressure on each of them to improve their lack of love interests. I think the first book is tentatively scheduled to be released in August 2007. The blurb on the series is on my website here . Brandilyn Collins posted to the ACFW loop about my writing journey, and Tamara Cooper asked that I share it. And since you all know how much I like to talk , here it is. My writing journey: Like most writers, I have wanted to write since I was very young. (In high school, I wrote a fantasy novel that will never see the light of day ...

I’m done

Captain’s Log, Stardate 05.17.2006 Blog book giveaway: My Thursday book giveaway is THE PREACHER’S DAUGHER by Lyn Cote My Monday book giveaway is BLIND DATES CAN BE MURDER by Mindy Starns Clark . You can still enter both giveaways. Just post a comment on each of those blog posts. On Thursday, I'll draw the winner for THE PREACHER’S DAUGHTER and post the title for another book I'm giving away. Stay tuned. I’m done. At the beginning of the year, I made a goal of three books this year. That’s four months per book. I started this manuscript January 15th. I finished in the wee hours of May 17th, so it took me about four months, a day and a few hours. Yay me. I’m going to bed now. Yes, this is the espresso maker on the right, and a professional coffee grinder on the left. By the espresso maker, I mean the one I promised to my long-suffering husband if I got a book contract, as a reward for letting me quit my biotech job and write full-time.

Window shopping

Captain’s Log, Stardate 03.14.2005 Knee update: I went to the doctor today for a checkup, and saw his assistant. I’ve been concerned because there’s still inflammation in my knee joint, and it’s been almost 4 months since the surgery. She said she’d talk to the doctor about it tomorrow and call me. Sometimes he suggests laying off the PT to see if that causes the inflammation to go away, but I don’t know if that will work because lately I’ve been pretty active outside of PT. At PT today, the therapist did ultrasound and some sort of electrical current on the joint. Hopefully that will make the inflammation start to go down. I’ll know by tomorrow, probably. Writing: Mt. Hermon conference starts this Friday! On Thursday night, I’ll be at the Santana Row Borders bookstore to help out (and hopefully learn a bit, too) at a booksigning for several of the ACFW authors who are attending Mt. Hermon . That should be lots of fun. I had a good brainstorming time at ...

ICRS Tuesday

Captain's Log, Stardate 07.11.2007 I started the day with a great meeting with Al Hsu , an editor at InterVarsity Press. We discussed Asian Americans—fiction, non-fiction, the church, family. He’s been in publishing for many years and is very wise. We had a great discussion. I also met his wife Ellen, who’s totally nice and is also into card-making! I wandered the floor and happened to meet Robin Jones Gunn. She asked if I’d eaten yet, and since I hadn’t, said to join her for lunch. On the way to lunch, we met Mark Mynheir, and he gave me a copy of his book, got The Void . Isn’t that cool? Robin has so much wisdom. I loved having lunch with her. She gave me such good advice, both professionally and spiritually. I hope I’ll get a chance to have lunch or dinner with her at the ACFW conference in September. I met up with agent Steve Laube, and walked with him to his next meeting, but on the way we were hailed by Cec Murphy and agent Jeff Dunn. Jeff had been the first editor to request...

Free Christian Romantic Suspense Novels by Camy Tang / Camille Elliot

Curious about what my writing is like? Here’s a list of all my free books and the free short stories, novellas, and novels that you can read here on my blog. I’ll update this post as I add more free reads. Christian Regency Romantic Suspense (as Camille Elliot) The Spinster’s Christmas (Lady Wynwood’s Spies series, Prequel novel) (Posted on my blog as a serial novel, completed) Spinster Miranda Belmoore and naval Captain Gerard Foremont, old childhood friends, meet again for a large Christmas party at Wintrell Hall. Miranda is making plans to escape a life of drudgery as a poor relation in her cousin’s household, while Gerard battles bitterness at the fact that his career was cut short by the injury to his knee. However, an enemy has infiltrated the family party, bent on revenge and determined that Twelfth Night will end in someone’s death … Lissa and the Spy (Lady Wynwood’s Spies series, Prequel novella) Click here to get this ebook FREE when you subscribe to my newsletter In...