Prayed for patience

Been trying to keep the spiritual warfare at bay. At random moments, I’ll start to panic or feel depressed and I’ll have to stop and pray. It’s been a constant battle against these emotional attacks, and surrendering myself to God over and over again. I am so tired and frustrated.

But I did pray today for trust and patience, so I must be making spiritual headway. I know God would not have put this desire in me to write if He didn’t intend to do something with it, and although I may have to learn patience (how I hate that word, LOL), I am hoping He will allow me to write full-time someday. The thought of working (especially at this company) for another year or two is depressing, but I have to trust God’s plans and timing, and pray for deliverance.

Yesterday I started reading Maass’ "Writing the Breakout Novel." It’s been very enlightening and motivating. He lists ways to make the novel more dramatic, more colorful, more enticing to a reader. It’s basically the same tenant Swain writes about, but in more useful detail. I am excited to try to lift my suspense manuscript to the next level, even though that entails going back to the drawing board again. Right after I left it to start writing! LOL.

I’ve also read some rather bad books lately. Do some of these multi-published authors dispense with critique partners? It just seemed that a good crit partner would have caught some of the repetitions, redundancies, and illogical actions of the characters. Note to self: If I become multi-published, make DOUBLY SURE I have several honest crit partners to look over anything before I send it to my editor.

Writing: Since yesterday was Sunday, I didn’t work on my manuscript, but I did cheat and write the Real Life Q&A and two (related) writing articles for RubyZine.

Diet: I already mentioned the rib roast for dinner last night. Topped it off with caramel popcorn from my sister in law. Hers is sooooo good. I only get it once a year. I’m still having some of those weird stomach cramps, maybe from too much acid in my stomach, maybe something else. Anyway, today I haven’t eaten anything so far because my stomach hasn’t been up to it. Hopefully I can stick to a healthy diet today and also remember to do my weight training, minimal though that is.

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Brainstorm - character occupation

Captain's Log, Stardate 03.23.2009 Hey guys, I could use some help. In my current manuscript, The Year of the Dog , which is a humorous contemporary romance, I have a minor character, Eddie. He’s my heroine’s ex-boyfriend, and they’re on good terms with each other. He’s a bit irresponsible, but not so much so that he’s a complete loser. He’s got a very easy going attitude, he forgets to pay his bills sometimes, he’s friendly and charming. He’s adventurous and fun to be around, but he’s a little forgetful sometimes, and he tends to spend a little outside his income. I need an occupation for him. What would a charming, easy going, slightly irresponsible guy do for a living? He’s not too irresponsible, because otherwise readers will wonder what in the world my heroine saw in him to date him in the first place. She was attracted to his charm, his easy going attitude (her family’s uptight, and he was a nice contrast), and his adventurousness. But his forgetfulness and irresponsibility ...

Lavender hand lotion

Captain's Log, Stardate 11.05.2009 I have to tell you, I LOVE Etsy.com ! Etsy is dedicated to providing a marketplace for people who like to make handmade products and people who appreciate them (and buy them). It has everything from handmade gifts (like my mom’s Bucilla Christmas stockings and ornaments and tree skirts and wall hangings and … well, just click here to see what she has! ) to soaps and lotions and jewelry and knitted items and hand-painted yarn and ... I could surf that website for DAYS. Anyway, lately I’ve been concerned about the lead content in my lotions, especially since I’m using them more now that it’s turned colder and drier here in California. I have to use lotion on my hands everytime after I wash them. So I went onto Etsy and searched for organic hand lotions, and bought this lavender lotion from Lue Cosmetics . What was really nice is that the owner, Jane, sent me a direct message via Etsy right after I made the purchase to ask if I’d received it yet and ...

Chinese Take-Out and Sushi for One

Captain’s Log, Supplemental My agent sent me an article from Publisher’s Weekly that discussed this incident: Chinese Take-Out Spawns Christian Controversy And here’s also a blog post that talks about it in more detail: The Fighting 44s This is Soong-Chan Rah’s blog: The PCS blog In sum: Apparently Zondervan (yes, my publisher), who has partnered with Youth Specialties, had put out a youth leaders skit that had stereotypical Asian dialogue, which offended many Christian Asian Americans. In response to the outcry, Zondervan/Youth Specialities put out a sincere apology and is not only freezing the remaining stock of the book, but also reprinting it and replacing the copies people have already bought. I am very proud of my publisher for how they have handled this situation. The skit writers have also issued a public apology . (I feel sorry for them, because they were only trying to write a funny skit, not stir up this maelstrom of internet controversy. I’ve been in youth work long enou...

Grace Livingston Hill romances free to read online

I wanted to update my old post on Grace Livingston Hill romances because now there are tons more options for you to be able to read her books for free online! I’m a huge Grace Livingston Hill fan. Granted, not all her books resonate with me, but there are a few that I absolutely love, like The Enchanted Barn and Crimson Roses . And the best part is that she wrote over 100 books and I haven’t yet read them all! When I have time, I like to dive into a new GLH novel. I like the fact that most of them are romances, and I especially appreciate that they all have strong Christian themes. Occasionally the Christian content is a little heavy-handed for my taste, but it’s so interesting to see what the Christian faith was like in the early part of the 20th century. These books are often Cinderella-type stories or A Little Princess (Frances Hodgson Burnett) type stories, which I love. And the best part is that they’re all set in the early 1900s, so the time period is absolutely fasci...

I got my cover!

Captain’s Log, Supplemental Blog book giveaway: To enter, go to the blog links below and post a comment there. Eyes of Elisha by Brandilyn Collins Tangerine by Marilynn Griffith I GOT MY COVER!!!! What do you guys think?

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