Mount Hermon recap, part 4, Genesis finalists

Captain’s Log, Stardate 04.20.2006

Got a lot today, so here we go.

Continued from Mount Hermon recap, part 3:
I got a chance to get to know Sarah Anne Sumpolec better. She’s a funny, fresh firecracker of energy. Loved her. If you have teen girls, they’ll love her Beka novels.

I hooked up with my friend Donna Fleisher again. That woman is walking encouragement, let me tell ya. I’m giving away an autographed copy of her latest novel, VALIANT HOPE, on my website contest.

I met Judy Gann for the first time, and she is such a sweet, gentle, sweet woman. And did I mention how sweet she is? She gave me a copy of her devotion book, THE GOD OF ALL COMFORT, for those living with the challenges of chronic illness. Now don’t freak out, I don’t have a chronic illness, but I will always suffer from the surgeries on my knee, and she wanted to encourage me with her book. Isn’t she just da bomb?

I hung out and made mischief with my friend Charise Olson, who lives down the road from the Mount Hermon campgrounds. She got great feedback on her missionary women’s fiction novel from both Mick Silva (Waterbook) and agent Steve Laube. The funniest part of the conference was when she “discovered” her tagline: “Having a good day? I can fix that.”

I got to see Lynette Sowell again! She’s such a sweetheart. I didn’t get a chance to talk much with her, but I hope she had a great conference. This was her first time at Mount Hermon.

My friend Randy Ingermanson was mentoring at the Fiction Mentoring Clinic. We spent many late night hours with the rest of the Night Owls in the coffee lounge: Dineen Miller, Rich Bullock, Brandilyn Collins, Steve Laube, Meredith Efken, John Olson, Lynn Thompson, and a rotating cast of Others.

I got a chance to hug Gayle Roper—I love that woman.

I went out to dinner a couple times, once with Charise, Cyndy Salzmann, Pamela Dowd, Janet Lynn Mitchell, Patti Hill, Cathy Elliott, and Katherine Hyde. We went to Riva Fish Market and I had FRIED FOOD! Yum! I wept because I had to leave several large pieces of calamari, shrimp and a scallop on my plate.

Susan Meissner won Writer of the Year! In celebration, I will see if I can get an interview with her on my blog and give away a few of her books.

Tomorrow: How I made a brand-new acquaintance cringe.

It is my great pleasure to announce the 2006 Genesis contest Category Finalists!

Contemporary Romance:
Kaye Dacus
Annette M. Irby
Glynna Sirpless
Kristian Tolle
Betty Woods

Historical Romance (there was a 3-way tie):
Janet Dean
Andree Eisenberg
Charlene Glatkowski
Pat Gonzales
Audra Harders
Lisa Marie Nelson
Donna Robinson

Romantic Suspense:
Anita K. Greene
Kelly Irvin
Robin Miller
Kelly Ann Riley
Jill Eileen Smith

Mystery/Suspense/Thriller:
Alice Loweecy
D'Ann Mateer
Sandra Moore
Wayne Scott
Cheryl Wyatt

Science Fiction/Fantasy/Speculative Fiction (there was a 2-way tie):
Beth Goddard
Rebecca Grabill
Shannon McNear
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Mirta Ann Schultz
Sherry Thompson

Women's Fiction:
Janice LaQuiere
Erin Keeley Marshall
Marian Merritt
Ane Mulligan
Julie Saffrin

General Fiction (includes General Historical, Multicultural, Young
Adult, Contemporary Fiction, Chick-Lit):
Mary Ann L. Diorio
Mike Ehret
Heidi Gennaro
Lynne Gentry
Christina Miller

My heartfelt congratulations to all the Category Finalists!

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’m a Book of the Year winner!

Captain's Log, Stardate 09.22.2008 I won first place in the Debut Author category of the American Christian Fiction Writers Book of the Year awards! Here are all the winners! Debut Author Sushi for One? (Camy Tang) Zondervan, editor Sue Brower Bayou Justice (Robin Miller writing as Robin Caroll) In Between (Jenny B. Jones) Contemporary Novella Finally Home in Missouri Memories anthology (Deborah Raney) Barbour Publishing, editor Susan Downs Moonlight & Mistletoe in A Big Apple Christmas anthology (Carrie Turansky) Remaking of Moe McKenna in Race to the Altar anthology (Gloria Clover) Historical Novella Love Notes in Love Letters Anthology (Mary Davis) Barbour Publishing, editor Rebecca Germany Beyond the Memories in Missouri Memories anthology (DiAnn Mills) The Spinster & The Tycoon in The Spinster Brides of Cactus Corner anthology (Vickie McDonough) Lits Splitting Harriet (Tamara Leigh) Multnomah Books, editor Julee Schwarzb...

Pink Sunshine Shawl

Captain's Log, Stardate 01.06.2010 While in Arizona, I visited three knitting stores (all I had time and money for, unfortunately!) and bought this gorgeous yarn by Colinette. The model had this silk colorway with a pink mohair, which made it more pink than I wanted because I already have a very pink shawl and while I love pink, I wanted something both dramatic and different from, well, pink. So I paired this mostly pink silk colorway yarn with a greenish yellow mohair to get this gorgeous shawl that looks like pink sunshine! If you’re on Ravelry, you can see my more detailed notes here . Here’s the shawl! Isn’t it pretty? The mohair makes it very light and airy, while the silk gives it beautiful drape. I edged it with gold glass beads.

Poll for the title of my book!

Captain’s Log, Supplemental Blog book giveaway: My Thursday book giveaway is The Wedding Caper by Janice Thompson . My Monday book giveaway is Thanks for the Mammogram! AND Reconstructing Natalie , both by Laura Jensen Walker . You can still enter both giveaways. Just post a comment on the blog posts above . On Thursday, I'll draw the winner for The Wedding Caper and post the title for another book I'm giving away. Pick my title! The Zondervan Marketing Department is torn about which title would be best for my debut novel. So you guys get to weigh in! Here are your choices: Solo Sushi Sushi for One Single Sushi Solo Sashimi Leave a comment about which you prefer and WHY. I’ll run this poll for a couple weeks to figure out which will be the title for my new book! TMI: Writing: I posted another "Health and the Writer" post at WriterQuotes , and an agent post at my Story Sensei blog . And in case you missed it, my review of The Guy I’m Not Dating by Trish Perry is ...

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...

Search This Blog