2006 ACFW Conference, part 2

Captain’s Log, Stardate 10.03.2006

Blog book giveaway:
My Monday book giveaway is Dark Hour by Ginger Garrett.
You can still enter. Just post a comment on the blog post above. On Thursday, I'll post the title for another book I'm giving away.

Continued from part 1:

Mary DeMuth gave a fabulous morning session for Advanced writers. It was both spiritual and practical, plus she’s a good speaker and teacher. Very open and honest, good points. If you haven’t gotten the MP3 for the conference yet, go get her four sessions.

Big congrats to Cara Putman, who was awarded with a contract at the conference!

I had the loveliest time talking with Serena Miller on Saturday morning. She needed some advice, and it made me feel so good to be able to help her out.

But even more, she was such a calming presence as Kat (conference tech goddess) rushed by a few times to let me know about problems with the Powerpoint. Serena was true to her name—she helped me to feel calmer and less stressed, to let go of my control-freak tendencies, to trust God to work everything out.

And He did—Kat came by again with good news about using the infrared remote to forward the slides from the audience.

Praying with Brandilyn Collins was wonderful, although way too short. I only had 5 minutes in between one appointment and dinner with my agents, but she said a powerful prayer over me. I felt so sad at the end because I could have sat there for another 20 minutes. I know God needs to work on things in my heart, so I’m praying He will continue to do it despite my busy schedule. I’m trying to learn how to rest.

I was able to pray for Cheryl Wyatt in the Prayer Room with Brandilyn. It was fabulous. We were all in tears but it was good tears. I’m praying for a quick recovery for Cheryl.

I wish I’d been there for prayer for Pammer and Heather. Brandilyn prayed over the four of us two years ago and it was something we had wanted this year. I had also wanted to be there when she prayed for my friends Robin Cynclair, Ronie Kendig, and Dineen Miller.

Next: Name dropping.

TMI:

Writing: Doing revisions. Trying to take it in small pieces so I’m not too overwhelmed.

I wish my manuscript were a spreadsheet. That would be so much easier, I think. Move a cell here, change a value there. Create a macro or a formula to make things easier.

I’m such a geek. What is a left brain like me doing writing???

I posted a review of The Guy I’m Not Dating by Trish Perry below.

Diet: I exercised yesterday! Denise Austin’s Daily Workout and Power Yoga. And boy are my legs tired. As in JELLO-in-a-San-Francisco-earthquake tired.

Hopefully I can keep this up this week. I’ve discovered that I really don’t lose weight—no matter how much I try to change my diet—unless I exercise at least 4 hours a week. It’s not that bad. I do about 45-50 minutes a day five days a week.

I should try walking the dog on weekends, but I just get so lazy. And poor Snickers gets FAT.

Comments

Mary DeMuth said…

OK, you totally made me LAUGH when I read your spreadsheet comment. Yep, you're a geek, but a dang cute one...

And thanks for the nice comments about my teaching. You're so nice!

Tue Oct 03, 06:16:00 AM 2006

Cara Putman said…

Thanks for the congrats, Camy. I enjoyed sharing (okay, taking ) fries with you.

Tue Oct 03, 10:17:00 AM 2006

Julie Carobini said…

Thanks for the insider's glimpse, Camy.

And I know what you're saying about wishing your script were a spreadsheet. I'm actually very right brained and visual, so I have to draw out a sort of time line so I can "see" all the pieces(and we're talkin' stick figures here :) Helps so much!

J

Tue Oct 03, 10:40:00 AM 2006

Georgiana Daniels said…

I enjoy hearing your stories about the conference. Someday--oh, someday--I hope to attend:)

Tue Oct 03, 12:12:00 PM 2006

Jennifer Crosswhite said…

Yeah, I'm a left-brained geek, too, and wonder how I got to be a writer. It's an interesting combo.

Tue Oct 03, 01:49:00 PM 2006

Toilet seat cover

Captain’s Log, Supplemental Update August 2008: I wrote up the pattern for this with "improvements"! Here's the link to my No Cold Bums toilet seat cover ! Okay, remember a few days ago I was complaining about the cold toilet seat in my bathroom? Well, I decided to knit a seat cover. Not a lid cover, but a seat cover. I went online and couldn’t find anything for the seat, just one pattern for the lid by Feminitz.com . However, I took her pattern for the inside edge of the lid cover and modified it to make a seat cover. Here it is! It’s really ugly stitch-wise because originally I made it too small and had to extend it a couple inches on each side. I figured I’d be the one staring at it, so who cared if the extension wasn’t perfectly invisible? I used acrylic yarn since, well, that’s what I had, and also because it’s easy to wash. I’ll probably have to wash this cover every week or so, but it’s easy to take off—I made ties which you can see near the back of the seat. And

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

Tabi socks, part deux

Captain's Log, Stardate 07.25.2008 (If you're on Ravelry, friend me! I'm camytang.) I made tabi socks again! (At the bottom of the pattern is the calculation for the toe split if you're not using the same weight yarn that I did for this pattern (fingering). I also give an example from when I used worsted weight yarn with this pattern.) I used Opal yarn, Petticoat colorway. It’s a finer yarn than my last pair of tabi socks, so I altered the pattern a bit. Okay, so here’s my first foray into giving a knitting pattern. Camy’s top-down Tabi Socks I’m assuming you already know the basics of knitting socks. If you’re a beginner, here are some great tutorials: Socks 101 How to Knit Socks The Sock Knitter’s Companion A video of turning the heel Sock Knitting Tips Yarn: I have used both fingering weight and worsted weight yarn with this pattern. You just change the number of cast on stitches according to your gauge and the circumference of your ankle. Th

Camy's Big News about a new (old) series!

I joined two Christian suspense multi-author anthologies that will release next year in May and October! The May anthology is Danger in the Shadows , and the October anthology is Don’t Blink . I have taken down Year of the Dog from my blog and will instead finish editing/rewriting it for the May anthology, Danger in the Shadows . I decided to do this because I was only working on Year of the Dog sporadically, and I wanted to set a deadline for myself to finish it sooner. To complicate matters, I’ve been unhappy with my decision to leave Sushi and Suspicions as a stand-alone rather than putting it in a series. And I’ve also been unhappy with putting The Lone Rice Ball as a 5th book in the Sushi series when it’s more romantic suspense than the other books in the series. Now that I’ll be writing Year of the Dog for the anthology, and because I haven’t yet released Sushi and Suspicions and The Lone Rice Ball as individual ebooks, I decided to switch things around. I’m rem

Jeremiah 33:8

Jeremiah 33:8 I will cleanse them from all the guilt of their sin against me, and I will forgive all the guilt of their sin and rebellion against me. Dear Lord, Thank you that no matter where we go or what we do, you will wash us clean when we turn to you. Thank you for your grace and for loving us even when we are hard to love. Please help us to live for you and for your glory. Amen エレミヤ33:8 わたしに対して犯したすべての罪から彼らを清め、犯した罪と反逆のすべてを赦す。親愛なる主よ、私たちがどこへ行こうとも、何をしようとも、私たちがあなたに立ち返るとき、あなたは私たちをきよめてくださることを感謝します。あなたの恵みに感謝し、私たちが愛しがたい者であっても愛してくださることに感謝します。どうか私たちがあなたのために、あなたの栄光のために生きることができますように。アーメン

No Cold Bums toilet seat cover

Captain's Log, Stardate 08.22.2008 I actually wrote out my pattern! I was getting a lot of hits on my infamous toilet seat cover , and I wanted to make a new one with “improvements,” so I paid attention and wrote things down as I made the new one. This was originally based off the Potty Mouth toilet cover , but I altered it to fit over the seat instead of the lid. Yarn: any worsted weight yarn, about 120 yards (this is a really tight number, I used exactly 118 yards. My suggestion is to make sure you have about 130 yards.) I suggest using acrylic yarn because you’re going to be washing this often. Needle: I used US 8, but you can use whatever needle size is recommended by the yarn you’re using. Gauge: Not that important. Mine was 4 sts/1 inch in garter stitch. 6 buttons (I used some leftover shell buttons I had in my stash) tapestry needle Crochet hook (optional) Cover: Using a provisional cast on, cast on 12 stitches. Work in garter st until liner measures

Camille's Writing Progress

Join my newsletter to get regular updates in your inbox!

CWO - Reading quickly

Captain’s Log, Supplemental "Those who read fast reap no more advantage than a bee would by only skimming over the surface of the flower, instead of waiting to penetrate into it, and extract its sweets." ~ Madame Jeanne Guyon ~ Update: I rewrote my post when I discovered Madame was talking specifically about Bible reading and not just reading in general. My point is essentially still the same. I admit I’m torn about this quote. I do enjoy meditating on the Bible. Certain passages deserve the time and mental energy to dwell, savor, contemplate, investigate, journal about. Those are some of my closest times with God. But I also started the Bible in 90 Days challenge last year, and it was the most incredible experience I’ve had in a long time. I had never read the entire Bible through before I did the Bible in 90 Days. I always lost interest in the normal books—the Pentateuch, usually around Leviticus somewhere. For the Bible in 90 Days, the point is to just read. Keep reading.

Keriah's Narrow Crescent Scarf

In my series Lady Wynwood’s Spies, my character Keriah is more emotional than her friend Phoebe, and so when writing about her in Lady Wynwood’s Spies, volume 6: Martyr , naturally I described her scarf as having more lively colors than the greens and blues that Phoebe favors. I didn’t really have a particular yarn colorway in mind when I wrote the scene, but when looking through my stash to knit her scarf, I found the Carnival colorway in Knit Picks Chroma Twist Fingering, and it was absolutely perfect for her. Chroma Twist Fingering is discontinued, but you could knit this in Chroma Fingering or any other color-transitional yarn. In the Regency era, a tri-color 3-ply yarn like Chroma Twist Fingering would probably not have been sold in shops, but it also may not have been completely unheard of. It is made by simply dying the wool rather than the finished yarn, and then the dyed wool would be split into 3 parts and each part spun into a single ply, before all three plies

Irish Tea Cozy

Captain’s Log, Stardate 02.16.2007 Blog book giveaway: To enter, go to the blog links below and post a comment there. Along Came Jones by Linda Windsor Two books for moms by Jenn Doucette I knitted a tea cozy! Here’s a picture of the original , and here’s the original pattern . I pretty much followed it, except I used a ribbon instead of a knitted tie at the top. I made it a little too big because I used the wrong size needles, so I also made two squares in garter stitch and sewed them to the inside of the cozy for a bit more insulation and better shaping. I’m so impressed with myself. This was the first time I did any complicated designs like the bobble/bubble/popcorn stitch and the diamond panel. Now when I host our local Christian writers’ group, our ginger peach tea won’t get cold so fast.

Search This Blog

Lady Wynwood #7 early release Kickstarter