Captain's Log, Supplemental Some of you might have heard about the 5.2 earthquake in San Jose last night. Just to let you know, we’re okay. The house started shaking, and after 17 years in California, I know by now to run for a doorway. The shaking was over in a few seconds. No big deal. Not even a broken plate or glass. A couple CDs fell off my shelf, nothing else. Even before the shaking completely stopped, I’m standing in the doorway to my office like a good Californian, and I see Captain Caffeine walk into the foyer! “What are you doing? You’re supposed to be under a desk!” “Uh ... I was keeping the cabinets from falling.” (Translation: he was holding the cabinets closed so the glasses wouldn’t rain on the kitchen floor, which in hindsight was thoughtful of him, but I’d rather have glass over the floor instead of a ceiling tile falling on his head!) My friend Dineen lives closer to the epicenter, so I called to see how she was. Everything was fine at her house. “In fact,” she s...

Just Jane by Nancy Moser Unable to find her own Mr. Darcy, she created him. Jane Austen lives simply in the English countryside with her beloved family, entertaining them with her stories and seeking romance. She never ventures far from her own corner of the world and struggles to find her place in it. Growing up in a clergyman's home gives Jane opportunities to observe human nature at its best--and worst. Vivid and delightful characters pour from her pen--Elizabeth Bennet, Fitzwilliam Darcy, Emma Woodhouse, Fanny Price, John Willoughby ... Jane dreams of publishing her stories and sharing them with the world, but she's just Jane from Steventon, isn't she? Will anyone ever read her novels? In this moving and authentic portrayal, Christy Award-winning author Nancy Moser transports readers back to the life and times of the literary world's possibly most beloved heroines. Camy here: This was a very enjoyable novel. As an Austen fan, I was very anxious to read it, and it ...

Captain's Log, Stardate 10.30.2007 My water fountain has been sent to Goodwill because it used a stinkin’ pair of AA batteries every TWO DAYS! Now I am on the hunt for another one, about the same size but one that I can plug in. My tranquility corner was looking bare, so I arranged three things I absolutely need in order to get the creative juices flowing and write: The candle thing is for my aromatherapy. Nothing like a whiff of lavendar to signal writing mode for my right brain. The M&Ms are dark chocolate, folks. Yummy! The knitting is usually something easy—you knitters will notice it’s simple stockinette stitch—so that I can knit and allow my right brain to wander and be inspired. Something about the mindless tactile stimulation helps me write better. How about you? Want to play? Take a pic of three things you need for writing and post a link to your blog in the comments below!

Captain's Log, Stardate 10.29.2007 Today I have an interview with Rene Gutteridge about her new novel, Boo, Humbug! Readers have come to love the eccentric characters from Skary, Indiana, in Rene Gutteridge’s popular Boo! series. Now, in Boo, Humbug! they’re back – and they’re stirring up a large amount of holiday havoc. It’s Christmastime in Skary, and the town is planning an original production of A Christmas Carol with a horror spin. As showtime approaches, things go very awry for director Lois Stepaphanopolis. She panics when she discovers that her marketing director loathes Christmas and that the audience has been promised not Dickens’ A Christmas Carol , but the real Christmas story. Can the actors pull off the improv of all improvs and convince their community to embrace the true meaning of the Christmas season? Boo, Humbug! offers readers a delightful glimpse into small town, community life with heartwarming humor and winsome characters. And in the end, the true...

Captain's Log, Stardate 10.28.2007 Leave any prayer requests in the comments and I’ll be praying this week. You don’t have to be Christian to leave a prayer request. If you’d rather not advertise to everyone on the blogosphere, just leave an unspoken prayer request or e-mail me. If I forgot your prayer request, email me. Not to be mean or anything, but if you don't email me or comment to update your prayer request, I'm only going to pray ONE Sunday. I’m trying something new with my Sunday Prayer. I’m really bad about doing it on Sunday , so I’ll be updating it during the week. Dear Lord, Thank you for today. I pray for complete healing for Bruce, Doug, Malia, Helen, and Tony. Please heal Gloria completely, help her not to get sick again. Cover her and her family with your peace. I pray for justice for Case. Please give Missy a quick contract. Give her manuscript and the series proposal favor in her editor’s eyes. Continue to provide for JaneJ. Please give her better contrac...

Captain's Log, Stardate 10.27.2007 I’m blogging over at Girls, God and the Good Life today: Set apart

Captain's Log, Supplemental I suck at baking. No joke. Something always burns—either me or whatever I’m baking. My husband, however, is great at baking. Probably because he’s more careful than I am. LOL We also tend to buy too much of any ingredient we need. As a result, we bought several bags of chocolate chips when we only needed one bag because the chips were on sale. Oh, shucks. Captain Caffeine made chocolate chip cookies to help use up the many, many—MANY—bags of chocolate chips we’ve got in the pantry. For scooping out the cookie dough, Captain Caffeine uses an ice cream scoop—much thanks to Alton Brown from Good Eats on the Food Network for this tip. According to the Captain, that ice cream scoop is worth it's weight in gold. Uniform, perfectly baked cookies! Captain is quite a good baker, unlike his wife. Snickers, naturally, hoping Daddy will magically drop a cookie just for her. Never mind it's so hot it would scald her mouth. Captain Caffeine in action. There i...

Captain's Log, Supplemental I just got the link to this from my friend Ruth Logan Herne , and I have to say, it’s hilarious! All you moms (and anyone who still remembers living at home) will love this! The Mom Song (William Tell Overture) by Anita Renfroe

Captain's Log, Supplemental I’m blogging over at Faithchicks today! What’s in YOUR tranquility corner?

Captain's Log, Supplemental I've got a new article up on The High Calling: Does God Fix Copy Machines? The book of Psalms has a whole slew of references to God enabling David (or the psalmist) to accomplish marvelous things like crushing armies, scaling walls, slaying dragons . . . Okay, well, maybe not slaying dragons.

Captain's Log, Stardate 10.23.2007 I love Bear Grylls . He’s the “presenter” for the show Man vs. Wild , and I’m shamelessly hooked. He used to be in the British Special Forces, but now he gets stuck in harsh survival situations for his TV show. Since he has a film and crew with him, (although they are barred from helping him unless it’s a serious life or death situation), he’s able to take a few risks in order to show unusual survival skills, like what to do if you fall into a crevasse or into icy water. (Like it’s highly probable I’d ever need the skills to survive on an Icelandic glacier or a barren desert.) My husband and I are always impressed by some of the things he teaches. For example, last night he had to survive on a glacier, so he looked at the 50-mile-an-hour-winds and detected snow being blown off the edge of a rise. The snow falling would ensure soft enough texture for him to dig a hole, plus it’s in the lee of the wind. Then he dug a deeper basin in his shelter for ...

Captain's Log, Supplemental Despite the fact my schedule in November is a little crazy, what with a brainstorming retreat, my editor coming into town, and Thanksgiving, I’ve signed up for NaNoWriMo for this year again. If you’re doing it too, add me to your buddies—my username is camytang. Update: NaNo's Author Search function isn't showing up on the website, so here's my profile so you can add me directly: http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/user/142050 I’ll be working on a novel I’ve just proposed, which means I’ve got to get cracking on plotting the darn thing out before November 1st!

Captain's Log, Stardate 10.22.2007 Today I have an interview with my friend, Tricia Goyer about her latest non-fiction book, My Life, Unscripted ! Drawing on Biblical prinicples, My Life, Unscripted guides girls through the tumultous teen years by teaching them to have a plan of attack before temptation or hardship come. Tricia's Script: Looking back at my drama-filled teen years I now wonder ... What was I thinking? The truth? I wasn't. I lived from day to day on every wave of emotion. Some days excitement and passion partnered up, pattering wildly within my heart. Other days, depression and anxiety were my silent friends. I lived each day as it came, with no plan for my future, for my relationships, or for my heart. I lived my life completely unscripted ... and, well, it didn't go well for me. Teen pregnancy and a broken heart were only two consequences. Yet my prayer is that when teen girls are asked Who's Writing Your Life? their answer will be ME ...

Captain's Log, Stardate 10.21.2007 Leave any prayer requests in the comments and I’ll be praying this week. You don’t have to be Christian to leave a prayer request. If you’d rather not advertise to everyone on the blogosphere, just leave an unspoken prayer request or e-mail me. If I forgot your prayer request, email me. Not to be mean or anything, but if you don't email me or comment to update your prayer request, I'm only going to pray ONE Sunday. I’m trying something new with my Sunday Prayer. I’m really bad about doing it on Sunday , so I’ll be updating it during the week. Dear Lord, Thank you for this opportunity to come to you. I pray for complete healing for Bruce, Doug, Malia, Helen, and Tony. I lift up Deena to you, and pray her test results come back benign. I pray for good health for her and strong faith in you. Please help me to have the discipline to finish my plotting so I can participate in NaNoWriMo in November. Please help me finish this next novel quickly ...

Captain's Log, Stardate 10.19.2007 This is so cool! Michelle Gregory gave me this award yesterday. She’s so sweet! It is presented "to awesome BLOG owners who keep their readers excited about their posts. Their blog posts are interesting (NOT spammy) and worth reading and keep their subscribers looking forward to each and every post." Michelle said she always finds something interesting on my blog. Hey, I’m entertaining at least one other person besides myself! LOLOLOL I bestow the honor upon: Ronie Kendig because she is always so transparent on her blog posts. Robin Caroll because she can not blog for WEEKS and still get stinkin’ 200 hits a day. Cheryl Wyatt because her Blush and Cringe posts are hecka funny! Jenny Jones because I was emailing her recently and the woman has got to be one of the funniest people I know.

Captain's Log, Supplemental I finally finished it! This is the Peapod baby jacket I made for a friend, using Knitpicks ShineSport yarn in Green Apple . I am quite proud of myself! This is the first baby gift I’ve ever knitted. I just hope, uh, that it fits the baby. Newborns are small, right?

Captain's Log, Supplemental I finally got them up! I don’t have many, unfortunately. There here at my Scrapbook blog .

Captain's Log, Supplemental I got a chance to sit and chat with Dianne Burnett from Christianbook.com at the ACFW conference last month, and she put up our audio interview on the CBD website! Camy Tang Christian Fiction Author

Captain's Log, Stardate 10.16.2007 Warning: If you are squeamish in any way, shape, or form, don’t read this post. Has anyone seen the new vampire TV show Moonlight ? I’m not sure why, but I really like it. There’s this vampire, Mick St. John, who was turned into a vampire against his will by his psycho wife—now dead ex-wife—and he’s a private investigator. He lives by a stricter moral code than other vampires and he tries to use his abilities to help people. He once rescued this young girl from his psycho ex-wife, and now that girl has grown up. He’s in love with her even though it hasn’t yet been baldly stated, and she just (a couple episodes ago) discovered what he is. Now, a girl who doesn’t run screaming from a guy with creepy white eyes, fangs, and blood dripping from his mouth is okay in my book. Mick has a couple friends—a 400-year-old stinkin’ rich vampire who has a more lax moral code, and a coroner vampire who’s been pretty cool in the few short minutes he’s been on came...

Captain's Log, Supplemental Margaret Daley tagged me! I am supposed to tell where I was 10-20-30 years ago. 10—I was living with six other Christian women in a four bedroom rented house in Santa Clara, and I had just met Captain Caffeine and started playing volleyball. 20—I was starting my Sophomore year in high school. I had joined the Speech Team and was competing in Storytelling. 30—I was five years old. I don’t remember much from that time except that we moved into our new house, which is my parents’ current house, and I got to see my bedroom when it was just a chalkmark on the concrete foundation. I tag Ronie , Christina , Vader’s Mom , and the Dynamic Uno . It was started by Mary DeMuth, so blame her. :)

Captain's Log, Supplemental I had a few interviews today: I talk about my blog tour and writing at Michelle Gregory’s blog, Life in the Midst of Writing . The Writing Geek asks me about blogging.

Captain's Log, Stardate 10.14.2007 Leave any prayer requests in the comments and I’ll be praying this week. You don’t have to be Christian to leave a prayer request. If you’d rather not advertise to everyone on the blogosphere, just leave an unspoken prayer request or e-mail me. If I forgot your prayer request, email me. Not to be mean or anything, but if you don't email me or comment to update your prayer request, I'm only going to pray ONE Sunday. I’m trying something new with my Sunday Prayer. I’m really bad about doing it on Sunday , so I’ll be updating it during the week. Dear Father, Thank you for another day with you. I pray for complete healing for Bruce, Doug, Malia, and Tony. Please help Cheryl’s proposal be accepted. Guide her to the right agent at the right time. I pray for justice for Case. I lift up SMH’s family. Please give her husband wisdom and guidance as he considers another church, and help the family to support whatever he decides. I pray that his decis...

Captain's Log, Stardate 10.13.2007 My friend Myra Johnson twisted my arm—er, asked me to blog at her place about how I met my husband, Captain Caffeine .

Captain's Log, Stardate 10.12.2007 Yup, I’m already thinking about Christmas because this year, I’m making a bunch of them. Some socks for Grandma and aunties and uncles, because their feet get cold and you rarely find wool socks in Hawaii. (Plus most houses don’t have central heat in Hawaii, for obvious reasons, but it can get a bit chilly at night in the wintertime.) A cute felted purse for my cousin’s daughter, who loves purses (it must be genetic, because my mom loves purses, I love purses, and now my mom’s sister’s son’s daughter loves purses). Some scarves and lace shawls for special people in my life. And the best part—I just ordered yarn last night! My stash grows and grows. One of the reasons I start so early is because I CAN NEVER FIND ANYTHING! My parents are especially the hardest to find presents for. You know who’s the easiest? Captain Caffeine, because I tell him to just get for himself whatever he wants for Christmas. How about you? Any thoughts on Xmas presents fo...

Captain's Log, Supplemental I’m blogging over at Faithchick today on my favorite (not), exercise. Shake your booty

Captain's Log, Stardate 10.09.2007 Today I went to lunch with my friend Dineen, and afterwards, we headed into Borders just to browse. Borders has this section full of cute little notebooks. Small ones, big ones, colored paper ones, you name it. They also have pens and wallets and zippered bags and iPod cases. I must have spent at least thirty minutes just going ga-ga over the stupid little notebooks! What is it with notebooks and me? I can count the number of them that I’ve actually filled on the fingers of one hand. I have them all over the house, most with only a page or two written on, and an entire BOX of new ones in my closet. And I keep coveting more! This thing with notebooks is completely irrational. I cannot understand it, and I cannot stop it. I also cannot seem to fill them with any speed. And considering how much I like to talk, that’s pathetic. I should at least be able to spout nothings enough to fill a few. But when I open it to write inside, a part of my brain sud...

Captain's Log, Supplemental The ACFW Genesis contest for unpublished writers just finished, but I’m already preparing for next year. We got lots of feedback from entrants and judges and are planning to implement some of them. For those of you who entered and/or judged, any thoughts? Please email me privately at genesis {at} acfw {dot} com.

Captain's Log, Stardate 10.06.2007 And no, I’m not saying you have to vote for me. :) Vote for your favorite Zondervan fiction author

Captain's Log, Stardate 10.05.2007 I’ve joined Fall Into Reading 2007 hosted by Katrina at Callapidder Days. Here’s my list. It’s long, but hopefully I’ll get through some of it: Rekindled by Tamera Alexander A Proper Pursuit by Lynn Austin The Trophy Wives Club by Kristin Billerbeck Let Them Eat Cake by Sandra Byrd I Heart Bloomberg by Melody Carlson (finished October 17th) Truffles By the Sea by Julie Carobini Bayou Justice by Robin Caroll Abomination by Colleen Coble Golden Days by Mary Connealy Petticoat Ranch by Mary Connealy The Art of Standing Still by Penny Culliford A Promise to Remember by Kathryn Cushman When Dreams Come True by Margaret Daley (finished November 14th) Thr3e by Ted Dekker Warrior’s Heart by Donna Fleisher A Bride Most Begrudging by Deeanne Gist Nowhere to Hide by Debby Giusti Letter Perfect by Cathy Marie Hake Waking Lazarus by T.L. Hines Surrender Bay by Denise Hunter Demon by Tosca Lee Comes a Horseman by Robert Liparulo Miss Matc...

Captain's Log, Supplemental All I can say is, I’m in such trouble. I have discovered this bread machine recipe for cinnamon rolls . It is incredibly easy (I even substituted ¾ cup water and 2 T dry milk with ¾ cup milk instead, to make things even easier for me). It took 5 minutes to throw the ingredients in the bread machine. It took only 10 minutes to roll the dough out (it was incredibly malleable and easy to roll) and slather it with the cinnamon and sugar and butter paste. I popped those suckers out of the oven after only 20 minutes bake time and drizzled with icing made with powdered sugar, hot water from my electric hot pot, and butter melted in the microwave. They were SO GOOD. Notice the past tense. Yup, there is only one roll left, and that’s for Captain Caffeine’s breakfast. I made these on Tuesday and today’s … Thursday? We’re completely addicted. I don’t even want to think about the number of calories in each one. I’m making some tonight for writer’s group meeting! ...

Captain's Log, Supplemental My good friend Ruth just posted her review at TheBridgeLive.net, a fabulous website that covers pop culture, Christian music, and books. Review of Sushi for One at The Bridge

Captain's Log, Supplemental Today I have a guest blog by my good friend and awesome romantic suspense author, Robin Caroll ! Robin’s debut novel, Bayou Justice , releases this month from Steeple Hill. I’ll be giving away several copies of it later (when they arrive at my doorstep), but for now, here’s the blurb: Alligator conservationist Coco LeBlanc knew real fear when she found a body in the clutches of her beloved beasts. Fear turned to horror when she saw that it was one of the Trahan clan—and he'd been shot in the back. Her ex-boyfriend, Luc Trahan, had dumped Coco two years ago when she refused to give up her family's centuries-old voodoo traditions, and he didn't know about her newfound faith. Now, as they and their families become prime suspects in the grisly crime, they'll have to work together to clear their names before the Cajun killer strikes again. And now, here’s Robin! It’s all about the food! My friends will attest this is one of my personal mantra...

Captain's Log, Supplemental You voracious readers know what I’m talking about. You decide to randomly browse through your To-Be-Read pile (or in my case, my To-Be-Read bookshelves (as in plural, folks)) and you’re shocked by what you find. “I didn’t know I had that book ... I didn’t know I had that book ... or that book ...” “I have five copies of this one title.” “I’ve been wanting to read that for so long, I should just take that out and read it next ... or maybe that one, that looks so interesting ... Oh, I’ve been wanting to read that one forever! Yes, I’ll read that next ... Or what about this one ...” Pathetic, yes. That’s me. Okay, now I’m completely motivated to get back into that speed reading book I bought and learn how to speed read.

Captain's Log, Stardate 10.02.2007 My friend the ChristianFictionQueen reviews my book! You can view the full blog tour schedule here .

Captain's Log, Supplemental I finished my first toe sock! Yes, it’s missing its other half. I'll finish it later. I used Knitpicks.com’s Memories in Hawaii colorway, and I modified the toe part of Michelle Cho’s toe-sock pattern for my top-down sock in plain stockinette stitch. The toes aren’t quite right—I made the foot too long before starting on the toes. The toes are also a bit snug, but I figure it’s better to have a snug sock rather than a loose one. My socks have loosened a little after a few washes. This wasn’t just for me, it was also for practice. One of my high school youth group girls just graduated and is now in college, so I promised her I’d knit her toe socks as a graduation/goodbye present. I hope those turn out better!