Guest Post ~ Teresa Tysinger, multi-published author + Bookmark Giveaway

Behind-The-Scenes of Collection Writing

By Teresa Tysinger

I often hear from readers that they most enjoy hearing about the behind-the-scenes life of authors. What goes into creating the stories printed on pages (or screens for you eBook readers), methods of researching, what gets left on the cutting room floor, or even what snacks a writer keeps on hand while drafting.

Today, I thought I’d share some behind-the-scenes stuff of collection writing. It’s particularly fitting since today I’m celebrating the release of Something Borrowed: Christmas Weddings Collection along with authors Jaycee Weaver, Toni Shiloh, Mikal Dawn, and Andrea Boyd! More on this sweet collection later on.

Collections are quite popular these days. Usually consisting of between three and six novellas, these sets give authors the opportunity to write stories connected by one location, theme, or holiday. The novellas in the Something Borrowed collection are connected by five friends who pass along a special “something borrowed” over the course of a few years as they each plan their Christmas weddings.

But how do these collections come to be? What are the challenges? And will I ever do one again? Maybe you’ll be surprised by the answers…

The Birth of a Collection

For us, the idea for the collection came about much like our individual books. We brainstormed ideas that interested us—themes and topics we personally enjoy in life and while reading. So, we landed on Christmas and weddings! After settling on the main theme, we brainstormed in our Facebook group how the stories might further be connected. After throwing around a lot of ideas, someone suggested that sharing a “something borrowed” could easily connect friends who lived in different states and were getting married in different years. It allowed us to keep our own preferred settings, which was nice! We then submitted a synopsis for each of our stories before beginning to write.

From there, we write our stories and go through our individual editing processes. As indie authors, we also worked together on deciding on the cover design (which I was excited to get to execute), schedule of pre-orders and release, marketing (Toni has done a lot of the organizing for this area!), and final push to promote to our communities of readers. It’s a big job made easier with a team!

Ups and Downs of Collection Writing

I think it’s safe to speak for my team of writers when I say that the challenges for us were very minimal. Jaycee, Toni, Mikal, and Andrea really have become dear friends. Thankfully, after countless conversations, back-and-forth text messages, lots of (constructive) critiquing of one another’s stories, and keeping up with lots of little deadlines, we’ve come out of it better friends than when we started. I think it’s also safe to say, however, that the biggest challenge we ran into had to do with little details. Deciding to connect our stories with even a loose tie of the “something borrowed,” made it difficult to keep our timelines straight and make sure references to each other’s characters was accurate. Thank goodness for the editing process!

Recently, a reader asked me if collection writing falls into the category of “too many cooks in the kitchen.” Without a doubt, it can be more challenging to settle on even little details when there are five opinions to consider. The five of us had to come to a consensus on things like fonts for the cover design, how to format chapter headings, and even the name of the bridal shop the friends visit in the opening of the collection. Thankfully, for us, there wasn’t anything we wholeheartedly disagreed on.

Will I Ever Write in a Collection Again?

I mentioned in an interview recently that I am naturally not a team player. I was one of those kids in school who hated group projects. I still am most comfortable working alone. But—and this is a big but—I cannot tell you how much this process has blessed me.

Thanks to this particular group of authors, I now have true friends who I cherish more for their hearts than for their professional connections. God willing, I don’t think this will be the last time I write with these brilliant, funny, kind women. The experience has been so positive that I look forward to possible opportunities to write within other collection groups, too. For this, I am most grateful to Jaycee, Toni, Mikal, and Andrea for creating such a positive experience.

It’s been a joy to chat with you! I hope this gives you a little insight into how a collection comes together. Do you have other questions about the process? Post a comment and I’d be happy to answer the best I can!

About Something Borrowed: Christmas Weddings Collection 

AVAILABLE NOW in Paperback and eBook [buy link: https://amzn.to/3dDQBK7]

Old friends, new loves, and a borrowed tiara.

Always Been Yours by Jaycee Weaver — Hanady’s planning her dream wedding, but her injured best friend Keenan isn’t the groom. If she can’t see she’s marrying the wrong guy soon, his leg won’t be the only thing broken.

All the Moore by Toni Shiloh — Leilah Anderson has been living behind the screen to hide her disability, then she meets Reggie Moore face-to-face. Can their relationship survive the truth and distance between them?

A Holly, Bolly Christmas by Mikal Dawn — A dream wedding venue at Christmas? Sign Chahna Kapoor up. Even if her fiancé doesn’t know it…

Somehow, This Christmas by Teresa Tysinger — When not-so-merry mishaps threaten wedding planner Cate Forsyth’s holiday wedding and reputation, will her own happily ever after with sweetheart Noah Bennett melt away?

A Promise So Sweet by Andrea Boyd — Lydia Osborn hasn’t heard from her ex in ten years, so imagine her surprise when he shows up proposing marriage. Tis the season for love?

Follow the Authors:

Jaycee Weaver: Website  Facebook  Twitter  Goodreads  Instagram  Bookbub

Toni Shiloh: Website  Facebook  Twitter  Instagram  Goodreads  Bookbub

Mikal Dawn: Website  Facebook  Twitter  Instagram  Goodreads  Bookbub

Teresa Tysinger: Website  Facebook  Twitter  Instagram  Goodreads  Bookbub

Andrea Boyd: Website  Facebook  Twitter  Instagram  Goodreads  Bookbub

GIVEAWAY

Leave a comment for Teresa and the other authors in this collection! Also, leave your email in a non-spammy format (jane at doe dot com), and I will send ONE handmade bookmark to a winner next week.  US ONLY (lower 48) Giveaway ends 10/24/20

***Bookmark may be different in style/color than the one pictured.***

Blog Hop & Guest Post from Carrie Fancett Pagels, author of Lilacs for Juliana + GIVEAWAY!!! Open Internationally for an eBook

~UPDATE: GIVEAWAY FOR THE PAPERBACK OR EBOOK COPY HERE ON STUFF & NONSENSE HAS ENDED~

Secondary Characters – Rheumatoid Arthritis

When I recently wrote the third book in The Christy Lumber Camp Series, Lilacs for Juliana, I knew I wanted the heroine’s mother to suffer from a chronic illness. Mrs. Nora Beauchamps had her last child in her forties, like me, and I decided to “give” her Rheumatoid Arthritis, like I have. 

Portraying Mrs. Beauchamps was a little tricky. She was almost 70, an age I haven’t yet approached. But I tried to imagine how her condition may have progressed to the point that she wasn’t active during the time my heroine, her daughter Juliana, was home. So I had Mrs. Beauchamps sleeping in during the morning and I had her fairly stiff at night and usually unable to cook. But—there is great variability on any given day for most people with an autoimmune disorder.  So I have Nora enter a time when her symptoms improve.  Early on  in the book, I imply that Juliana may not understand just what all her mother still is able to do. In Juliana’s mind, her mother is a complete invalid—but she is not. Both Mrs. Beauchamps and Juliana’s sister, Claudette, who suffers from Lupus, regularly harvest fruit and make jams and jellies that sell well at the mercantile in town. One reason I wanted to show my twenty-something year old Juliana as not understanding her mother’s capabilities is because this often happens in families.

Although Rheumatoid Arthritis is quite different from Osteoarthritis, I chose to show Mrs. Beauchamps as having a mild to moderate form of the illness that has not affected her organs. The disease can be life threatening if it attacks organs such as the heart. However, I chose not to complicate the plot of the book by showing anything other than that which would move the plot forward for my hero and heroine.

By the way—my heroine’s mother LOVES my hero, Richard Christy—and I hope you will, too! 

Carrie is offering ONE copy of a paperback or eBook to a USA winner, or an eBook to an INTERNATIONAL winner!!!

To be entered, leave a comment below answering Carrie's question: 

Do you have a family member with arthritis? Have you read any books where you felt this disorder was particularly well shown in the novel? 

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Bio: Former “Yooper” Carrie Fancett Pagels writes Christian historical romances about overcoming. She grew up in Upper Peninsula of Michigan, where many of her stories are set. Possessed with an overactive imagination, that wasn't "cured" by twenty-five years as a psychologist, she loves bringing characters to life. Carrie and her family reside in Virginia’s Historic Triangle, which is perfect for her fascination with history. Carrie enjoys reading, traveling, baking, and beading—but not all at the same time!  

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Links to the other blogs in the blog hop are below!  Be in to win!!! Stop by each link (at least 7 of them to qualify for the GRAND PRIZE!!!) and leave a comment and your email address in a safe format!  You might be the winner of a KINDLE! And a paperback copy will be given to a winner at each blog stop!

September 7^th    Heroes,Heroines and History
September 12^th  Overcomingwith God 
September 14^{th   BookBabble}
September 16^{th   Cheryl B Book Blog}
September 18^th   D’sQuilts & Books
September 23^rd  SunnieReviews
September 24^th  BuzzingAbout Books
September 30^th  Captive Dreams Windows
October 1^st            Singing Librarian Books
October 5^th           Perspectives by Nancee  
October 7^th           Stuff and Nonsense
October 14^th         Debbie’sDusty Deliberations
October 21st        Lane Hill House

 ~Happy Blog Hopping~

                                                       

 

Michelle Cox shares about Just 18 Summers + Giveaway

It’s a joy for me to be here with all of you today and especially with my dear friend, Anne Payne. Our friendship goes back many years, to those times when we were newly married and then when both of us had the joy of welcoming a baby into our homes. Now gray hairs and wrinkles (let’s call them character lines) have shown up and my three sons are grown—and had the nerve to get married and leave home!

Wow, the time zoomed by. And that brings me to what I want to talk about with you today. When my oldest son was a baby, an elderly couple stopped me at the mall and said, “Honey, enjoy that little one. They grow up so fast.” Turns out she was right—and now I’m that (ahem) old lady saying that to moms and dads.

That message really hit home one Sunday morning when my pastor dedicated a baby at church. As the parents turned to leave the platform, Rev. Sexton said, “Don’t forget—you have just 18 summers. Take time to make some memories!” Whew, those words slammed into me, particularly since my youngest son was getting married.

Eighteen years sounds like a long time, but we really have just 18 summers before our children leave home. Eighteen short summers to instill character and values, to make memories, to savor the sweetness of the moments.

So you’ll understand why I’m excited to tell you about the Just 18 Summers® brand of products and resources that I’m developing for parents. My Just 18 Summers novel (co-authored with Rene Gutteridge) has just released from Tyndale. It features the stories of four families at different stages of parenting. (More info is available on our website.) The book has the poignancy you’d expect but we’re hearing from our readers that they also love the unexpected discovery that it’s really funny. Just 18 Summers would make a great Mother’s Day gift!

I hope you’ll also check out our parenting blog at www.just18summers.com. We have a new post each Monday-Friday and our staff of 18 writers brings a wealth of great content ranging from home décor to recipes, craft projects to organizational tips, devotionals, object lessons, practical advice, and so much more.

The screenplay is written and we are working to raise the funding for a film. Other plans include music, a complete line of books, and other products.  

Just 18 Summers® isn't a guilt-trip. It's a gentle reminder to slow down and savor the moments, to make some memories together, and to instill character and other important traits in our children. It’s a wake-up call that our children won’t always be there, to enjoy each precious season with them—because we can't go back and rewind yesterday, no matter how much we'd like to do that.

In the words of that elderly couple from so long ago, “Enjoy that little one. They grow up so fast.” How many summers do YOU have left, and what are you going to do with them?

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Thanks, Michelle, for sharing about this fabulous project you've been working on. I've been to the website and oh my, it is fabulous! I hope y'all will visit soon. Be sure and have a large cup of your favorite beverage on hand because there's lots to discover, both for parents AND grandparents.

: : :

Tyndale House Publishers is offering a print copy of Just 18 Summers to one of my blog readers. You must leave a comment for Michelle below. "Please enter me" won't get you entered. US ONLY!!! Ends April 11.

Sharing with

Guest Post by Amanda Flower + Giveaway

What’s in a Pen Name?

By Amanda Flower/Isabella Alan

Authors choose pen names for many reasons to hide their true identities (like JK Rowling writing as Robert Galbraith), to distinguish their writing styles among multiple genres, and to fulfill contractual obligations.

In my case, I write under the pen name because my publisher for the Amish Quilt Shop Mysteries, Penguin, asked me to. A pen name was one of the conditions the house set in order for me to write the series. At first, I was daunted by the request. I like my real name. I always thought “Amanda Flower” has a nice authory sound to it, but I really wanted to write the Amish Quilt Shop Mysteries. I had to decide if having a pen name was enough reason to pass up this great story and opportunity. It wasn’t, and so I agreed.

I thought long and hard about what I wanted this new pen name to be. I had three criteria: it had to sound good when spoken aloud, look good in print, and have some significance to me.

I created an entire list of names and sent five to my publisher. Isabella Alan was number one for me from the start, and I told my editor that several times. None of the other names measured up. I liked how the name sounded when spoken, thought it looked nice in print, and of all the names I came up with, it had the most significance.

Isabella Alan is a name that honors two people I love dearly, one here on earth and one in heaven. Isabella is my niece’s first name, and Alan is my father’s middle name. In 2009, my niece was born, and my father passed away. The events happened within weeks of each other. By the time Isabella was born, we already knew my father was dying of cancer and he didn’t have much time left. I will always be grateful Isabella arrived before my father left this earth. It gave him an opportunity to say hello and good-bye to his first grandchild and promise her he’d wait for her in heaven.

They weren’t together long, but Isabella and my dad had a special bond, and I thought it was only fitting to pick a pen name that would honor the legacy and the future of the Flower name even if the name Flower is not on the cover of the book.

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It’s SUPER SEPTEMBER! Amanda Flower (also writing as Isabella Alan) has three novels releasing in September 2013. To celebrate, she is giving away an authentic Amish Quilt hand-stitched by Amish in Holmes County, Ohio.

Enter to Win an Authentic Amish Quilt from author Amanda Flower! Click here to Enter!

Follow Amanda on Social Media at: Facebook Twitter Goodreads Pinterest

Follow Amanda’s alter ego Isabella on Facebook

*You cannot enter the giveaway on this post. You MUST follow the links above!

You can read my review of 

A Plain Disappearance here

&

Murder, Plain and Simple here

National Arthritis Month ~ Guest Post ~ Carrie Fancett Pagels & Giveaway!

*Microsoft Images (I added the frame)

May is National Arthritis Month

By Carrie Fancett Pagels

Last month when my debut novella “Return to Shirley Plantation: A Civil War Romance” released, was national Autism awareness month.  Having a son who started out fine, moved onto the spectrum, and is making his way off it (praise God!), I did a couple of posts about disorder.  This month I want to thank you, Anne, for giving me a chance to post about arthritis.

Arthritis is one of those tricky things that in many cases develops slowly, insidiously so that the person doubts that it really is there—until it begins to linger and make more frequent visits.  Because at first that is what it seems like—an unwelcome guest.  As a child I oftentimes had backaches doing some common family activities—such as working in our large garden located behind my great-grandparents farm (same place my upcoming Snowed In: A Northwoods Christmas story for Guideposts Books is set.) Of course my siblings thought I was just whining and was fine.  Same thing when we did blueberry picking in the summer. Any activity where I had to bend very much.  However, I was a very physically active child and teen and I think that all benefited me.

When I was sixteen I began having ongoing issues with fatigue and a general feeling of being unwell.  The episodes came and went but were worse under stress—as though I had the flu or some infection yet didn’t have one.  At nineteen, my back went completely out after lifting boxes full of the college magazines that I was the keyliner for (back in the day we had to print out copy, cut it, wax it, and set it up on the galley and that was my job.)  I found out then that I had scoliosis and a shorter leg. So we addressed that. A few years later, in graduate school, I developed bone spurs in my feet and for someone slim and a runner my doctor seemed somewhat concerned because they seemed more like that associated with arthritis. 

Unfortunately, I could go on and on as to how my disease progressed.  Rheumatoid arthritis is different from osteoarthritis.  It can attack many parts of the body including the heart.  People suffering from RA can have episodes of fatigue that do feel much like having an episode of the flu.  Can you imagine having to take care of your children, your home, etc., while having a case of flu that normally would put you in bed?  And having these reoccur on a regular basis?  People with RA can range from being in remission and having few if any symptoms to being so incapacitated that they are in bed most of the time.  Three years ago I found myself in the latter case although some of my problems were from side effects of the biologic I was on that suppressed my immune system. Praise God, I am doing much better now even though I’ve had trouble walking for the past two years—I’m still much more functional than then.

Do you have a loved one with arthritis or do you have this diagnosis?  Does reading or writing help you cope with your disease and if so, how?

Abducted against his will, Matthew Scott is conscripted into the Confederate army because of his Copperhead father's political leanings. Injured at Malvern Hill, Matthew is taken by the Union army to Shirley Plantation in Virginia where he is tended by seamstress Angelina Rose, a freed slave. Given an opportunity to leave the South and start a new life for herself, Angelina remained for the sake of her sister's orphaned twins who are still enslaved. Will Matthew's return to Shirley Plantation settle a mystery concerning his father's past? And help Matthew find the family he longs for.

Thanks Carrie, for visiting with us and focusing our attention on National Arthritis Month. Readers, Carrie is offering a Kindle copy of her novella Return to Shirley Plantation: A Civil War Romance, and a dozen beautiful note cardsfrom Shirley Plantation. 

Answer Carrie's question above to be entered to win. Include your email address formatted something like this,  jo[at]place[dot]com. A winner will be drawn on May 15th.

Be sure and check back in during the week. Carrie loves connecting with readers!

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Carrie Fancett Pagels, is Owner/Administrator of Overcoming Through Time - With God's Help. Carrie writes "romantic" historical fiction, often with colonial and frontier Americans overcoming their limitations, with God's help.  She is represented by Joyce Hart, CEO of Hartline Literary Agency. 

Carrie is the Zone Director for the MidAtlantic Region of American Christian Fiction Writers. She is the founder of the Colonial American Fiction Writers Yahoo Group and owner and administrator of the Colonial Quills group blog. Carrie is a columnist for the My book Therapy E-zine.

Holding a Ph.D. in School Psychology, Carrie has over twenty-five years’ experience as a licensed psychologist. She focuses now on her writing.  On occasion she will put her "Psychologist's hat" back on for a commentary but no longer works as a psychologist. 

Carrie lives in the historical triangle of Virginia with her wonderful husband and sweet little boy. She and her husband also have an adult daughter who is an engineer like her father!

Prayer warrior is a valued title and a compliment and Carrie covets your prayers as well. 

You can connect with Carrie on the internet at:

Facebook
Twitter
Google+
linkedIn
Pinterest
Website

Guest Post ~ Susan Ernst, Journal Keeping and Blogging

I'm so delighted to introduce artist Susan Ernst. I met Susan through a Gratitude journal challenge last year during the month of November and I was so impressed with her artistic gifts (she makes her own paper for one thing) that I wanted to spotlight her on my blog. Be sure and visit her blogs for inspiration in multiple areas and leave her some comment love :)

Journal Keeping and Blogging

Since my early school days I have been enamored with notebooks, pens and pencils. Opening the stiff binding, touching the smooth lined pages, making notes with my best handwriting in bright blue ink or with the sharp point of a pencil has always been a thrill. Even today, blank journals with beautiful covers allure me. I keep a journal for almost every aspect of my life: gardening, travels, day to day events, prayer, bible study, general research on various topics. All of these are on-going.

Then there are visual journals. About a decade ago, I took a visual journal workshop at the BrookfieldCraft Center, taught by CharlotteHedlund. It was so much fun, thought expanding and creative, I have been making and working in visual journals, altered and handmade books ever since. Not to say that I have amassed a huge collection. Most are still works-in-progress. When time allows I return to them. Each time I thoroughly enjoy the experience and tell myself I need to come back to it again soon. But then something always seems to pull me in another direction…

Blogging is an extension of physical journal writing with the creativity of a visual journal, but is even more dynamic. Photos can easily be inserted and written about. Much faster than putting together a physical photo album. Hyperlinks can be embedded into the blog post keeping information easily accessible. No photocopies or notes need to be written to summarize articles read elsewhere, places or events visited, movies or videos seen. The internet has information on all these topics and a click on a link takes you there, providing a more complete experience.

And the fact that someone may actually be reading what it is I am writing adds another dimension. No longer am I writing for myself, but also for a potential reader. I believe this helps me write more completely, wanting the reader to understand what it is I am trying to say. In personal journal writing, a type of shorthand can be used since I know what it is I am thinking. Whatever words are put onto the paper will be reminders of the thoughts, feelings or questions I had at the time I wrote them. Specifics aren’t always necessary.

Just as I keep separate journals for separate topics, I have four blogs for different interests. The decision to create separate blogs was made with readers in mind. If this was to be a private blog, chronicling the adventures of my life, I believe I would have created only one. As I read the blogs of others, I do appreciate the authors who stay on topic. For instance, if I am following an artist who writes about her work, adding recipes for chicken soup is a little distracting. Likewise, if a follower is reading my art blog for information on papermaking or printmaking, he may not want to read about caterpillars on fennel plants or childhood memories.

My blogs are:

HoneysuckleCottage and Wisteria Studio - my first blog, this is where I post most often. I discuss the art I create - the process and the inspiration behind it.

My Big Backyard: The Diary of An Amateur Naturalist - here I post photographs and write about birds, small animals, butterflies, dragonflies, bees and other insects and natural phenomena occurring in my little world.

HortusConclusus – Literal as well as figurative, this blog explores the physical gardens which I cultivate, the spiritual garden within, and the intellectual garden of horticultural knowledge gathered through decades of study, observation and practice.

StoriesMatter - a blog about the family stories I heard growing up and stories about my own life. This blog is new and does not contain much at the moment, but I have great aspirations for it!

The difficulty for me comes when my interests overlap. My horticultural experiences often inspire my art. Planting flowers that produce seeds attractive to goldfinches is a post fitting for both my nature and gardening blogs. I suppose the important thing isn’t so much how to organize experiences, but to enjoy them and to share them with others.

I thank you for taking the time to read my guest post and I thank Anne for giving me the opportunity to write to you. I hope that you want to read more on one or all of my blogs.  

Guest Post ~ Writer Carrie Fancett Pagels ~ Why do a serial?

Why would authors write an anthology together?

1. Fellowship in writing. It can be a great process to share ideas, brainstorm, and discuss possibilities--because typically most writers are working solo.
   
   
2. Practice. Some serials are like a writing challenge almost. There is a serial I was involved with two years ago, that will just be coming out in a blog hop in 2013, in which you had to write the next section to CONTINUE the story. Now this is a stretch, let me tell you. Because if the previous writer left you with a conundrum you had to solve that, plus you had to go over all the earlier information with a fine-tooth comb to be sure that your section was CONSISTENT with the characterization and storyline. Honestly, part of the fun, though is that VOICE will be different for each author and so such a project does showcase each author’s voice.
   
   
3. A gift to readers. The reason I asked the Colonial Quills authors if there were some willing to do a Forted Frontier Christmas anthology with me was because I wanted to have something as a present for our faithful readers. So each week from November through mid-January, we have short sections of a story. This type of format is very different from the other serial I referenced, and is easier in many respects because each author could add characters and storylines to the serial because this was not a writing challenge nor a single story per se—rather all of these characters by all of these authors were enroute to a destination near where our original characters were forted.
   
   
4. A chance for unpublished authors to demonstrate a sample of their writing skills in fiction. Within our group there are a number of us who are not yet published in fiction, including myself. Within our anthology, even other members got their first chance to read some of their colleague’s writing! And hopefully readers will discover some writers whose books they have not yet read but whose sample, in the anthology, intrigued them.
   
   
5. Practice in writing shorts. Doing a complete clean section takes focus, especially if you are mindful of what came before and what is coming after your section.

Come on by and visit us at Colonial Quills to read our serial anthology and see how this all works. http://colonialquills.blogspot.com/p/blog-page_4.html

Thanks for having me Anne!

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Bio – Carrie Fancett Pagels, Ph.D

Facebook Author Page http://www.facebook.com/pages/Carrie-Fancett-Pagels/317053071710640?fref=ts

Facebook Personal Pagehttp://www.facebook.com/carriefancettpagels

Twitter https://twitter.com/cfpagels

Pinterest http://pinterest.com/carriefpagels/

GoodReads http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/5548131-carrie-pagels

LinkedIn http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=131454255&trk=tab_pro

Carrie Fancett Pagels (www.carriefancettpagels.com) writes “romantic” historical fiction. She is represented by Joyce Hart. ACFW MidAtlantic Zone Director. Blogs at “Colonial Quills” (http://colonialquills.blogspot.com) and “Overcoming With God.”