Blog Entries for: February, 2009

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Interview and Book Give Away with Author and Speaker Dianne Neal Matthews

What a joy to introduce my friend, Dianne Neal Matthews! Dianne has written numerous devotionals, magazine articles, and newspaper features and her work has appeared in Focus on the Family, The Quiet Hour, LIVE, The Christian Communicator, and websites, including CBN.com. She is the author of The One Year On This Day (which won her the 2006 Writer of the Year Award at the Write-to-Publish Conference--Way to go, Dianne!), and The One Year Women of the Bible, both published by Tyndale House. Dianne is a 2006 CLASS graduate and a member of Advanced Writers & Speakers, Christian Authors Network, and Toastmasters. She and her husband, Richard, have three grown children, a son-in-law currently serving in Afghanistan, and a gorgeous granddaughter. For more information, you can reach Dianne at her website.

Now listen, you don't want to miss an opportunity to win Dianne's book, The One Year Women of the Bible--and it's easy! Simply leave a comment for Dianne or me and you'll automatically be in the drawing for your own personalized copy!

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February 23, 2009 | 16 Comments | View or add comments

Compilations--A Viable Path on the Road to Publication

Not long after my first children's book (Bitsy and the Mystery at Tybee Island ) came out, I had the opportunity to submit to a compilation, Mystery Readers Journal: Religious Mysteries. (And just so you know, the words "Religious" and "Christian" are not synonymous!)

I had no idea what I was doing. All I knew was they were looking for writers of "religious" mysteries to share something of interest with mystery readers. Surely I had something of interest to say! So I wrote a piece, "Teaching Truth through Fiction," and talked about the fact that we can teach Biblical and moral truth without preaching. I was thrilled when they accepted my article. And even though I didn't get paid for it, it was still a good investment. Not only was it an opportunity to introduce mystery readers to my book, but the publication also gave me another writing credit. On top of that, "Teaching Biblical Truth through Secular Fiction" is now one of my most popular classes at writer's conferences. 

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February 16, 2009 | 4 Comments | View or add comments

Is Your Writing Flat as a Pancake?

Do you feel like you're caught between a rock and a hard place when it comes to your writing? Are you looking for a way to write outside the box? Are the editors as mean as snakes when it comes to their rejections? Learn to recognize overworked cliches...and soon you'll be whistling a new tune!

So what qualifies as a cliché? Dictionary.com says a cliche is:

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February 9, 2009 | 8 Comments | View or add comments

Encouraging Words

I love to sing. I admit, I'm not all that good at it-certainly not recording artist material-but I love it. You should hear me in the car when I'm all alone and the music is turned up loud. I sing with abandon, and praise God with my whole heart. I know He thinks my voice is beautiful!

But it's a different story when I'm in front of the church. I want to sing with abandon, I want to praise God with my whole heart. But instead, my throat tightens, my voice trembles. And even though I know I shouldn't, I remember the day they laughed.

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February 3, 2009 | 1 Comment | View or add comments

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