I'm pleased to announce that Julie Lessman is the winner of Deb Raney's book, Leaving November. As soon as she provides me with mailing instructions I'll get the book off to her.
Congrats, Julie!
Watch this site for another giveaway in a couple weeks when I host Cara Putman's blog tour for her new release "Deadly Exposure."
Hey, we're having a bit of deja vu here at Writer's Journey, but in a good way. The other day I received a copy of Leaving November in the mail as an endorser copy. A while back I featured Deb's fabulous novel with a drawing for an autographed copy of the book.
I absolutely loved the book and I'm thrilled to promote it here again with another drawing. So if you left your name the first time and didn't win or missed the drawing altogether, leave your comment here now along with contact information. If you don't leave the information, I can't include you in the drawing.
Below is the interview I did with Deb back when I had the first drawing. Enjoy and don't forget to leave a comment and contact info so that your name can be thrown in the hat! Last day for leaving your name is Friday, May 16th. Drawing will take place on the 17th.About Leaving November 
Daughter of the town drunk, Vienne Kenney has escaped Clayburn for law school in California. But after failing the bar exam—twice—she’s back home with her tail between her legs, managing Latte-dah, the Clayburn café turned upscale coffee shop. Jackson Linder runs the art gallery across the street and Vienne has had her eye on him since she was a skinny seventh grader and he was the hunky high school lifeguard who didn’t know she existed.
Now it's his turn to fall for her and suddenly Clayburn seems like a pretty nice place to be . . .until Vienne discovers that Jack is fresh out of rehab and still struggling with the same addiction that ultimately killed her father.
DEBORAH RANEY is at work on her seventeenth novel. Her books have won the RITA Award, the HOLT Medallion, National Reader's Choice Award and Silver Angel from Excellence in Media.Deborah's first novel, A Vow to Cherish, inspired the World Wide Pictures film of the same title. Deb serves on the advisory board of American Christian Fiction Writers. She and her husband, Ken Raney, have four children and enjoy small-town life in Kansas. Visit Deb on the web athttp://www.deborahraney.com/.
I figured y'all might enjoy a few questions and answers with Deb regarding this book, so here ya go. And when you are done keep reading to learn how you can win a signed copy of Leaving November for yourself!Q&A with Deb:
Q. What was your inspiration for Leaving November?
A. When I was writing the first book in the series, Remember to Forget, Jackson Linder, a secondary character in the book, really intrigued me. Jack has struggled with something that is my greatest fear: being responsible for the death of another person. I wanted to explore how someone in his shoes could find forgiveness, redemption, and even happiness.
Q. What are you working on now?
A. I've just finished the first draft for the third book in the Clayburn series, Yesterday’s Embers. I have a new contract for another three-book series, and a couple of stand-alone novels to write, but there are other characters from the Clayburn novels begging to have their stories told! I don’t know if I’ll get to write any more Clayburn books, but I’ve loved my time in this little fictional Kansas town!
Q. What do you enjoy most about writing? Least?
A. Most: Having written! Because that means I’m getting reader feedback on my novel—the reward for all the hours of solitude! I also love that I get to be at home and make my own hours.
Least: First-drafting! I love rewriting—taking my editors’ comments and applying them to make my book the best it can be. But the blank page terrifies me! For me, it’s far easier to fix a horrible manuscript than to try to come up with something out of thin air.
Q. What do you do when you're not reading or writing?
A. I love working in the beautiful garden my husband, Ken, designed in our back yard (for a peek, go to our website about it!) and I love decorating our home. It’s such fun to comb antique shops and flea markets for a great object from the past that I can use on my desk or in my kitchen, or a great piece of furniture to paint or refinish. I’m not much for pretty stuff just for the sake of having it on display, but I love “repurposing” antiques—like the old chamber pot I use for deadheading in the garden, or the antique bank mail sorter that serves as my filing “cabinet.”
As much as I enjoy my career, I’ve always believed that my most precious calling is wife to Ken, my husband of 33 years; mom to four great kids; and now mom-in-law, and “Mimi” to two darling little grandsons. In addition, I have some of the most amazing friends in the world, including a group of women who share my name. We affectionately call ourselves Club Deb. I think being in the solitary profession of writing helps you really appreciate the people you have eye-to-eye contact with!
I can't wait to see who wins this time. This is fun!
A number of months ago I posted about a writer friend, Kristy Dykes, who has terminal brain cancer. When she was diagnosed in November the doctors gave her about three to six months to live with their estimate closer to three months.
Her church family, many in ACFW, and her immediate and extended family rallied around her, praying in earnest. Although God so far has not chosen to heal her, He has answered prayer in so many ways. Ever since November Kristy and her husband, Milton, have maintained a blog that records Kristy's journey on an almost daily basis. You can read their amazing words for yourself by clicking here.
She prayed for God to extend her life and He has. Maybe not in years, but certainly in months. And not only has He provided additional months of living for her, He's provided quality of life. She's been able to attend church a number of times, go out to restaurants with friends, and just a couple weeks ago, she and her husband had a weekend getaway at Amelia Island where they live in Florida! Every time they've posted a photo of her, people marvel at how healthy she appears. She's never waivered in her faith in God, nor stopped praising Him in spite of her suffering.
I have been so touched by the transparency this couple has shown in expressing their feelings, their love, and their faith.
This past week Kristy weakened and had to be taken to a hospice center for a few daysto get stabilized. She's now returned home, and unless the Lord intervenes and heals her, it would appear that she will soon be ushered into heaven where she will be with Jesus. Even now she carries a gorgeous smile on her face in spite of sadness to leave her husband, daughters and grandkids. She knows that this life is ever so temporary, and she will live for eternity with the Lord.
Kristy touched many lives with her books, but in the past six months she has touched lives way beyond people who enjoy reading sweet romances. She's touched the world, and God has been honored and glorified every minute. I urge you to go to her blog and read this amazing woman's story. If I can be used by God even half as much as He has used Kristy, I would be satisfied.
God bless you, Kristy, as you continue your journey into eternity.
Have you ever had one of those weeks where for every step forward you take two steps back? That describes my week very nicely thank you!
It began with having to deal with something I've been struggling with for a long while--controlling the tongue. Someone pointed out to me that I'd said something to them that cut deep and hurt much. The comment was said in jest, but wasn't taken that way at all. I felt horrible for hurting my friend and apologized. All is well between us, praise God, but that still leaves me with a tongue that doesn't seem to know when to be quiet. A few weeks ago a similar incident happened when I rambled on about something without taking into account I didn't know my listeners all that well and what I was saying could possibly be hurtful. Turned out that what I was talking about did have a personal connection to one person. She seemed okay and understood where I was coming from, but that didn't take away from the fact that I need to keep my mouth shut. I needed to take extended time to pray about it and work through the pain. In spite of the value of learning this lesson, it took me away from my "game plan," and I didn't get to my story until late in day on Monday. Even so, I did manage to get in about three hours of work.
Tuesday nothing got done. I had my ESL tutoring in the morning, an appointment with one of the pastors at my church to discuss the small group that I lead, and Bible study that evening. In the afternoon one of the women in my Bible study had to suddenly admit her mom to the hospital. Since the study was to be at her house, I had to get a hold of everyone and have them come to my place.
Wednesday I sat down to finally work on the WIP and realized that everything I had done on Monday somehow had never been saved to my hard drive! I spent the better part of the day redoing everything I had done on Monday.
Yesterday I finally made a small step forward, but had to stop for other things, including visiting my friend's mom in the hospital. I've been spending most of my morning quiet times in James, and God is showing me that I need to put the needs of others ahead of my own way more than I do. Faith without works is dead faith.
This story will be completed in God's time. What's more important is what God is teaching me about who I am. A woman who needs to ask God each day to put a guard on my mouth as is stated in Psalm 141. A woman who looks to the interests of others above her own (Phillipians 2:4) and a woman whose heart fully belongs to God.
Priorities have needed to be reordered and that is what I am doing!
Where have I been these days? Obviously not writing many blog posts. Not even promoting books of other authors through CFBA. They've been featuring a lot of great books the past couple weeks, but I reached a point of overload in all aspects of my life, and I had to take a step back and take a deep breath. I'll get my groove back soon in that department!
I'd started on my new WIP a couple weeks ago with a first draft. Then, while walking, I started listening to the MP3's from last September's ACFW conference. For the first time I decided to buy the entire set, and I have been learning so much from each of the continuing classes I've listened to so far.
This past week I started listening to Tricia Goyer's class on historical writing. At first I wasn't going to listen since I don't write historical, but am I glad I did. There's something there for all writers. Tricia talked about how she uses Donald Maas's "Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook" before she writes one word of a new book on her computer. When I heard that a light bulb went on in my head. I have that workbook! It's the same one Nancy Rue and Angie Hunt talked about at the writing clinic I sat in last year in Colorado. They, too, use this book. Could all these well-published authors be wrong? I think not.
I stopped writing the draft which is about a third done, give or take, and dug out the book. It's divided into sections that can be used before you write, during your first draft writing, or after the first draft is complete. Right now, I'm in the characterization phase, and next comes plot development, and then story techniques. Already I have new ideas to deepen the makeup of my characters, increase their inner conflicts, and punch up the story another notch or two.
Tricia is a prolific writer of stories set in World War II, an era I'm being more and more drawn to for reading, and she's got me thirsty to read some of her books. Pictured here is one of her books. The premise sounds intriguing. Here's a blurb from one of the on-line stores I frequent for books:
A love story between a beautiful member of the Austrian resistance and the American soldier who loves her is told against the true story of the orchestra started by prisoners in Hitler`s Mauthausen death camp, who played the American national anthem.
Now that I know how Tricia researches and develops her storyline, I'm very anxious to read one of her finished products!
If you're a novelist and haven't yet looked at Maas's workbook, I encourage you to do it now. His book, "Writing the Breakout Novel," has been referred to for years as one of THE books every novelist should have on their bookshelf as a keeper. The workbook is where you but hands to the wheel and begin to drive.
Over the next several weeks I plan to share tidbits of what I've been learning through this process.
I'm going to spend the entire day going through more exercises. It's not something you can speed through, yet I'm so anxious to start writing the story again, I can't stand it.
That can only be a good sign!
Today on her blog, Robin Lee Hatcher has a video clip that I found hilarious featuring a guy reacting to a publisher's rejection of his book manuscript. I don't smoke and rarely drink wine, but it so clearly depicts the way I felt last summer when I received a manuscript back in the mail that I'd slaved over for two months, changing it from first person POV to third. Of course there was no promise from the editor that once it was switched over they would buy the book, but hope springs eternal. :-)
Of course, once the truth sinks in that the story has been rejected, you move on. There's always another publisher who just might like the story, and there's always another book in your heart just waiting to make it's way onto the computer.
And one day, God willing, THE call will come. Until then, I keep on keeping on. Above All Else is progressing nicely through the first draft.
Ta Da!!!!
Luv2Read !!!!!!!
As soon as I receive mailing instructions I will get the book off to the winner.
Thanks to all who left comments.
I'll be having another contest soon.
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