Backlists and Ebooks...

I just love it when I hear from readers. Truly. Every time I get an email I'm all giddy that someone has read one of my books.

Since my next release is Her Only Protector, I've been thrilled to hear from the bookclub readers who've already read the book and couldn't wait to email me to tell me how they liked it. I'm also surprised at how many people are still picking up a copy of Cradle of Secrets and writing me to tell me they enjoyed the book. They're always thrilled to know they won't have to wait long for the sequel. Just a few weeks and Her Only Protector will be hitting the bookstore shelves.

Which brings me to the backlists and ebooks subject line of my post. As many readers know, Steeple Hill books are available in paperback for just one month on the bookstore shelves. If you happen to find a great author or a series you love mid-way through the series, it's hard to go back and find those first books unless you can get them at a used bookstore. But not anymore.

All Steeple Hill books are available on EBOOK! So it doesn't matter if you miss a couple of books from a great author. You can always go back and purchase an ebook to download to either the Kindle or some other software platform. These ebooks can be read on your computer, a PDA or ebook reader.

I have to be honest with you. I love the feel of a paperback book in my hands, love to turn the pages and look at the cover. But I also love the idea of being able to load a ton of books on one device and store it there. I have a friend who just emailed me to tell me she won a Kindle in a contest. I must admit that I'm green with envy. But alas I can't justify purchasing another device to read ebooks since I already have one. I still have my old Rocket Ebook Reader that I purchased 10 years ago! While not as light and easy to use as the Kindle and certain not able to hold as many books, the Rocket is a great little device to load 8-10 books on as well as my own manuscripts for editing and final read throughs.

My point (and yes, I do have one) is that I love that technology has given us choices. I no longer have to hunt down a book I missed when it was on the shelf. I can buy an ebook from a new favorite author. And I no longer have to choose which books to bring with me on a trip because I can't fit them all in my suitcase on one device. I can bring enough books to last me an entire vacation! (I love reading while I'm camping. And the Rocket is great for night reading since I don't have to hold a flashlight and a book at the same time!)

I'd love to know your thoughts on ebooks and ebook devices. And if you're one of the lucky readers who has a Kindle, let me know what you think. I have a feeling, despite the fact that I still love my Rocket, that the Kindle may go on my Christmas List.

Until next time, many blessings! Lisa Mondello

Community

Writing can be very solitary work.

Think about all the hours that a writer spends in front of a computer crafting the words and story that a reader can inhale in a few hours.

I belong to American Christian Fiction Writers and a couple other loops as a way to connect with other folks who's brains work the same way -- or at least in a similar fashion -- to mine.

Last Thursday Rebecca and I traveled to Orlando for a writer's retreat with about 70 other published authors. (Okay, Rebecca's a tad young to be a writer -- we're still working on cooing -- but everybody loved her!)

The retreat was exactly what I needed. A chance to be with other writers. A chance to learn and think creatively. A chance to brainstorm with a friend who's plot imploded. A chance to relax and refocus. A chance to work on galleys with minimal interruptions. A chance to start my next novel and work on character sketches. A chance to reconnect with industry professionals. And a chance to step back and just be.

Then there were all the folks who loved on Rebecca. Colleen took her one afternoon. Karen Ball will always be the baby whisperer to me. Tammy Alexander rocking her like a pro.

I also got to attend the International Christian Retail Show otherwise known as ICRS. It was a reader and writer's dream to walk the floor for a day. I had so much fun joking with friends during their booksignings as I opened books for them. Maybe some day I'll have as many people as Brandilyn Collins, Michael Synder (Author of the clairvoyant dog) and Cindy Woodsmall did at their signings.

And running into so many people. It was a blast to meet Jennifer Rothschild -- we agreed it felt like we'd known each other for years.

All in all, I felt like a kid in a candy store living another part of this dream. And I feel smack dab in the middle of an awesome community.

Week 21: Building Bridges

Donald Maass, in his WRITING THE BREAKOUT NOVEL WORKBOOK, says, “The number one reason my agency rejects manuscripts is insufficient tension or conflict, especially in the opening scenes.” That comment should make us pause and reconsider the way we begin our stories.

This week, we’re looking at what Mass calls, “Bridging Conflict,” which refers to secondary problems that “bridge” the gap between the beginning of the manuscript when we’re forced to work in information to set the plot in place and the actual onset of the story. A bridge might also span larger plot points to hold the reader’s interest later in the manuscript.

Ever wonder whether to open with a prologue? Maass weighs in with a definite NO! In fact, he writes, “I hate most prologues.” More often than not, according to Maass, prologues are written about a character the readers don’t know and don’t care about.

I’ve heard Jennie Cruise say basically the same thing, although she adds that readers identify with the first character they see. If that character is not the protagonist, then the reader must develop a new relationship once the hero or heroine is introduced.

Makes sense, doesn’t it? So no prologues in our stories, unless they establish an immediate connection between reader and protagonist and help the story to dramatically and systematically unfold.

Now back to bridging conflict. Michael Hauge, in WRITING SCREENPLAYS THAT SELL (another great reference book I highly recommend), discusses the “outside action opening.” That’s when a film or TV program focuses initially on an action sequence that will not be developed further within the show, but provides a hook to grab viewers and pull them into the hero’s world.

Sound confusing? Think of the opening of a cop show. A chase scene, hostage standoff or drug raid initially grabs the viewers and throws them into the middle of the action. They’re hooked, and also relieved when the life-threatening situation is resolved usually because of the hero’s quick response to the crisis. The hero cop saunters back to the precinct, basking in the praise of his fellow officers, unaware that his world is about to cave in around him.

The hero’s competency has been established. The viewer knows he’s a friendly guy who’s well liked by his peers and doesn’t deserve the larger problem that will soon befall him when the screenwriter reveals the cop’s teenage daughter has been kidnapped by terrorists, a bomb has exploded in city hall and/or the chief of police has been arrested for drug possession.

Tess Gerritsen, one of my favorite authors, sometimes uses the same technique to establish her physician heroes. The story opens in the operating room. Tension is high. The surgery is risky. The doc saves the patient while Gerritsen weaves key information about her protagonist into the scene. The reader feels a connection, is hooked on the story and can’t put the book down when Gerritsen quickly introduces the major conflict around which the book is based.

This week, let’s look at any valleys we may have created in our stories and build bridges of conflict to raise the readers’ interest and expectations. In addition, we need to ensure our opening scenes are packed with tension and conflict, delete prologues unless they help establish our protagonist and keep the pace moving throughout the story with secondary problems that bridge the major plot points together.

Happy writing!

Wishing you abundant blessings!
Debby Giusti
www.DebbyGiusti.com
Stop by www.seekerville.blogspot.com
Today I'm blogging about the WRITE ATTITUDE.

Bridges . . .Golden Gate Bridge . . . RWA National Convention in San Francisco . . . planning to attend?

Fellow authors Janet Dean and Missy Tippens and I, along with Steeple Hill senior editor Krista Stroever, will present FIRST YEAR ON THE JOB: From “The Call” to Publication, on Friday, August 1, at 3:15 pm. Hope you can join us!

Grits and Glory Interview

Today we're welcoming Ann Trask, the heroine of “Grits and Glory,” by Ron and Janet Benrey, the third novel in the Glory Mysteries Series, Published by Love Inspired Suspense, released in July, 2008.

Wow, you've just had quite an adventure.

1. Tell us a little about yourself and how you came to be in the midst of such suspense.

I moved to Glory, North Carolina, last year, after I earned my business degree. I soon became the administrator of Glory Community Church. Only a few months later, Hurricane Gilda, a major storm, targeted Glory—and I found myself alone inside the church during the worst of the wind and rain. Although Glory was evacuated, I decided to stay, because the church was a designated storm shelter. And so, I was inside when our steeple blew down and apparently killed Richard Squires.

2. So, during the book you met Sean Miller. Tell us a bit about him. What was your first impression? When did you know it was love?

Hmmm. I met Sean just before Gilda stuck; frankly I thought he was a jerk. Sean worked for the Storm Channel. He and Carlo Vaughan, the channel’s drop-dead gorgeous on-the-air reporter had come to Glory to cover Gilda. Sean was the behind-the-scenes person, who drove the broadcast van and set up the lights and camera. I must admit that I was instantly attracted to Carlo—so was every other women who saw him in person. But over the course of the next week, I discovered that Sean was by far the nicer of the two.
Sean and I were thrown together by unpleasant circumstances. He could have left town, but instead he supported me when most other people questioned my judgment and blamed me for Richard Squires’ death.
I slowly came to realize that Sean loved me and I loved him.

3. What strengths/skills do you have? What is your greatest weakness?

I’m a detail oriented person and highly committed to following-through when I begin a project. I’m proud to say that people can rely on me to get the job done. But, my greatest weakness is that I sometimes let the “garbage” from my past shape the present. Happily, I’ve learned to turn my past over to Jesus, so those days are gone.

4. What scares you?

Ironically... wind, rain, and darkness. This is because of an “incident” that occurred when I was 17 years old. Back when I was a youth leader, a thunderstorm trapped me and several kids in a shed that eventually collapsed.

5. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

That’s easy... I wish that I’d been able to let go of the past. Happily, Sean convinced me to follow the famous “bumper-sticker advice”: let go, let God. I’m moving down the road to change.

6. Where are you in your faith at the start of your story?

I began as a Christian with significant doubts. I’d experienced enough unpleasantness in my life, that I questioned whether God was really in charge. Frankly, I was convinced that I could do a better job of orchestrating my life.

7. Where are you in your faith at the end of the story?

I’m a much, much stronger Christian. I’ve learned to trust God and to turn my problems over to him. I now walk in real faith

8. You've got a scripture at the beginning of the story. Tell us why this scripture is significant.

Isaiah 43:18 beautifully sums up the lesson I learned during the course of my story: “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.” (Isaiah 43:18, NIV)

9. If you could be a dessert what would you be and why?

Without doubt, a big bowl of Rocky Road ice cream. I ate so much during of this story, that I sometimes felt I was becoming a dessert.


Yum! Thank you Ron and Janet for sharing Ann with us today. This sounds like an intriguing read.

Meet RITA Nominee: Susan May Warren

What a privilege to have Susan here today. I was just reading Cara's review (last Thursday's post) of Wiser than Serpents and thinking WOW! As I read Susan's review, I'm still thinking WOW!

1. Describe your RITA phone call.
The truth is, well, I had FORGOTTEN about the RITA. I’ve never finalled. Never even remotely thought I would final. So, there I am, reading my email, sipping coffee, sitting in my pajamas, and in comes a call. I see it’s RWA and think, uh oh, I forgot to pay my membership or something. Because WHY would they be calling me?
You could have pushed me over with a puff as the voice on the phone told me that Taming Rafe finalled in the RITA. In fact, I think I uttered an incredulous, “HUH? What?” Thankfully she repeated her news, slowly and clearly.
And then dancing started.

2. Tell us about the RITA book and why you think it stood out it the crowd.
Taming Rafe is about a bull-rider who finds himself at the bottom of his game, even his life. He’s lost everything and has made some pretty bad decisions. Into this mess walks Kat Breckenridge, a philanthropist who is trying to fill her deceased mother’s big, fashionable shoes. She’s got some mystery to her past that draws her to cowboys, but most of all, Rafe had decimated her latest charity event, and owes her big. As they sort out blame, and eventually come together with a game plan, they discover each one offers the other healing in ways they could never imagine. It’s a mulit-layered story, with a subplot romance, and a story within a story that illuminates the emotional plot of all the characters (and has it’s own plot). It was my most ambitious story to date, a challenge to write, and I loved it. I’m so thrilled that the RITA judges liked it!

3. How many books have you written?
Twenty-two, including novellas.

4. Do you have a favorite?
Oh boy – I love my first story, Happily Ever After – I wrote it from such a pure place, it’s still the story of my heart. And then there’s Everything’s Coming up Josey, my chick lit story – finally got to tell the truth about being a missionary. And then Rafe…well, who doesn’t like a cute Bull Rider?

5. Describe your writing process.
I’m a detailed plotter, plotting out the story, the subplots and even the epiphany. My character is pretty fleshed out when I start the first page. However, after that it gets really messy. I slap down the first draft without grammar or spell checking, just a download from my brain every day for a month or six weeks. At the end of the day, I simply save and crawl out of my mess of research books lying open around my writing chair. The next day, I crawl back in. I don’t cook. I don’t clean. I do shower. But my entire brain is on Book. My family calls it (kindly) being under my “Thought Blanket.” THEN, after the book is roughed out, I go back, chapter by chapter, adding in all the elements I’ve forgotten, as well as texture, and richer description. And then I go through again, smoothing it out and polishing it. THEN I print it, and read it, adding in final proofing or edits. By the time I turn it in, I’ve read it four times, at least.

6. When did you decide to become a writer and why Christian fiction?
I LOVE to write. I would rather write than eat (my children occasionally bring me food). And, I was a missionary for years, and I truly believe that the best stories engage the spiritual element in us. I love to stir up issues of the soul, and let the reader ponder them with the character, hopefully long after they put the book down. My hope is that my readers, regardless of their spiritual background, would see God at work in their lives, loving them, giving them grace, just as He works in the character’s life on the page.

7. Tell us about your next or upcoming projects.
I just finished a book called, “Here Comes Trouble.” It’s a novel about a girl who returns home after ten years to discover the mess she left behind. But she’s a different person now. Can a girl change her stripes in her own hometown? Or will she always be labeled Trouble? Funny, and romantic, with elements of mystery and suspense, it’s the first in the PJ Sugar series.

8. Do you have any advice for unpublished writers?
Yes – Read books in your genre, take notes, analyze, write, then continue the cycle….forever. *g*

Hi, again,
Sorry I missed posting last weekend. We were camping in the Tetons--one of my favorite places in the world--and not only didn't I have internet access, but cell phone reception was iffy, too. It's funny, realizing just how dependent we are on technology these days!

What a glorious place it is--incredibly rugged mountains rising out of flat terrain, beautifully clear lakes, wonderful trails. The best part was that our daughter and one of our sons was there, too. Family means everything! The Tetons-or rather, an area just south of them--provided the setting for the Steeple Hill Love Inspired Suspense trilogy I had out this past winter. I half-imagined my characters coming up to say hello!

What are your favorite places to vacation? I'd love to hear about them. And I'd also love to hear from anyone who has favorite things to do and see in the San Francisco area--and favorite places to eat, too. As already mentioned here on the blog, the RWA conference will be there the last week of this month. It would be great to have some good recommendations!

Wishing you all the best,
Roxanne

Fun in the Sun!

This is a slideshow of my vacation to Curacao this past week. I had a great time. The people were friendly and welcoming. I mostly sat on the beach or at the pool. I lived in my bathing suit most days except when we took a tour of the island. In the pictures of the capital Williamstad you can see the Dutch influence. This island is only 35 miles from Venezuela. It is arid and cacti are everywhere. I thought I was in Arizona there for a while. So it wasn't any surprise that it didn't rain on us while we were there.

The local language is Papiamentu (a mixture of many language from Dutch to Spanish to African to English), but a lot of the people speak Dutch, English and Spanish. I never had trouble communicating while I was there.

The trade winds blow almost all the time--our tour guide said 360 days out of the year. When the wind dies down, everything shuts down. School is called off. Businesses are closed. I was glad the wind was blowing or it would have been VERY hot.

The water is beautiful (I have several pictures of it) and the diving is great in this area--although all I did was snorkel.

The older man is my husband, Mike. The younger one was our tour guide (I have a picture of him at the blow hole on the north side of the island). He was so interesting with lots of information about Curacao. And he wasn't that bad to look at either.

The best thing I saw was the salt flats where flamingoes could be seen. They come to have their babies before going back to South America. I would have had a picture of some except they were too far away to really tell what they were with my camera. The one chance I had for a close up I couldn't get my camera out fast enough to take the picture. The flamingo flew away and it was beautiful to watch him fly (first time for me to see in real life).