Monday, February 23, 2009

Great New Writer


I always like finding great first-time writers (can’t imagine why ;) ).
Anyway, here’s a new one I just found that turned out to be really good.
THE SECOND TRUMPET by Larry Miles.
It’s a really quick read, but one that kind of leaves you thinking. I’m all for Christian suspense novels. :D

Back matter:
In the wake of the 9/11 attacks, the question that lingers in the mind of every American is not if it will happen again, but when. As terrorists stand ready to decapitate the U.S. government with a nuclear suitcase bomb deep in the nations capital, Colin Calhoun, a wealthy businessman with no use for God, finds himself in jail fighting for his life. Meanwhile, Sam Morgan, a devoted believer, struggles to make sense of the enigmatic visions hes receiving from God. Author Larry Miles weaves an intricate web of prophesy and destiny as two men at the core of Gods end-times plan for America race against time to decode divine messages before The Second Trumpet sounds.

Review:
It’s one of those fast paced novels that reminds us all that we live in a dangerous world that could cause us to live in fear and doubt. Larry Miles does a great job of developing characters that provoke the reader to evaluate their own relationship with God and how He is working out His plan for mankind. If you have ever found yourself fearful of terrorist attacks this novel will keep you turning the pages to not only find out what happens, but to set you straight on how to overcome that fear.

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Necessary To Writing


I’m told that every writer has something or things that they feel they “need” when writing. Some say it’s a mood, some say a place, some even say a particular scent.
I’d never really thought about it before, but upon review I found that in a way it is true.
So, here’s a list of mine.

Laptop: While my favorite place to write is my desk, I like to be able to pick up and move to a new location if the mood strikes.
My glasses: It should be pretty obvious why these are necessary. Yeah, I’m farsighted. :P
IPod: It’s very good a cutting out the background noise that invariably occurs in a relatively small house with lots of people and dogs.
Cappuccino: I’m not really sure why, but it’s just necessary :)

Okay, so maybe writers are just a little weird.

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Just Can't Stop

I think I’m computer overdosing today. I mean, I usually spend a good portion of the day on the computer, but today, I think I’m officially attached to it…and it won’t let me go….
-I started the day with a list of about fifty different blog review sites that my marketing agent sent me. She said pick five of them for her to send a review copy of my book to. Five? I’ve gone through about half so far and I’ve already picked out about seventeen. I’m at the point now where I’m trying to decide if I really need to go through all of them or if I can just pick five from my current list. I was starting to get nauseous from all the scrolling.
-Then I set to work on my book I’m trying to write at the moment. My goal has been a chapter a day. Well, today turned out to be the longest chapter in the book. There just wasn’t a point where I could break it up. Over 3,500 words later I’m happy with it…my brain always tells me that I could write more, but it’s starting to feel foggy.
-Then I sent out thank you e-mails to people who signed their e-mails on my guestbook.
-Then I replied to some comments on this blog. (Love to hear from you!)
-Then I went over to HSA and started messaging and blogging there.
And now I’m back here…I think I might have a problem. :P
Ah, well. All in all I have to say, I love my job, love talking to people, and love that my laptop has a really long battery life.
Excuse me while I go check my other e-mail accounts. :D

Saturday, February 7, 2009

Amazing!

I just got back from my first book signing and, yes, God does go exceeding and abundantly beyond all we can dare to hope, dream, or imagine (Ephesians 3:20AMP). The bookstore expected me to sell 10 to 15 copies. I was timidly hoping beyond that for maybe 25 copies. We sold 32 copies! 32! And the bookstore had me sign an additional 3 to leave in the store. This marks the first time my book has been on a shelf in a store! God is so good.
The whole experience was amazing! The store was actually in a city that I moved out of 18 years ago, so I didn’t know very many people. But a few people who I hadn’t seen since I was 5 years old showed up and were so excited. The event was also listed in the newspaper and on TV, so several people came up to tell me they’d seen it there. Lol, one man came in to buy one because he’d heard it was an FBI mystery and his sister and brother-in-law where FBI agents. Overall, I got to meet a lot of really sweet people. Plus a lot of people helped out. My family all came down and handed out cards and the sales manager really got into the event. He was walking around the store telling everyone to go see me then he’d come by my table, look at the receding stack, and say, “You’ve got to be kidding me. I’m going to have to go get more.”
Yeah, God is that good.


They had my table set up right by the front door. I think I said hi to every person who came in between 12:30 and 4:30.



My Great Aunt Verna came. :)



The official poster (sorry about the shine). The store had posters up on all entrances.

Friday, February 6, 2009

Saturday Is The Big Day!

One last reminder! Tomorrow is my first book signing! It will be at the Borders Books in Visalia CA at 1:00PM. Check out the EVENTS button on my website for the exact location. I’d love to see you there! But if you can’t make it I’d still appreciate your prayers. I need to sellout all the books that the store ordered and, if we sellout, encourage as many people as possible to order one while in the store. This is an awesome opportunity and if we sell well it might in entice Borders to stock my book in the store. That would be amazing!
Everyone is being really helpful. My family is coming with me to hand out cards to people coming in the store. The store manager put up posters, which is just wonderful. In store advertising is so expensive, but here I am getting it for free. God is so cool!
Anyway, thanks to everyone who has helped, prayed, or is planning on coming. :)

Saturday Is The Big Day!

One last reminder! Tomorrow is my first book signing! It will be at the Borders Books in Visalia CA at 1:00PM. Check out the EVENTS button on my website for the exact location. I’d love to see you there! But if you can’t make it I’d still appreciate your prayers. I need to sellout all the books that the store ordered and, if we sellout, encourage as many people as possible to order one while in the store. This is an awesome opportunity and if we sell well it might in entice Borders to stock my book in the store. That would be amazing!
Everyone is being really helpful. My family is coming with me to hand out cards to people coming in the store. The store manager put up posters, which is just wonderful. In store advertising is so expensive, but here I am getting it for free. God is so cool!
Anyway, thanks to everyone who has helped, prayed, or is planning on coming. :)

Monday, February 2, 2009

I am meaningless...

Well, at least it seems my name is. Despite the fact that Emily has been in popular use for multiple centuries and has been listed as the most popular girl’s name of this century, I am finding more and more that no one seems to really know what it means.
I visit a lot of different baby name sites when I’m trying to decide on a name for my characters and I usually type in Emily just to see what comes up. So far I’ve found the meanings; industrious, diligent, rival, flatterer, artistic, and someone told me last night it can also mean princess. I can’t even find a definitive origin. Some say it’s German and some say it’s Latin (opposing language bases). What else am I to conclude, but that no one is really sure what the name means?
Fortunately, though my primary moniker is apparently meaningless, my middle and last name are well defined. Ann means graced and Benedict means blessed. So, at least at I’m graced and blessed, even if I’m also anonymous.
Does anyone else have trouble pinning down the meaning of your name?