Voices

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Aloha from Karen Whiting, CAN treasurer Years ago I listened to the voice of my prayer partner over the voice of God. I believed God wanted me to write, but she said she had prayed and believed I wasn’t creative enough and didn’t believe God called me to write. Soon after, military moves separated us and I lost track of her. Looking back, I know God wanted me to listen to him and not the wrong voice. We need a discernment to choose what voices to listen to of the many we hear.

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Interviewing When the Story Gets DIfficult

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Jan here, writing to you from the sizzling Sierra foothills of California. It feels like a great time to retreat to a cool place and write . . . or venture out and engage in a strong interview. Today I’m continuing my series on interviewing for writing. Handled professionally and well, interviewing can yield long-term relationships which impact both your writing and your marketing. Looking at those moments of the interview, let’s talk about when the story gets difficult.

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Tips from the Pros: Ronie Kendig

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Greetings from Sarah Sundin in California, where I’m recovering from vacation and my son’s high school graduation. Today I have the pleasure of interviewing Ronie Kendig. Ronie’s first two novels released this year – an espionage thriller and a military thriller. She’s received rave reviews, such as, “Nightshade kept me up all night! A tight plot, heartthrob heroes, and description so rich I could hear the jungle noise, feel the heat slide down my back.” ~Susan May Warren, Rita-award winning author of Nothing But Trouble. Ooh, doesn’t that sound good? Welcome, Ronie! How did you get into writing? I discovered…

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CAN Book Review: The Anonymous Bride by Vickie McDonough

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 THE ANONYMOUS BRIDE by Vickie McDonough  Review by Carla Stewart  Publisher: Barbour Publishing, Inc. (April 1, 2010) ISBN-13: 978-1602606968   Veteran writer Vickie McDonough’s first trade length novel, THE ANONYMOUS BRIDE, delights and entertains with fresh characters and puts a fun, new spin on the mail order bride story. Set in late nineteenth century Texas in the fictional town of Lookout, the characters dance off the page from the very first scene. When Luke Davis returns to the hometown he left several years, he is excited about being the new town marshal, but dreads facing Rachel, the woman who betrayed…

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More Mileage From Book Trailers

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Aloha from Karen, People can see and preview books through video trailers. These cost money, or time if we develop them ourselves. With MACs it;s pretty easy to create one. And some authors, like Tricia Goyer, even ran a contest to let readers create the best video clip with a lower cost of a prize for the winner. Let's consider how to use a book trailer as a marketing tool.

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CAN Book Review: A Distant Melody by Sarah Sundin

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 A DISTANT MELODY by Sarah Sundin  Review by Carla Stewart Publisher: Revell; Original edition (March 1, 2010)  ISBN-13: 978-0800734213   Once in a while a book comes along that wraps its arms around you and so enchants you that you don’t want to the story to end. Sarah Sundin’s debut novel, A Distant Melody, is one of those books. At the height of WWII, a chance meeting brings Allie Miller and Walt Novak together, but Allie’s upcoming marriage, arranged by her wealthy parents, and Walt’s dispatch to pilot a B-17 bomber from an airbase in England, halts the romance before…

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Story Part II: Where To Begin

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 Hi from Gail Gaymer Martin at www.gailmartin@aol.com While you read this, I am in Germany on tour singing with a Christian chorale. I love Germany so this is a special treat for me. And though I’m there, I didn’t want to leave out the next  part of the Story Series which I’m providing for writers and readers alike. Story is taking an idea and bringing it to life by transporting the reader from one world to another through the experiences of a character on a mission striving to reach a goal with a purpose. It captures the reader along with the characters so…

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The Phases of Your Dream Come True…

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Greetings, Friends! Susie Larson here… Today I want to connect with you about the very real phases most of us walk through in order to step out and step into our dreams. Maybe you’ve read this famous Hudson Taylor quote before. These words inspire me: I have found there are three stages to every great work of God: It is impossible; then it is difficult; then it is done. 

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Marketing Lessons from the World of Retail

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  Tracy (T.L.) Higley here, posting another marketing lesson I’ve learned from my years in online retail sales. As I’ve mentioned in previous months, I’m currently in the midst of an experimental year, applying principles from my retail business to the marketing of my fiction. If you’ve missed earlier posts, and would like a better explanation of my background and what these posts are about, please see Principles #1-#10 here.   So, on to Principle #11… Track your ROI – rigorously.   In case you’re not familiar with the term “ROI” – it’s a marketing term for “Return on Investment.”…

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Let Him Lead

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  Hello from Jeanette. I hope you are all enjoying your summer. For me, summer seems to include a lot of movies. Over the weekend I watched one that came highly recommended by my sister Sherry—the Young Victoria. The story followed Queen Victoria as an 18-year-old adjusting to her role as ruler of England. A scene from the end of the film really resonated with me; I couldn’t help applying it to the writing life.

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