What to do when facing injustice

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How do you put into words the devastation that leaves you numb? As writers, we need to possess the ability to express the deepest pain, the biggest joy, and the most complicated emotions. I tried that. But the effort nearly drained me.

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You – Well, Not Really!

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I’m a hang-gliding fashion model who moonlights as a rodeo rookie whose brood of 10 adopted children are perfect angels… Not! But in my dreams… Maureen Pratt, here, with my CAN blog for July. And, in keeping with themes of summer fun and expanding our horizons, I thought I’d pen a few ideas about how to use our alter egos in crafting more active, compelling characters. We authors hear much about "writing what you know," and "putting ourselves" into our books, stories, and non-fiction work. There is great truth about doing this – we can strike very real chords of…

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Tips from the Pros: Jeanne Gowen Dennis

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Greetings from Sarah Sundin in California! Today I have the honor of interviewing Jeanne Gowen Dennis, who has a deep and varied career spanning book and article writing, and web TV hosting. Jeanne, how did you get into writing? How many books do you have published? What are a few of your latest titles? My first Christian writers’ conference led to my first publication. Things just clicked after that conference, because I finally understood the concept of targeting my audience. Then I began having articles, stories, and greeting card verses published. Since then, I have published eleven books and contributed…

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Lessons Learned – Follow a Checklist Before Every Event

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Hi everyone! Pamela S. Meyers here. I’m sure you’ve all had times when the best laid plans…well you know the old cliche. I had one of those days last week, but I learned some critical lessons how to make sure your planned promotional event goes off without a hitch. I had a scheduled speaking and signing event to promote my book, Love Finds You in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. This was an afternoon I had been looking forward to since it was in a unique setting – A retirement home. Little did I know how much this event would turn out…

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NEW RELEASE August 2013, On Distant Shores by Sarah Sundin

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Lt. Georgiana Taylor has everything she could want. A boyfriend back home, a loving family, and a challenging job as a flight nurse. But in July 1943, Georgie’s cozy life gets more complicated when she meets pharmacist Sgt. John Hutchinson. Hutch resents the lack of respect he gets as a noncommissioned serviceman and hates how the war keeps him from his fiancée…

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The Rancher’s Second Chance by Davalynn Spencer

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                                    Eli Hawthorne never gave up hope that someday Laura Bell would return to their small ranching community in the California foothills. But the battle-scarred soldier is a world away from the carefree boy he once was. When Laura finally returns after a twelve-year absence, she finds everything has changed at her family’s home. Or has it?…

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CAN Presentation at ICRS (Successful Author In-Store Events)

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CAN members attended the International Christian Retail Show (ICRS) in St Louis in late June. That's the place where the industry meets-publishers, editors, authors, and especially retailers gather and interact! CAN members shared a power point presentation on successful author in-store events and held a drawing for CAN authored books (gave away over $1600 in books to two retailers at the show).This photo shows a retailer from Nigeria with CAN members. She was one of the winners.

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PUGS Pointers #23

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Hi! I’m Kathy Ide. In addition to being a published author, I’m a full-time professional freelance editor. For CAN, I’m blogging about "PUGS"–Punctuation, Usage, Grammar, and Spelling…tips for writers based on the most common mistakes I see in the manuscripts I edit. Each blog post will have one tip for each of the four categories. For more PUGS tips, check out my website, or get a copy of my book Polishing the PUGS (available through the website or at the conferences where I teach). If you’re interested in working with a freelance editor (or know someone who is), e-mail me…

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Becoming a ‘Subtle’ Expert

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Cheri Cowell here: Do you consider yourself an expert? Last month I shared places where we can hang our ‘expert shingle.’ These were more traditional ways of being seen as an expert. This month I want to talk to you about a more subtle way to share your expert status. In today’s world this approach may win more fans than you can sign autographs for.

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