Tips From the Pros: Jocelyn Green

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Greetings from Marti Pieper in sunny, steamy Florida! Pour yourself a frosty glass of lemonade or tea and enjoy one of our encore interviews. No, we don’t recycle our blog material. Instead, we have the opportunity to gain from the fresh wisdom and insights of a longtime CAN author who’s appeared here some time ago. Today, I’m delighted to present an interview with Jocelyn Green. Although she and I haven’t met in person, I feel a unique connection with her. We’re both homeschool moms (well, I was until my youngest graduated this past spring) and have worked on collaborative projects….

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Finding Time to Write: It’s About Choices

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Greetings from Jackie M. Johnson! What do Olympic athletes and contestants on reality music competition shows have in common? They both practice their craft intensely. Knowing that swimmers, runners and artists who sing their hearts out practice for hours each day, humbles me; it gives me pause to think about my own dedication to the writing craft. Over the years I’ve written books, articles, blog posts, marketing collateral and other material. Like those athletes and artists, I’ve have to make hard choices. When I am writing a book, I judiciously guard my time. If I didn’t remove distractions and focus,…

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Filled with Fear or Firm in Faith?

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Sometimes it’s a pleasant surprise. In the midst of writing and heading to speaking engagements, God whispers a call to a different task. Mine was a mission trip to Bolivia and Peru. A special visit in many ways for me as Bolivia happens to be my birthplace. The weather was beautiful. A shower of blessing upon blessing poured upon me. And the folks whom I ministered to shined joy into my days. But in the middle of doing good work, a bad glitch appeared.

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Guidelines For A Compiled Book Series

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It’s amazing to me that compiled books are still being published. Even what is most likely the longest running series, the Chicken Soup for the Soul series, is still taking submssions and printing books. Years ago, a publisher invited me to start a compiled series called God’s Vitamin "C" for the Spirit and I caught the fever. I ended up compiling and editing about a dozen books in the series. Every once in a while someone contacts me with an idea for a compiled book and I still contribute to those as I can. Because of the successful books in…

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Tips from the Pros: Bonnie Leon

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Greetings from Sarah Sundin! Today I have the joy of interviewing someone I consider a good friend—even though we haven’t met in person! Bonnie Leon and I have been critique partners for several years, and I’ve enjoyed learning from this extremely talented, experienced, and generous multi-published author. Bonnie, how many books do you have published? What are a few of your latest titles? I’ve published twenty books—nineteen novels and one memoir. My most recent title is Where Eagles Soar, it is a memoir I wrote for a woman who grew up in the Alaskan wilderness. The series, Alaskan Skies, released…

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WRITERS WHO SPEAK – 3 REASONS I LOVE TO SPEAK AT RETREATS

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Golden Parsons here, writing from Central Texas where the weather is beginning to feel a bit like fall. Believe me, that is unusual for this part of the country. Football games begin this next week — from Little League to major college events. This is Friday Night Lights country, and there is excitement in the air. Fall is a popular time for retreats, so I thought we might spend a little time discussing that.

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Best Laid Plans

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Greetings from Ava Pennington in sunny Florida! Conventional wisdom tells us that to be successful we should become adept at planning. Good planning helps us manage resources and minimize unexpected challenges. But life doesn’t always work out as we planned. 

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