Tips from the Pros: Crystal Bowman

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Greetings from Sarah Sundin in California! This past spring I had the joy of serving on the faculty at the Mount Hermon Christian Writers Conference with Crystal Bowman. I was impressed with her passion for writing for children, and you’ll be impressed with her creative ideas for speaking events. Crystal, how many books do you have published? What are a few of your latest titles? Over 100 books for children. I have also written 3 books for women and contributed to several anthologies, but I have found my niche in the children’s market. Some of my latest titles are Our…

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FOLLOWUP FROM FACEBOOK PARTIES

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Hello, it’s Darlene Franklin (http://darlenefranklinwrites.com/) again! I enter the marketing arena with some fear and trembling, since I sit at the knees of people are masters of the craft, such as my publisher, Cindy Hickey. But I also know that I do more social media marketing than many other indie published authors. So . . .I share what I’ve learned by trial and error. Something is working right. A popular and fun use of Facebook is a “party.” I’m not discussing how to hold the party today, but what next? How can you utilize the momentum from the party?

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Courageous

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Quilting Encouragement with Mary Tatem When I visit the Jamestown ship, the Susan Constant, which sailed from England to land in the wilderness of Virginia, I never fail to marvel at the courage of those who left the security of a known life style for the uncertainty of how they would secure the basic necessities. The 116 foot ship bobbed over the ocean for four months with seventy-one passengers crammed into the cramped spaces. I would hesitate to travel to the Bahamas on that  little ship, let alone across the Atlantic. In May of 1607 when they disembarked on mosquito…

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What If Somebody Else Publishes Your Idea?

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Turns out, Shakespeare stole his play Othello from another author. I just read a blog that insists: “A little-known Italian novelist and poet named Giovanni Battista Geraldi, also known as Cinthio, wrote a short story in 1565 titled Un Capitano Moro, which historians have noticed shares certain elements with Shakespeare’s Othello. Which elements, you ask? Oh, nothing major; just the plot, characters, certain names, setting, and moral. Cinthio’s version of the story is so similar to Shakespeare’s acclaimed play that we’re surprised Shakespeare even bothered to change the title before ripping it [off].” In an era of no copyright laws,…

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Tips From The Pros – Margaret Brownley

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Hello from the battered state of Florida. My TIPS FROM THE PROS front porch is propped up with 2 x 4s. The power was off for days, so the fridge and the freezer received a good cleaning. Our gas grill got a workout, cooking up all the thawing meat from the freezer. We lost several days of sleep and gained too many pounds to count. All in all, another day in…uh, paradise. I do exaggerate a little, but we have to here is the land of blustery days and nights in order to keep our sanity. Oh, by the way, the…

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Luv Clergy Couples

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God calls us to bless those who bless us, and even shepherd our Shepherds: Gal. 6:6 says, “One who is taught the word must share all good things with the one who teaches.” Hebrews 6:10 reminds, “God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them.” Proverbs 11:25: “A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.” We are all clearly called to reach out to build and bless those that build and bless us. Recently, our ministry held a…

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NEW RELEASE: ANOTHER DAY ANOTHER DALI BY SANDRA ORCHARD

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Another Day Another Dali By Sandra Orchard Revell, October 18, 2016 ISBN: 978-0800726690 When Serena’s grandmother asks her to investigate the switch of a valuable Salvador Dali painting, Serena hopes tracking down the original will also mean finally measuring up to Nana’s expectations. But when the evidence points to members of the owner’s own household—friends of her grandmother’s—it becomes increasingly clear that Serena won’t be winning any popularity contests. To make matters worse, the Dali isn’t the only painting that’s fallen prey to the forgery-replacing thief, raising the specter of a sophisticated theft ring–one with links to dirty cops, an aspiring young…

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Build a 3-D Hero Using Core Personalities – Part I from Gail Gaymer Martin

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Historical Post by Gail Gaymer Martin Build a 3-D Hero Using Core Personalities – Part 1 Today I will talk about using Core Personalities to help create a novel’s hero or main male character. This information can also be used for females, but since most popular authors are females, especially those who write romance which is the largest selling genre, we need to put our feet into a man’s shoes. Whether you write suspense, romance, or adventure, any genre needs 3-D characters. Author Mark Mynheir presented a workshop once on characterization and suggested the use of the Myers Briggs personality…

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