I’m Planning a Party – Part I

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Hi, all – Ava Pennington here. I love a good party, don’t you? And I’m planning a special party in October – a launch party for my first book! If you’ve ever hosted a party, you know there’s a lot that goes into the planning. When we add the launch of a book to the mix, it’s not just another item on the list.    A book launch party has its own peculiar nature. In this post, I’ll touch on the various logistics we need to consider for a successful launch party. Since I’m planning my first book launch for…

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Tips from the Pros: Becky Harling

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Greetings from Sarah Sundin from Oregon, where I’m visiting family. Today I have the privilege of interviewing Becky Harling, the author of Rewriting Your Emotional Script and a speaker with a dynamic ministry of hope and healing. Becky, how did you get into writing? I felt for many years that God was calling me to be a writer, but didn’t know how to get started. God brought Linda Dillow into my life as a mentor and she connected me with Navpress. Navpress actually called me and invited me to send them a proposal. They turned down the first three proposals I sent in but told…

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Marketing My Baby

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Hi, everyone! Ava here, from the sunny (as in hot, hot, hot!) Treasure Coast of Florida.The calendar says August, but I’ve been writing October on all my paperwork – because that’s when my first book will be released! As much as I’m eager for October 1st to draw near, I’m conflicted, too. I can’t wait to hold my book, but the fast-approaching date has ushered me into the world of marketing. I’d much rather focus my energies on finishing my next book, but as we all know, that’s not an option. My first baby needs to be introduced to a…

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Interviewing With Powerful Questions

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Jan here, enjoying a beautiful day in the foothills of the Sierras. I’m getting ready to wander out to a coffee shop to meet a writing friend, but before I do I’d like to add another post to my sumer interviewing series. Today’s focus will be the development of strong interview questions. Two goals: First, in your interviews, you want to get to the good stuff that will bring your writing to life. Second, the interview won’t be boring for you or your interviewee. So where to start . . .

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Tips from the Pros: Elizabeth Goddard

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Greetings from Sarah Sundin in northern California, where the weather is actually cooler than the rest of the country. Go figure. Today I have the honor of interviewing author Elizabeth (Beth) Goddard. Beth’s a busy woman with Exposing Amber now available from Heartsong Presents, A Riverwalk Christmas coming from Barbour in September, The Camera Never Lies from Barbour in December, and Praying for Rayne from Heartsong Presents in December. Oh. My. Goodness. Beth, how did you get into writing? A voracious reader, I’ve always wanted to write but wasn’t sure that’s where God wanted me. In 2001, I met DiAnn…

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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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ICRS News from the Industry

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Aloha from Karen, treasurer of CAN,   I’m at the International Christian Retail Show in St Louis, MO this week. This is where store owners, publishers, editors, authors, and agents come together to show case new books and products and interact.

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Who You Are as Interviewer

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Hi! Jan here continuing the conversation about interviewing. And yes, let’s make this a conversation. Join in! In my last post, in sharing interview tips, I included the following two: – Treat each person you interview as a person, with compassion and dignity. – Be aware when some aspect of their story may be a struggle for them to tell. What about those?

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Love That Travel, But. . .

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Hi from Gail Gaymer Martin at www.gailmartin.com  Traveling is a passion of mine along with writing fiction. I’ve had the pleasure of traveling to so many countries and every state in the union, and I love setting stories in those places. Some of my travel is the result of teaching writing at conferences or speaking at various events around the country, so my writing career offers me opportunities to do two things I love at one time—talk about writing in other places than home. But. . .

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