Start clearing your calendar for our March Book-In-A-Month,
Speedbo (writing a book speedily).
Don't forget to check out Seekerville the town for short reads,
our schedule and other fun stuff!
Speedbo (writing a book speedily).
Don't forget to check out Seekerville the town for short reads,
our schedule and other fun stuff!
We Have WinnersSeekerville is just getting caught up from the holiday guests and party fun. If we missed sending out your prize, please do let us know! As always, contact Seekerville through our new web email if you are a winner and if needed, provide your snail mail address. Please note our giveaway rules here. All prizes are distributed within 6-8 weeks of winner announcements (God willing and the creek don't rise-I personally mailed 21 winner prizes in the last 24 hours..um, and I am not quite done yet.)
Monday we continued our Month of Firsts, as Love Inspired author Missy Tippens as she shared about her First Rejection. Winner of a critique of the first 5 pages of a sweet or inspirational romance manuscript, focusing on characterization is Casey.
Tuesday Love Inspired author and former contest diva, Tina Radcliffe brought you a post on her very First Contests. She's also offered two commenters an opportunity to have the first 15 pages of their manuscript critiqued in preparation for a contest. The winners are Susan Anne Mason, and Cindy R Wilson.
Love Inspired Suspense author Debby Giusti wrote about writing her First Complete Manuscript on Wednesday. Winner of The Captain's Mission, her latest suspense release and 200 Pasta Dishes, a cookbook by Maria Ricci, which features lots of the delicious recipes Debby had while in Rome is Stephanie Queen Ludwig.
Thursday we welcome guest blogger, Pat Simmons to Seekerville! Pat is a Christian author who has turned her love of genealogy into book characters. Winner of Guilty by Association, Pat's latest release, is Linda (One Desert Rose).
Friday we wrapped up the week with Sue Grimshaw, Senior Editor of Romance at Random with her post The First Re-Launch of Loveswept Romance..That Was Then, This is Now. The winner of a $20 Barnes and Noble gift card is Julie Hilton Steel and the winner of a first chapter critique up to fifteen pages is Jackie (blue shirt and smiling face)
Next Week In SeekervilleMonday: Tyndale author Pam Hillman blogs about her very first query letter over 16 years ago, and how God brought her full circle. (And double fun, as Pam is cooking at the Yankee-Belle Cafe today as well!)
Tuesday: Sandra Leesmith posts about meeting her first author and the significance of meeting authors. She will offer a giveaway of her first Avalon release, The Price of Victory.
Wednesday: Love Inspired author Allie Pleiter joins us to talk about "The Kiss that Isn't." Stop in and comment for a chance to win Allie's February release Falling for the Fireman.
Thursday: Today Thomas Nelson author Cara Lynn James shares "My First Conference". Cara is offering a copy of The Writer's Book of Matches: 1,001 Prompts to Ignite Your Fiction.
Friday:We're delighted to welcome Senior Fiction Editor Natalie Hanemann to Seekerville today. Natalie will be blogging about Editing at Thomas Nelson. Leave a comment to be put in a drawing for a Thomas Nelson release.
Seeker Sightings
The Officer's Secret, by Debby Giusti, was selected as the “Philosophy of Romance” Book of the Year for 2011. Philosophy of Romance blog host Vince Mooney calls The Officer's Secret"One of the Best Love Inspired Suspense Romances I've Ever Read!"
Myra Johnson will join authors Jennifer Hudson Taylor and Dora Hiers for a Christian romance speakers' panel and book signing at the Cleveland County Memorial Library, Shelby, NC, on Tuesday, January 24, starting at 6:30 p.m.
Attention Hoosiers!!
Janet Dean will be signing An Inconvenient Match TODAY, Saturday January 21 from 1-3:00 at the Bookmark in Fort Wayne, IN.
The BEST of Enemies. Join Janet Dean at Petticoats & Pistols TODAY!! Stop by for a chance to win a copy of An Inconvenient Match.
Mary Connealy is debuting her February release, In Too Deep at Petticoats & Pistols. Stop by and check it out and you might win the book!
You still have time to win Missy's Tippens' February release,
A House Full of Hope at Author Memories!
Stop by the ACFW blog to check out Tina Radcliffe's post on Using GMC To Meet Your New Year Resolutions.
Random News & Information- This is too hilarious and cliche not to share. RomanceNovelYourself.com (RT)
- Romance Book Buyer Stats (RWA)
- Instapaper. A simple tool to save web pages for reading later (RT)
- Time for a Writer's Block T-Shirt? (Signals)
- Was Jane Austen Poisoned? (Discovery News)
Congratulations to the 2012 Edgar Nominees!
- Deadlines and Taxes (The Steve Laube Agency Blog)
We leave you with this photo of super heroines, Mary Connealy and Cara Lynn James who recently met for lunch on the Gulf Coast.
They're two of my favorite super heroines.
Who are yours?
Congrats Winners!!
ReplyDeleteLove the superhero theme, Tina! Puts me in mind of those old Batman reruns. Good times. :)
Congrats to all the winners! Enjoyed EVERY post and learned a lot, blessings and have a great weekend Seekerville :)
ReplyDeleteMan, I missed a day! I never miss a day in Seekerville! And I can't even remember what was so important today that I didn't get here...
ReplyDeleteMaybe it's the 4 inches of freezing rain we've had. Ugh.
Kara, I'm with you on the enjoying every post and learning bunches!
Oh, I just went back a few days and saw JULIE is getting braces!
ReplyDeleteJULIE, you are soooooo beautiful. Honestly. Truly.
I have a friend who got her nose fixed when she was 35 because she never liked her nose. I thought she was crazy. but she's happy with it! We all love her no matter what.
And braces aren't even like surgery! I had them when I was a teenager.... Would have loved inivisble ones...
I had way too much fun romance noveling myself, haha.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Tina, I needed that!
http://romancenovelyourself.com/53fdd4976e
I just was writing that today was full of blessings. I discovered the writing workshop I am attending starts a half an hour later than I thought it did. Whohoo! Then I see my name on the winner's list. Yippee.
ReplyDeleteHave a great day, full of blessings!
Peace, Julie
Speaking of superheros, a few writers (me included) met Mary Connealy in Decatur, NE at a restaurant called the Green Lantern. We all wanted to come in costume but she made use leave our capes and masks at home. ;)
ReplyDeleteLooks like another great line up next week.
Rose
Congratulations winners! Looks like a great week ahead in Seekerville!
ReplyDeleteLove your photo, Cara and Mary!! You're heroines in my book. Truly you were. Wish we could've all joined you at that lunch.
Snow fell last night, but clear this morning. With a book signing this afternoon, I'm relieved there's time for crews to clear the roads. Grateful for those guys.
Janet
HOLY BATMAN, TEENSTER, SLAM-BAM-POWERFUL WE this morning, girlfriend!! LOVE the idea of the "RomanceNovel" yourself website, only I was bummed because it wouldn't take my head shots for the "Storms of Passion" book cover. :( But what a FUN idea!!
ReplyDeleteCONGRATS to all the winners and HAPPY WEEKEND, ALL!!
Hugs,
Julie
Congrats to all the winners!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much to all of you for your support this week. FIL should be somewhere over the Atlantic right now and will be back on the ground headed for the rehab facility by about 5CT tonight.
Something else happened yesterday I can't talk about at this point, but it really rocked me. In the grand scheme of things it's not all that big a deal, but the timing is making it worse, you know? If you think of me, I'd appreciate a little prayer.
Anyway - another great week ahead! Can't wait!
I love the romance novel yourself link.
ReplyDeletePut my husband's picture on the cover. Loved it.
Okay, my link didn't work...
ReplyDeleteWhy, she wondered out loud?
And so she investigates:
No quotes... after the web link....
And so she makes an honest attempt to fix it by deleting her message and doing a new one... Because she's a techno-challenged dork!
Going in.
I am just starting a new book right now. My plan for Speedbo is to get enough of it done in February that I can finish it in March. I've got one other book to write too, so if things go well and I get ahead in February, maybe I can start that new book.
ReplyDeleteROSE, sorry to spoil the super hero gathering. But the mental vision (I have a fantastic imagination) of me in a Wonder Woman outfit....skin tight blue grandma pantie sparkling with stars, and a metal cone bra to... man, you could have pulled that outfit off, but not me.
ReplyDeleteI have to live in this town.
WHAM! POW!!! SHA-ZAAAAM!
ReplyDeleteHoly White WE, Robin! Those of you with snow....
:)
Cheesy grin coming your way because it ducked south and left us with sunny and 30's....
Congratulations, winners! Wasn't that fun to have Sue Grimshaw of Random House with us yesterday and catch a glimpse into the ongoing world of LOVESWEPT ROMANCES
Loved it!
I must romance novel myself. But I might use Mary's pic, just for fun... :)
(Ruthy has now fixed the link and is attempting to re-send the botched message. She'd appreciate a moment of silence while this new attempt is launched...)
YES!!!! YES!!!!!
ReplyDeleteSHE DOES IT!!!! SHE SHOOTS!!!!
SHE SCORES!!!!!
A LIVE LINK TO YESTERDAY'S BLOG...
OH HAPPY DAY!
Go RUTHY!
ReplyDeleteMy plans to get ready for BIAM...
*Finish major round of edits to last year's NaNo project. Like completely done with it.
*Get as close to done on a rough draft of the WIP I'm working on now before Mar. 1 [but if it's not done, I'm not too worried about it because it's book 3 in a series...]
*Have more than a two sentence summary that looks something like this: "A guy finds out his ex-girlfriend is pregnant and doesn't go to work at the Towers on 9/11. Now it's x years later, he's living near his parents in mid-America, raising his daughter/son and meets a cool lady." Figure out things like... names, gender of the baby, when I'm setting it [how old is said baby now], etc. You know, basic stuff... :p
Great WE, Tina! Thanks for compiling great links every week. :) I may RomanceNovel myself later today. My honey is giving me a couple of hours to write today. Woo-hoo! So, I'd better, uh, write. :)
ReplyDeleteCongratulations to all the winners this week! As always, I'm looking forward to learning more from you wonderful ladies next week!
Happy weekend, all!
Okay, don't forget to stop by Petticoats & Pistols to say hi and enter to win An Inconvenient Match and In Too Deep.
ReplyDeleteWow, I'm thrilled, thanks so much for that critique!
ReplyDeleteAnd I love that Seekerville is getting so big now that you have to give thumbnail descriptions when announcing winners. :)
Love the pic of Mary and Cara--classy ladies! :)
Happy Weekend, everyone! It's drizzling rain here, but at least it isn't super-cold.
ReplyDeleteLooooove the photo of Mary & Cara! A sunny day at the coast sounds very enticing right about now.
Congrats to the winners! :) Sounds like a fun series of events next week.
ReplyDeleteLOVE the pic!!!! Mary and Cara Lynn! Looking good, girls! :D
ReplyDeleteSeekerville gals are definitely on my list of favorite super heroines! Outside of y'all, Denise Hunter is newly added to my favorite heroine list and Lori Wick has been on my favorite for a LONG time!
Congrats, winners and happy Saturday to all!
I'm so excited to win a critique! That's worth so much to me - to have such talented people look at my work!
ReplyDeleteYay!
Snowed here too and it's staying white this time. Now it feels like winter.
Heard news this week that a writer friend on a loop I'm on SOLD the novel of her heart after - hold your breath - 32 years!! Moral of the story - never give up!
Cheers,
Sue
Oh, Sue, I LOVE that!!!
ReplyDelete32 years is a great testament to perseverance!
Wow, Sue, that's perseverance for sure. Good thing she started writing when she was 12.
ReplyDeleteI'm late to the WE, but this is a two day party, right?
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of parties - happy birthday, Missy!
Rose Ross Zediker and Mary Connealy - you both got waves from our van as we tooled down I-29 in the wind-blown snow this afternoon (not as much snow when I waved to Mary, though).
Carol M - praying for the unspecified. Things can send a person off kilter, can't they?
We're in Des Moines tonight - our 2 older children met us here and we'll be going on to Michigan in the morning. Another 0'dark-thirty start.
IF we can get the boys up in time - they're staying in a separate room. Brothers who haven't been together for six months? There'll be no sleep in that room tonight. It's a good thing they can sleep in the car.
Would appreciate continued prayers - word tonight is that my FIL didn't have a good day today, so we should go directly to the hospice once we reach town tomorrow evening. We're praying that we'll be able to say goodbye.
Thanks so much, Seekerville! Have a wonderful weekend!
Aw, VIRGINIA, I'm SO glad I saw your comment this morning because I'm draggin' and sure needed it, darlin' -- THANK YOU!!
ReplyDeleteThe only reason I was considering braces is because my teeth are shifting and opening spaces up that weren't there before, which I understand happens as you get older. How I WISH I had my old retainers when I got braces at the age of 28, but they'd probably be disintegrated by now anyway!! :) So, really, I was just planning on looking into a retainer, but they tell me braces is only thing that will really work ... uh, yeah, to the tune of $3,000 to $4,000 big ones!!
But you made me feel SO much better, I'm blowin' raspberries at the braces right now ... :)
Hugs,
Julie
Praying for all the FIL's that need prayers and a safe trip.
ReplyDeleteYay! So excited for the critique! Great timing. And congrats to the other winners, too.
ReplyDeleteFIL made it safely to the rehab facility last night. DH said he sounded really tired [not surprising - left at 11ish Hawaii time and arrived at 5pm CT].
ReplyDeleteThanks again, all of you for your prayers and support.
Oh, Jan. Goodbyes are so hard. Tears and hugs and prayers to your family.
ReplyDeleteCarol, prayers for you and him! My friend had a long rehab after a stroke and she really appreciated the visits and love. He'll be so glad to see your husband.
ReplyDeleteJULIE!!!
ReplyDeleteIsn't it crazy what our bodies decide to do as we age?? Isn't it enough that gravity starts to pull the perky parts and we get jowls and wobbles and flab? But no, our teeth have to start wandering around, too.
But you're really so beautiful a little tooth action doesn't make a difference. I bet no one else even notices. But we have to look at ourselves in the mirror may times a day, so WE see it.
Oh, and maybe toddlers see it. My kids like to point out my gray hairs and wrinkly hands! I always give my Elvis impersonation ("why, thank ya, thank ya very much").
Jan, holding you and your family close in prayer. Special prayers for your FIL during his last days on this side of heaven. The Lord is waiting with open arms, no doubt.
ReplyDeleteCongrats to the winners! YAY!
ReplyDeleteLoved the pic of Mary and Cara!
Mary, did you say you're starting a book this weekend and will have it finished by WED? :)
I hate tooting my own horn.
ReplyDeleteSeriously. Not just someone saying that when you know they really don't mean it.
I really do mean it.
BUT! Erica asked if I'd told y'all and I haven't [though some of you may have seen it on my Facebook]. And I really am quite proud and happy about it so...
Um, I sort of took 1st place for Inspirational in SVRWA Gotcha!
And I have been flittery ever since ;).
Without Seekerville, I never would have known about it, so thanks Tina and whoever else helps with contest research. And without Seekerville, I never would have written that MS. So...
Y'all rock ;). Thank you, Seekers, for finding each other then finding us :D.
woooohoooooo Carol
ReplyDeletecongrats on the FIRST PLACE.
Prayers for you too.
Its sunny here in Palm Springs. I'm getting really suntanned. Life is good. smile
Tina, Loved the superhero theme.
ReplyDeleteLoved the photo Mary and Cara. You just love making us green don't you?
Woot!!!! Carol!!! Congratulations, girl!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for a great WE, Tina!
ReplyDeleteCarol, congrats on the Gotcha!! Woo hoo!!
ReplyDeleteMonday and I'm just getting to the Sat post? oh dear.
ReplyDeleteHoly 'crazy weekend' Batman!
DO you still have the first five page critique contest? If so, I'd love to entered.
ReplyDeletekellihughett at gmail dot com