Today's Guest is Susan Sleeman

Every published author has one. A story about how they came to be published, or about receiving THE CALL. Over the years, I used my writer’s senses to hear, see, taste, smell, and feel the day I’d pick up my ringing phone to hear the words, ‘we want your manuscript,’ but THE CALL never came. And it never will.

You see, I received something far bigger than THE CALL. I learned of my book contract by a surprise announcement in front of five hundred of my closest friends, my fellow writers, at the American Christian Fiction Writers Conference. Many of you may know that each year at the ACFW conference Barbour Publishing publically awards contracts to three recipients. You may know this, but I had never been to an ACFW conference and didn’t know contracts were awarded in the Heartsong Presents Mysteries imprint. So my first surprise of the afternoon was when Susan Downs took the stage. My mind started racing. What? Susan gave out contracts? Too bad I’m not in the running for something like this. She’ll never say my name. No, definitely not me.

Yes, I was certain I would be the last name she announced. Here’s why. At the end of March, I submitted a proposal to Susan for Nipped in the Bud and within three days she asked for the full manuscript. Wow, something in the proposal must have resonated with her. Then within three weeks I received a positive evaluation of the manuscript with a few suggested revisions. Susan was not able to contract new works until the fall and she requested I return the revised manuscript to her by August 1 when she was in a position to make a decision. This was a good sign, right?

Though disappointed that I would have to wait until August for any firm answer, I made the revisions, sent the manuscript back in late July and waited to hear from Susan. I’d also completed Read Between the Tines, book two in the Garden Gate Mystery series and sent that proposal to Susan, as well. I was pumped. My phone was polished. Charged. I eagerly waited for that call. Each day I woke up hoping it would be THE DAY.

But Susan was silent. Nothing. No response. And when I asked my agent about it, he was vague, encouraging me, yet at the same time saying nothing. I whined to my critique group, which includes three Heartsong Mystery authors. They tried to encourage me, but when August came and went, I was certain Susan had lost interest in Nipped in the Bud and I began living with the Maybes. Maybe my revisions hadn’t been enough. Maybe she didn’t think I could take direction. Maybe a better manuscript landed on her desk and she went with that one. Maybe I missed another opportunity.

So, you can see with that mind set, when Susan began to describe who the contract would be awarded to, starting first with vague items like she’s a wife and a mother, I peered around the room waiting for someone’s face to burst with excitement as they recognized her description. Susan continued, and I realized each point was true of me. Her focus became narrower and it still fit me. I can’t remember the exact comment that told me she was awarding the contract to me, but I can remember turning and looking into the excited faces of three members of my crit group and their faces telling me that they had known about this. Some of them since April.

Yes, they were in on the surprise. They had to be. You see, I wasn’t even planning on attending the conference. So they had to help Susan get me there. My first reaction, was no fair. You knew for so long, and I stressed all this time. But then, I realized what an honor it was to have Barbour publicly announce their affiliation with me, that tears were my only response. Today, the question I am asked most often is, was it worth waiting for months to learn of the contract this way. My answer is a resounding YES. And I eagerly look forward to May of 2009 when my first book in my Garden Gate Mystery Series, Nipped in the Bud will be released, and in 2010 book two Read between the Tines and book three Seed You Later will be released. You can read more about these books at my website, http://www.susansleeman.com/ .

My dream came true. Not in the black and white of a phone call, but in living Technicolor of up close and personal. And as my dream came true in full view of the conference attendees, it spoke to the unpublished writers in the group proudly proclaiming, “Yes, it can happen to you. Keep working. Learn the craft. In the face of rejections, keep writing. Don’t give up. Next year, this could be you.”

RS Writing Services ~ Just the facts, Ma'am

The Christian mystery and suspense market continues to steadily grow. And the popularity of book clubs like Barbour’s new cozy line, Heartsong Presents: Mysteries! and Steeple Hill’s suspense line only proves the enduring interest that readers have for the genres.

Writing a suspense or mystery is often a new world for the average writer. Not many of us have backgrounds in law enforcement fields. Often we’ll get in the middle of a manuscript and realize we’re missing an essential law enforcement fact. Or, as we plot our books, we wonder, is this realistic? Would this really happen? Very often, we end up spending a lot of time and effort trying to develop contacts with overworked cops, and then we’re limited by how much time they can give to us because answering the kinds of questions we have does take time.

Glenn Rambo and Candice Speare are both published inspirational authors with a desire to see other Christian authors have access to the law enforcement information they need. That’s why they co-founded RS Writing Services.


How did RS Writing Services come about?

Glenn: Candy was helping me review and edit one of my books, and I was helping her with law enforcement facts in the books she was writing, as well as the books that she content reviews. On and off we talked about some of the law enforcement mistakes we see in the published books we read.

Candice: The idea for the business crystallized one night when I was asking Glenn some law enforcement questions for a book I was reviewing. That’s when we realized that there might be a need for writing consultants that combine law enforcement expertise and content reviewing and editing experience. He said something like, how many other writers out there need this kind of help? And how many need the kind of help you have to offer?

Why is there a need for a business like this?

Glenn: It's a place for authors who have a great story to shore up the plot and details with accurate and authentic facts even if they are writing fiction. Is there anything worse than reading a book and saying, "Umm, that can't happen" or "That is SO wrong?" We provide authors with a place to check their facts and plots so they can put out the best product available.

Candice: I’m in agreement with what Glenn said. When I read a book with unrealistic crime scenarios or law enforcement scenes, I want to toss it against the wall in frustration. And I’ll think twice before reading another book by the author.

Readers nowadays have access to all sorts of law enforcement information on television. I don’t mean shows like CSI. I mean true investigation shows like 48 Hours which follows detectives as they investigate homicides. Our readers are smart, and they’ll notice if we fudge on facts.

And I guess I have a heart to see inspirational fiction be the best out there and to see the market grow. We have some excellent authors already, but we also have some steep competition from the secular realm. I want to do everything I can, anyway I can, to see the Christian suspense and mystery genres continue to excel and surpass all the competition. That’s why I’m so excited about what Glenn and I have to offer. And the things we plan to offer in the future.

What do each of you offer the business?

Glenn: We have Candy’s knowledge of writing, editing, and the writing business. I’m able to add a ton of information and insight into the law enforcement and emergency services world. Combined, we’re able to provide beginning and seasoned writers with some great information.

Candice: Glenn’s expertise is really the backbone of RS Writing Services. He has years of experience in many facets of law enforcement, as well as emergency services. This kind of information is invaluable for the suspense and mystery writer.

How do you believe RSWS can benefit Christian writers?

Glenn: Well, our clients will instantly have two new friends who will believe in their work and pray over it.

We can give the struggling writer or the seasoned author a new perspective on things and shore up their knowledge on anything related to crime scenes, murder plots, police procedure, detective work, K9s, drugs, guns, explosives, emergency medical information, and firefighting. We'll help them take that information and infuse it into their book and review the other parts of the book to turn out a great work.

Candice: Everything Glenn said; plus, I know when I look for help with my work, I want honesty and kindness. I want to know if something I’m plotting or writing is really bad, or if it’s not going to work. Because sooner or later someone is going to tell me, and he or she might not be so nice. I like having someone working with me who will tell me the truth and then encourage me to rethink things if necessary and move on.

Oh, and here’s the best news. We have some great things planned for the future to give crime writers the kind of insider knowledge they need to write the best books possible. Keep checking our Website. It’s exciting!
Do you really get along?

Candice: First of all, we’re both committed Christians who have a desire to please the Lord in everything we do. We try to keep our priorities right: God, our families, and then everything else.

In a business partnership mutual values are important for success. For example, when Glenn tells me that business has to wait because his family needs him, that’s fine as far as I’m concerned. That goes for me, too. Business waits when family calls.

We’re both determined that our work honor the Lord, whether it’s RS Writing Services, our books, or our other jobs.

But our getting along is a funny question and something we talked about before we decided to go into business. It’s the classic tortoise and the hare. I’m the tortoise. He’s the hare. (And we all know who won that race. Ha-ha.) But seriously, we balance each other out. That’s what makes this work.

Glenn: I'm impatient. Fly by the seat of my pants. Here are the facts. Let’s go. Candy thinks things out. She’s prepared and thorough. We make a good team and bring two different worlds together to make one complete business.

Check out RS Writing Services at http://www.rswritingservices.com/ ,
as well as Glenn and Candice’s author Websites:
http://www.glennrambo.com/
http://www.candicemillerspeare.com/

Elizabeth Ludwig Guest

Elizabeth Ludwig Guest Posting today

I got the first copy of my first published novel in the mail today. What a feeling. Suddenly the culmination of years of effort—of tears, trials, and triumphs—was realized. But it’s not only the tears and trials I want to talk to you about today, it’s also the triumphs.

You see, I like many other struggling authors, wasted months and years thinking there was only one triumph—publication. I missed so many opportunities for rejoicing in what God was doing through the trials.

I first started writing in 2001. I’d written before that, but never with the singular goal of actually becoming published, so for all intents and purposes, we’ll start there. I wrote my first manuscript, sent it off to be published, and was heartily disappointed when it came back to me rejected.

I must be doing something wrong, I thought to myself, and promptly revised my cover letter. It wasn’t until I joined a writer’s group and began to learn the CRAFT of writing that I realized it wasn’t my letter that needed revising.

So, armed with the understanding that I had much to learn, I began attending writer’s conferences. With each passing year, I saw my skill grow. With each passing year, my collection of rejections also grew. I entered what I recall fondly, now, as the desert years.

The desert years were a lonely, desperate time of self-pity and despair. How I wish I had realized then the presence of God in my life. With every tear I wept, He gently and lovingly molded me. Like a potter using water to make the clay pliable, God used my tears to soften and shape me. I’ll never forget the moment the realization hit that nothing, not a moment of time in my long and difficult publishing journey had been wasted.

“Don’t be so focused on the goal that you miss the journey.” (Paraphrased)

I heard these words at a conference I attended. Suddenly, I realized that was exactly what I’d been doing. My goal was publication. Only that. Not the knowledge to be gained along the way, or the friendships forged in adversity. I missed the fleeting opportunities God had prepared to comfort me, and for me to give comfort. Like a darkened landscape exposed by a shaft of lightening, my life suddenly became visible, and I became determined to ENJOY the writing journey God had set me on.

“I thought I was ready to be published at the first conference I went to,” I told a colleague. “I soon discovered I wasn’t. The second conference I attended, I only hoped I was ready. This year, my third conference, I have no idea if I’m ready or not, but God does, and I’m leaving it in His hands.”

What a good decision I made that day. All things are safe in God’s hands, including my hopes and dreams. Once I’d been broken enough to turn it all over to Him, He was able to direct my path. There were still countless rejections to follow, mind you, but none of them ever cast me into despair the way the first ones had. Instead, I saw them as challenges to face, more difficulties to be overcome. Always, my Lord stood beside me, leading me, fighting my battles.

My hope for you, dear author, as you read this, is that you will be encouraged in the midst of your desert—that you will see the promise that is yet far off, and be inclined to wait for it. Our God is faithful, and He has great and mighty things to teach you.

May it always be our goal to accept whatever comes from His hand.

Then the LORD replied: "Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it. For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay. –Hab. 2:2-3

SLOW BUT SURE IN GOD’S TIMING

SLOW BUT SURE IN GOD’S TIMING
By Darlene Franklin

Until lately, I could fit what I knew about publication into the rolling ball at the end of the pen that I used to write when riding the bus.

Write novellas for Barbour to break in? I didn’t even know about the anthologies until after they published my book Romanian Rhapsody in 2005. After three contracts with Barbour, I wrote my first novella in Snowbound Colorado Christmas, September 2008.

Eventually I found my way to contests. Maybe some editor would read my prize-winning prose and award me a contract!

No such luck. I won or finaled in about half the contests I entered. None of the wins led to a contract.

To make matters more confusing, all of my wins have been for nonfiction; all my published books (so far) are fiction. I do have a decent track record selling personal experience stories, devotions, and teaching articles.

Nonetheless, I’m glad I entered the contests. I first won with an article entitled “Beautiful Feet.” I entered it in the “published author, prose category” at the 2001 Colorado Christian Writers Conference.

That win gave an incredible boost of confidence. For the first time, I believed in myself and the possibility that I would become a professional author.

My most recent contest entry—back cover blurb for a novel—didn’t win. However, I won where it counts. Heartsong Presents: Mysteries! has released the book in question, Gunfight at Grace Gulch. And the tease supplied by the losing back cover blurb intrigues everyone who picks up the book.

Read it below and tell me what you think.

GUNFIGHT AT GRACE GULCH

A century-old feud refuses to die.
The feud between the Graces and the Gaynors is still going strong more than a century after its inception in the 1891 Oklahoma land run.
Newspaper editor Penn Hardy is murdered during the reenactment of the most famous gunfight in the history of Grace Gulch, Oklahoma. Cici Wilde, owner of a vintage clothing store, feels compelled to investigate when police suspect people close to her. She soon discovers her talent for sleuthing equals her flare for wearing period clothing.
Theater director Audie Howe never expected the reenactment to end in a real murder. He cares too much for the future of the Magda Grace Mallory Theater—and the charming Cici Wilde—to let her face danger alone.
Cici and Audie take a dangerous gamble to nail the killer—and lay their lives on the line.

Stop by Darlene’s website at http://www.darlenehfranklin.com/

and visit her blog at http://www.darlenefranklinwrites.blogspot.com/.