The Blessing of Reader Input by Cheryl Wyatt

Good morning! :-)

I'm working on a new book that I'm targeting toward Love Inspired for my Eagle Point Emergency series. The very cool thing about this book is that the opening scene (which includes a runaway lawn mower) was inspired by a discussion I had with readers on my Facebook author page here.

I also put feelers out for other things like season for the setting and secondary characters for the story. Those decisions went so much smoother with reader input! :-) I hope you'll join us sometime. We have a blast plotting fun and mayhem for my characters over there.

When I ran into research and plot snags (lawn mower and grill-related), I went to my reader page and you came through for me!

Plotting alone is not nearly as much fun as plotting with readers. I've found that books plotted with reader input mean so much more to me (and to readers) than books for which I haven't sought input.


Amid plotting that future book, I received the cover for my 4th Eagle Point Emergency book from Love Inspired and was absolutely THRILLED to learn that the awesome team chose to put a navy blue truck on my cover...something readers suggested.

It was SO fun to see that community-inspired element turn up on my cover! I'm excited because I think it honors readers and shows appreciation for their efforts in taking time to connect with us.

Here's a peek:


The Hero's Sweetheart will release from Love Inspired in February of 2016 & can be pre-ordered now from your favorite bookseller. The Hero's Sweetheart on Amazon




I also have a winter themed story releasing as part of an anthology from HarperCollins Christian Publishing on November 3rd (that's NEXT WEEK! YEEEEE!). Do you like the sepia cover?

A Season to Wed on Amazon

Readers, never underestimate the power YOUR words have in encouraging the authors you love to read. Your words and your readership, along with God's grace and guidance is what keeps us going.

What we do, we do for you. It makes my heart glad to know that many of the story elements that make it into the final form of my books are ideas inspired by the very friends whose readership enables me to continue writing. I am thankful for the ability to mention helpers in the dedication and acknowledgment pages of books.



From the bottom of my (our) heart(s)...THANK YOU!

YOUR TURN...

*Do you enjoy offering input on books? If so, how so? 
*What would you like to see more of in our books?
*Does it mean a lot to you when authors ask for input? 
*What's your favorite way to connect with authors?

Thanks SO much for visiting today. Being able to connect with you and get to know you is an honor!
I have lots of fun stuff and new projects releasing soon. Sign up for my newsletter to learn more.

READERS ROCK!

Warmly,
Cheryl Wyatt

Allie Pleiter on Happy Endings

I don’t know about you, but life sure seems messy lately.  Dear friends are sick, families close to us are in pain, jobs are stressful, and the world seems to be serving up a heaping helping of giant-sized problems.  I don’t have to look very far to find bad news.

That’s why I am on the hunt for good news.  For good things, happy stories, light, and love to balance out all that stuff that’s weighing my soul down.  

Back when my son was sick, I began the practice of listing four blessings every morning.  I would think and think (and some days think some more) until I could come up with four things to be thankful for at the start of every day.  I still do this every morning.  It helps my brain be on the lookout for the blessings God sends even on the worst of days.

Love Inspired does the same thing.  I get many letters from readers who say they choose Love Inspired books as the light spot in their dreary world, whatever it is they may be facing.  Happy endings have power.  We all need reminding of love’s conquering power and faith’s ability to sustain us.

Even though my Gordon Falls series (THE FIREMAN’S HOMECOMING which came out in June and THE FIREFIGHTER’S MATCH coming in November) deal with some serious issues, they tell of the light and love that still exists in the world.  It’s why I write romance--I don’t want to spend my time and energy adding to the world’s angst, I want to send the antidote!

So before you dive into your daily dose of Love Inspired, join in my daily habit:  tell me four good things about today.  I trust it will start you on the lookout for more.

Gratitude and Attitude or How The Evil Snowplow Driver Is No More!

(this post can also be found at www.alittlegoodnewstoday.org)
We’ve had a difficult Christmas season, having lost an uncle and having my father-in-law taken to hospital, where he still is, awaiting heart surgery. My mother-in-law is trying to stay upbeat, and we’re all trying our best to encourage her, but it’s what strangers are doing in our lives that make the difference here.
First up, just after my father-in-law fell ill, my niece found herself stuck up in Ottawa, and her father and her uncle decided to drive up to Quebec to meet her halfway. The trouble was, that horrible big storm we had before Christmas was barreling down on us, and those of us at home waited for news of their safe return.
It didn’t come. But then we did get word of something just as good, maybe even better. My brother-in-laws decided to pull off the road somewhere up north of Fredericton. They drove into the nearest driveway and asked if they could park there for a few hours until the storm died down.
The kind family in the house wouldn’t hear of that. They invited them in, offering them shelter to my niece and my brother-in-laws for the night, plus a few warm meals.
The next day, when the storm had passed, my brother-in-laws shoveled out the driveway in gratitude before they left. Those of us waiting at home were thankful that this family, whose last name we still don’t know, had a spirit of charity.
Now, you may be wondering what this story has to do with evil snowplow drivers. I’m getting to that. Those who know me know that I always called the snowplow driver evil because of his remarkable ability to batter my mailbox, fill in my driveway, and dump incredibly copious amounts of snow directly in front of my mailbox, when all around me seems to be clear. And those of you in rural locations know the plight of the rural mailbox and of the mail couriers. We need to keep our boxes clear, something impossible with the bulls-eye marked on them for the snowplow driver.
Not so anymore. We had a terrible storm New Year’s Eve, and it lasted well into the January first. It wasn’t until the second were we able to get out to the end of the driveway. My brother-in-law (one of the ones mentioned earlier) and his wife came over from next door to help us, as we’d planned to visit my father-in-law in the hospital that day. We were making very little headway, when, over the crest up the road came...you guessed it, the snowplow driver. We scattered like mice, cringing at what he might do to the meagre work we’d achieved so far.
He passed us.
Then stopped.
Then backed up.
And then...he graded out our driveway with that huge front blade of his.
My sister-in-law cheered, claiming it was her old face that caused his sympathy. Whatever the reasons were, I swore on that day that I would never call him the ‘evil snow plow driver’ again. My sister-in-law and I hugged and cheered and waved as he drove off.
We don’t know who this man was. Though we saw his face, all we could tell was he was a young man, brown hair, small nose. But to us, he was the epitome of the season. Like that family up north of Fredericton, he came to our family’s rescue. We are a family whose Christmas has been tough, sad, scary, even. And yet, in the midst of it, there were two bright points, two acts of kindness that show us how much people really do care.
Thank you to both the family who cared for ours during the storm, and the snowplow driver who showed a little compassion to us this past week.
I hope their new years will be as blessed as they have made ours.