Allie Pleiter gets CHUNKY!

“How can you write four books a year???”

I get asked that a lot—as do many Love Inspired authors.  It’s one of the joys—and the challenges—of working in category fiction.  I’m happy our readers have such an appetite for our stories, look forward to the next books in our series, and become fans of individual authors.  I like to think I write characters my readers want to be friends with, to invite out for lunch, to have as next door neighbors.  It’s part of the wonder of books, isn’t it?  Discovering worlds you want to linger in long after you close the cover?

My smart-aleck answer to the “How can you?” question is usually “One word at a time.”  The truth is closer to “with effort and discipline.”  For me, that means 1,000 words every morning, 1,000 words every afternoon, five days a week, most weeks a year.  It’s the best job in the world, but parts of it are still like every job everywhere.  You need to sit down and make it happen.  (Or, in my case, get on the treadmill desk and make it happen…)

Today I launched a personal publishing project that lets fellow authors and aspiring writers everywhere in on my Chunky Method of Time Management for Writers.  Those 1,000 words I talk about in the previous paragraph are my “chunk.”  I use my “chunk” to plan, schedule, and even improve my writing productivity.  Now I can let you in on why I take being called “The Chunky Lady” as a compliment :)

This an exciting venture for me, putting into print form a class I’ve been passionate about teaching for years.  I’ve been writing fiction and non-fiction since the early days of my career, but have focused on the Love Inspired line for the past several years.  It feels good to get out into “teaching” mode again.

Don’t worry, there are plenty of Love Inspired novels still to come from me.  In just a few weeks, the story of Ida Lee Landway begun in HOMEFRONT HERO gets its own happy ending in THE DOCTOR’S UNDOING.  And I’ll be tackling the third book in the LONE STAR COWBOY LEAGUE continuity series later this year.  And who knows—you may be seeing even more independent fiction from me!

Easter Season blessings to all of you from the Pleiter house.

Guest blog post, devotional, and giveaway on Shannah's blog

Hey guys, Camy here! I hope you don’t mind, but I wanted to let you know about my guest blog post at Shannah’s blog. I’m talking about my writing process for my latest book, which is a short novel/long novella published in Sealed With a Kiss, the latest Inspy Kisses collection. I’m talking about my hero and heroine and showing the actors who inspired them.

I’m also doing a short devotional for Shannah’s Water Your Faith Wednesday, and then there’s a giveaway for my contemporary romance, Sushi for One. Head over to enter!

Love Inspired chat tonight!

The monthly Love Inspired readers and writers chat is tonight from 8-10pm EST. I hope you’ll join us!

http://community.harlequin.com/123flashchat/client/

Beyond just the writing....

When I started writing, long before I even thought of the possibility of submitting anything to a publisher, I knew I loved the process of writing, but never dreamed that it would open up my life in so many ways.  I think all writers would agree!

With the research for each book, came all of the interesting research books I might never have read otherwise.  Trips to a gun range, a llama farm, the travel with a rodeo contractor.  Learning to explore the vast world that opened up to me, and  all other writers, with the advent of the Internet.  And the wonderful people!  Finding experts in various fields, to more accurately portray a character, has led me to fascinating people who have shared information on their professions and their lives--providing an  array of details and emotions,  their hopes and dreams. Meeting these people has enriched my own life in many ways.

But there's more--the friendships with other writers and with readers, that mean so much.  Wonderful organizations like ACFW and RWA.  And on an even more delightful note, our daughter Emily loves to write, and  now comes with me to the RWA conferences, and to some of the other conferences and workshops, as well.  I can't tell you how much I love having this extra bond, this deep interest that we both share.  The photo was taken at The Blue Belle Inn in August, where proprietor/author  Sherrie Hansen holds a popular, semi-annual weekend writer's retreat.  Inspirational author Lyn Cote and I were speakers, and she is shown here with Emily.

Do you have a special interest of some kind that you share with your family or closest friends?   Has it drawn you closer?

Blessings,
Roxanne Rustand
www.roxannerustand.com

The Art of Writing Continuities

Hi, all. Charlotte Carter here.

The key to writing a continuity series is communication and keeping close track of the details.

In the course of my 20 years of writing fiction, I’ve authored several author-created continuities and connected books. They’re fun to write and readers enjoy revisiting characters they’ve come to love. Keeping track of the details is almost easy; only occasionally does a character change eye color from one book to another. Oops!

In the past few years - in addition to writing for Love Inspired - I’ve been writing continuity series for Guideposts Books, most of them cozy mysteries.

These continuities are BIG. Some run as long as 30 individual, related books.

The recent Hope Haven Hospital series had a guide (or bible - note lower case) 55-pages long. The guide includes information about the characters - height, eye color, occupation, what kind of car they drive, etc. This series has a cast, almost literally, of thousands, all of whom have spouses, children and relatives a’plenty. Worse, for each book three months pass. They’re getting older, retiring, graduating, marrying, having babies. (Envision author with crossed eyes.)

To add to the complexity, Guideposts series have multiple authors, typically six, and more if the series continues for several years. This is where COMMUNICATION comes in. Nowadays, that’s usually via a Yahoo group.

If I’m writing book #3 in the series, the author of book #1 has just completed her book. I need to know if that author has described Jane’s house or the church Jane attends. While she can and often does share that information with me and the other authors, the editor hasn’t yet approved the descriptions or maybe Jane’s odd habit of chewing gum. That tidbit of information has not yet been added to the guide.

YIKES!

I write merrily on my way, a wad of gum in Jane’s mouth. By the time my book is in the editor’s hands, she tells me in rewrites that Jane no longer chews gum.

SAY WHAT? I’ve used Jane’s gum to stick an important clue to the bottom of Jane’s shoe. Now I have to go through the entire manuscript ridding Jane of her favorite mint-flavored gum plus find a clever way for Jane to discover the critical clue that used to be stuck to her shoe. (Ah, the next door neighbor kid chews gum, drops a piece in a critical spot and voilá! Jane finds the clue. Whew....)

So, you may ask, what are the Pros and Cons of writing a continuity of this sort?

First, the flat rate paid is comparable to the earn out for most category romances. Once you’re on the team, the work is steady as long as the series continues. It’s also a creative challenge to take someone else’s characters, locale and storyline and make it your own. Unlike stand-alone books, the publisher does all the promotion, which allows the author to concentrate on what she does best – write. I really like that. I also enjoy getting to know some really talented authors.

The most obvious con is that many authors want to write THEIR story, not someone else’s. Deadlines are tight. If an author doesn’t write fast or procrastinates, she’ll be in trouble down the line.

I should also mention, in the case of Guideposts Books, the publisher invites experienced authors to participate in a series and there is often an audition chapter required.

In my case, I get the best of both worlds – the steady and interesting challenge of writing books in a complicated series and the fun of writing my own stories for Love Inspired, sometimes even connected books such as Big Sky Reunion (4/2011) and Big Sky Family (11/2011).

What is it about reading a series or connected books that appeals to you?

Happy reading......

Char......

www.CharlotteCarter.com

commit to be being committed

My church is doing r12. No, we're not insulating the attic, that's already been done. (And it saved us a bunch of money, but that's beside the point)
Nope, we're doing Romans 12, a spiritual journey of surrender, by Chip Ingram.
So you ask, what's that got to do with writing? After all, surrender to me conjures up non-action, compliance, sitting down and giving up. Certainly not characteristics of my heroines! (I really have to rein them in sometimes. They act like me with PMS!)
Why don't we, instead, change the word to Commitment. Committing yourself to God, for His best. That's what I'm doing. I'm committing myself. And part of that is to writing. I pretty much took the summer off, enjoyed the hot weather, participated in a mission trip to Bolivia, and grew vegetables. Now that fall is here, I am committing myself to writing. To trusting in God that He will guide my words and allow me to deliver books that speak to us about God and how to draw closer to Him.
By committing to trust God, I'm also committing to write more. To get more out to agents, editors, even get it to my printer every once in a while. It's going to take some trust, some work and more than a little prayer. I'm inherently lazy, I admit it.
Is there anything speaking to you about commitment? Is there anything you need to commit to, in order to trust God more? We don't need to be a Super Christian in matters of commitment. We can start in little ways, such as praying as we cook supper, or reading the Bible for five minutes on our break, or writing out a passage of scripture and tacking on the bathroom wall. Or turning off the TV for half an hour.
Are you willing to commit to something to help draw you closer to God? Even something small?

This is Barbara Phinney, blogging about the year of the rejection. It's kind of like a Chinese new year, but without the assigned animal.Yes, as you can imagine, I've received a few rejections. So I have done what every writer worth her mettle does. I keep on writing. And worrying. With two children in college and a husband just laid off, and the heating system needing an overhaul, you can imagine how much I'd like another contract.
But I've also experienced something else.
I was given a lovely daily devotional, and in it, on the first day I sat down outside to read it over a cup of coffee, it read,
"See not the small trials of each hour..."
The next day, it read,
"Trust in me absolutely."
Then, today, whilst at our church school helping out, our devotional was in John 15, but instead, my eyes fell onto John 14:27:
"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."
So, do you think God's trying to tell me something?Yeah, I do, too. God usually needs a bolt of lightning to get my attention, but this is less painful, I think.
So I've tried to set my worries aside. But one question remains. Do I sit and wait for something miraculous to happen? Do I wait like that fool in the flood, sitting atop his house as rescuers pass by, and declining all of them?
I am still writing. I am still submitting, but I know it will be in God's time. I know that He will see me through this rough patch. And of course, I would like to know the plans He has for me.
But trust, that one thing around which most of our stories are centered, is something I'm learning.
Have any of you seen God telling you something? Have you had to sit back and wait? How long have you had to wait?
I'm praying that your day is filled with peace, trust and love, all from God.Barbara Phinney

Pet Perspective

We live on a farm at the intersection of No and Where. We've been through many dogs. Some we had to dispose of ourselves, some got run over, some just disappeared. Mostly we had a que-sera-sera attitude toward the dogs. When you live on a farm, most animals have to serve a purpose and that includes dogs and cats and horses and cows. When we got Toby, the dog in the picture here, we chose her for a purpose. Both her parents were excellent cattle dogs. And, we discovered, so was Toby. She was a natural and lived for the days when we had to move the cows to work with the calves or move them from pasture to pasture. But what set Toby apart from all the other dogs that roamed in and out of our lives is the fact that she was smart, loving, cute - and she stayed alive for fourteen years. She was the only dog that we had this long and, as a result, became a part of our family like no other dog had. She was loved and adored and appreciated by our children, by my family and by our own friends. She loved children and was always gentle with them. She let our 18 month old granddaughter sit beside her and put hats on her head. She would go with me on long walks as I untangled twisted story lines, prayed for my children and simply enjoyed being outside. For fourteen years, as I headed down trails and roads, always in my peripheral vision, was the sight of her black tail, waving like a plume, her head up, sniffing the air.

Over the past year she started showing her age. When we went out for a walk she would stay a bit closer to me and didn't go charging out after deer, or running off into the field following the scent of a coyote or scurrying off into the trees to chase down a rabbit. But she as always game to head out no matter how cold or hot. My husband had always taken her to the mountains when he went out on week long trail rides with his horses. This was the highlight of her year, but this year, we knew it wasn't going to be possible. She was just getting to old for eight hour long rides. We started to think that maybe, one day, this dog might not be with us. I started to wonder when we would have to make that fateful trip to the vet, though I knew it wasn't going to happen soon. Toby was still in such good health and I didn't want to contemplate having to make that hard decision.

Then, one night, last month, she and a visiting dog, headed off to check something out in the back field. The visiting dog returned and Toby didn't. I called and called, and when she didn't come bounding up to me, mouth open, tongue hanging out, looking as if she was laughing at some private joke, I knew something had gone horribly wrong. But it was 11:00 at night and cold and I didn't know where to start looking for her in the forest surrounding our home. Neither my husband nor I could sleep that night and as soon as it got light, we went out to look for her. Awhile later, we found her, dead, in the snow only fifty yards from the house. Killed by two wolves according to the tracks we found and the way she had been killed. As I knelt down beside her broken body, I could not believe how deeply I grieved the loss of this dog and how much it hurt. I used to chuckle at people who grieved pets, thinking, how much can you love a dog? Well, last month, I choked on my own words. I found out exactly how much you can love a dog. I found out exactly what kind of a hole they leave in your life when they go. Especially when all the kids are out of the house and sometimes the only conversation I would have was a one-sided one with my dog.

Toby now lays under a pine tree on a sunny hillside overlooking a field. A fitting final resting place for a dog who loved to run up and down those self same hills or sit beside us when we would enjoy the warm sun. My husband and I have had deeper, harder sorrows in my life. We buried a child, each of us a father, grandparents and cousins. We've stood by graves of friends, of children of friends. I know where to put this sorrow for our dog in the grander scheme of things. But it is still a sorrow and I know that anyone who has ever had a beloved pet understands.

Someday I'll find a way to channel this into a story. I'm a writer. That's what writers do. We take the good and bad events of our lives and shift and re-shape them and then put them in a book. It's a way of dealing and controlling events we have no control over. So some day, when you're reading one of my books, you might have the privilege of meeting Toby for yourself. I hope you enjoy her as much as we have.

Novel Settings

Hi! Merrillee here. When I start a new story, I usually have the hero, the heroine and a problem. The next thing I need is a setting. Where do these people live? What setting will enhance the story? How will the place the characters live affect their lives? These are all questions I have to answer.

My goal is to write at least one book for every place I have lived. So far I have a series set in the small fictional town of Pinecrest, Washington, which I set near Spokane, Washington. I lived there when I was in high school. I took this photo of a sunset when I was visiting in Spokane. In all three books, my characters watch a sunset. Some of them see God's beautiful creation, while others find the array of colors an expression of their feelings. I especially like to use settings to convey character traits or feelings.

I also wrote one lone book set in Dallas, Texas, where we lived when my kids were in high school.

My next series of books is about three brothers, who grew up in Atlanta, Georgia, but two of them have found homes in different parts of the country. I loved writing the first book because it is set at the beach in Florida. I live near the beach, so I could easily imagine my characters frolicking in the surf. I could feel the sand between my toes and the sea breeze cooling off a hot afternoon along with my characters.

The second brother lives in South Dakota. How did he get there? Starting when he was twelve, he went to visit his uncle's farm in eastern South Dakota and he fell in love with small-town life and farming. Numerous readers, who either lived in South Dakota or visited there, wrote to tell me how much they enjoyed reading about places with which they were familiar.

The third brother, who is a big-city business man, finds himself with a new job in the mountains north of Atlanta. He has to learn to adjust to living in a small town. Instead of looking at skyscrapers, he's looking at mountains and lakes.

Settings are important. They often make the characters who they are. It influences the way they think, the way they talk and the way they view life. What kind of settings do you like to read about—the big city, a small town, the seashore, the mountains or the wide open spaces of the prairie?

chatting over chocolate

Someone once said chocolate stops the aging process.  Now it may not be true, but do you want to take a risk?  Of course not!  That's why we eat chocolate, right?

Well, tonight we set our aging clocks back a decade or two.  And I was glad to be a part of it.  The ladies at Main Street Church, in Sackville New Brunswick, invited me to their 'Chatting over Chocolate' ladies' night out.  I was one of the guest speakers, and with table strewn with chocolate chips, chockie pretzels and little Dove chocolates about, AND chocolate trifle for dessert, am I one to turn that down?

Duh, of course not.  I decided to talk about Mythbusting The Romance Novel.  You see, my brother narrates for the Mythbusters show and so I 'borrowed' the idea a bit.  I wanted to set them all straight on romances.  I had to give my spiel twice, once on Monday night and the next Tues night.  

I think it turned out well.  I pulled no punches.  Romance writing isn't easy, and Harlequin, Love Inspired, esp. sets the standard high.  You think that Christian romances are easy to write?  You think that because Harlequin owns the line that they can't be wholesome Christian stories that touch our hearts and encourage our readers?

I wish you could have heard me, then.  Harlequin sets the bar high and is by far one of the most professional organizations I've worked for.

And, because I am who I am, I coloured my talk with a bit of fun and humour.  Things like my editor just asked me to move my island.   Apparently, it's not going to work where it is.  Other stuff like getting a 19 page contract in full blown legalese and the only thing I understand is the very tight deadline and the amount of money they're going to pay me.  (I flipped to that first)

I'd like to tell you the ladies enjoyed every minute of my talk, but the Bible says something like Speak not thine own praises, but let other men speak it.

So I'm not going to tell you they laughed and congratulated me on my talk.  (You didn't hear it from me, okay?)

And if you quote me, I'll deny it!

Have a great day!