Vote Pro-Life, Pro-Godly Marriage

Please vote Pro-life, pro-godly marriage on Nov. 6 and help us get God's blessing and wisdom again for America. Vote Republican.

Loving God and America,
Elva Cobb Martin

Resubmitting my novel after changes

This week I finally finished making suggested changes by an agent and resubmitted my inspirational romance to her. She asked for the One Sheet, the Proposal and the full mss to be hardmailed.  Wow! I printed out 307 pages, thumbed through them again and still made changes, which meant reprinting changed pages.
But now I've sent that baby off with my blessing for $13.50 at the US Post office. It's a relief and that's why I now have time to blog! And get on with my Book 2 idea of a prequel.  Yes, I polished up a One Sheet on the prequel and also enclosed it as the last sheet in the agent's package. That night I woke up almost in a sweat. WHAT IF she says she wants the second book and how soon can I get it ready?  Can I do a second book when it took me 30 years to write this first one?  Yes, I did say 30. Kinda. I wrote the first draft of this novel 30 years ago. But the Lord called me into the ministry and I stuck the whole big box of research and the first draft which was typed on a Selectric typewriter up in my attic. When I  retired from full-time pastoring, I pulled the box down and have been rewriting ever since. But NOW that child (teenager/young adult?) is on its way to a New York agent. NEVER GIVE UP on YOUR novel dream.

A great quote heard at a homeschooler's high school graduation service this week which was so spiritual and blessed I had to fight tears several times: Here's the quote:

"If you've been called to be a missionary, don't stoop to be a king."

    And one touching sentence of a father's blessing to his graduating daughter as her video shots rolled by:
"Lord, whatever you don't protect her from, perfect her through."

Graduation the way it was meant to be with God and parents fully involved!

Blessings,
Elva Cobb Martin

Overwritten - Cutting Description

Last fall I submitted my "finished" (is it ever?) Christian romance to six agents. Two eventually asked for the complete mss. The first one finally rejected it, saying it didn't "move" fast enough. The other one also passed on it. She said it should have started on page 5 and was "overwritten" but that I could resubmit. So, of course, I replied and asked her to further define "overwritten" and she wrote back: "too many descriptive words."  


So-o, after spending some days, weeks, mired in the muck of disappointment, I have started work cutting description, moving faster. This is only my seventh time rewriting! But I AM DETERMINED to sell this novel to SOMEBODY. If it takes the rest of my life. Now there's a commitment that will bring you up, out of the mire and muck. Besides, every time I go back through Summer of Deception, a romance set just after the Gulf War, I fall more in love with Luke Markham and Rachel York.
Below is their first meeting I have now moved up to page 2. 

Story line: Summer of Deception is the story of a young woman who determines to unearth the truth about her brother's reported death by taking a position at an historic Carolina Plantation, only to realize he truth may destroy her new found love and could even cost her life.


(The heroine has arrived late one night at Markham Hall, Charleston, South Carolina.)

Rachel stepped onto a looped rug that spread under two leather chairs and a wide desk. A woodsy smell of cedar chips floated on the air.

A dog’s bark split the silence.

 Rachel gasped and dropped her purse.

A man, bronzed by the sun or weather, stood in front of a rock fireplace at the far side of the room. A patch covered one of his eyes. He wore a faded olive T-shirt and Levis stuffed into army boots. The Irish setter at his feet started to leap forward but fell back when a strong hand clamped on its collar.

Rachel found it difficult to breathe as the man’s glance raked from her head to her open-toed heels peeking beneath her jeans. She resisted the urge to smooth her curls or straighten her blazer. Instead, with all the grace she could muster, she retrieved her handbag from the rug.

The dog barked again and its master took its head into his hands. “I want you to sit quietly, Gabriel. Got it?” His voice resonated with authority.

Gabriel sat with his mouth hanging open in a grin, his tail wagging.

After an affectionate rub, the man snapped the dog’s lead to a ring beside the mantle and strode toward Rachel.

A quiver of uneasiness traveled up Rachel’s back. This was not the elderly Charles Markham she expected to see. This man appeared to be in his late twenties or early thirties.

His boots clunked three times on the bare floor before he reached the rug near her. The damp t-shirt stretched across thick, muscled shoulders and arms. Raindrops glistened on his short black hair. He was built like Ron. However, the similarity stopped there. Her brother had been fair and blond, and he was…gone.

Trembling at that thought, Rachel looked up at the man standing before her. Even in her three-inch heels, he was a head taller. Brown stubble darkened his chiseled cheeks. A thin mustache floated above his upper lip. Dark shadows under his eyes and lines etched around his mouth hinted at grief or pain. Or was it anger? Nevertheless, he was the most handsome man she'd ever seen.

 “Sorry Gabriel gave you a start. I’m Luke Markham.” He extended a hand toward her with a stiff smile that briefly lifted the shadows from his face and showed even white teeth.

His closeness and the deep, rich timbre of his voice sent a tremor through Rachel. She reached her hand toward his. Luke's calloused one swallowed hers and caused warmth to travel up her arm. Their gazes locked. The scent of spicy aftershave mixed with sweat and rain tickled Rachel’s nose.

“Rachel York,” she said, surprised at how squeaky her voice sounded. She pulled her hand away and tried not to look at the eye patch.

He noticed and adjusted it before he picked up an armchair as though it were a bucket of oats and moved it near the desk. “Have a seat.”

She glanced at the chair and then at him. This certainly was not the man she needed to see. “Thank you, but I’m fine.”

Luke shrugged and sat behind the desk. A small, half-finished carving lay in front of him, surrounded by cedar chips. He swept the shavings into a trash basket and shoved the aromatic wooden piece and pocketknife into a drawer. Then he leaned back in his chair and looked at her with keen interest before something like shutters closed over his face. He cracked his knuckles twice before speaking. “What brings you to Markham Hall, Miss York? –On a night like this.”

Somewhere in the house, a clock began to strike the late hour. The dog in the corner plopped down and laid its head on its paws.

Rachel sighed. “There’s been a mistake. I’m here to see Mr. Charles Markham.”

Luke’s chair squeaked as he sat forward. “Uncle Charles?”

“I’m sorry I’m late, but my plane was delayed by the storm. Is Mr. Markham retired already?”

“You... might say so.” The man emphasized each word. “What exactly did you want to see him about?”

Rachel’s empty stomach knotted. First the housekeeper, now this apparent nephew. Wasn’t anyone expecting her? She shook off her uneasiness. Everything could be cleared up in two seconds. “Mr. Markham offered me a summer position. I have his note.”

Luke’s brow rose. He laid strong hands on the desk. “May I see it?”

Rachel sat in the chair he had offered and opened her handbag. As she searched for the paper, his rapt attention made her feel like she used to feel during her stepfather’s interrogations. She knocked a lipstick tube to the floor and bent to reclaim it. Relax. Never again would she have to fear Lester Black's control of her every move. She could just see his face, contorted and red, when he found her note tomorrow. Too late. She was in the midst of a wonderful new beginning, just like Ron had found two years earlier. She found the folded sheet and handed it across the desk.

An uneasy silence settled in the room as Luke reread the note several times. 

Rachel’s travel weariness returned and a pain began to throb behind her right eye. She glanced around. An impressive gun case caught her interest. Finally, she began scanning titles in the bookcase behind Luke. But her mind seemed in such a jumble she could only make out “Marines” etched on the spines of tall manuals. Her eyes fell on a gold-embossed Bible resting in a corner and above it some framed family photos. Two of a dark-headed little girl. Her charge? Some of Rachel’s frustration evaporated.

She looked again at Luke bent over the letter. How could a brief note take so long to understand? Obviously, he didn’t know about his uncle’s offer to her of a summer job. Mr. Markham’s gentle face that day in Dean Wood’s office floated across her mind. Her confidence recharged.

“Where did you come by this note, Miss York?” Luke’s challenging tone startled her.

She swallowed and forced her voice to stay calm. “From your uncle, of course. He can explain everyth—".

"Uncle Charles died three weeks ago.”

Onward! ---Elva Martin

New Year's Advice Heard From an Elder

1) Watch who gets into your boat. Jesus got into Peter's boat and filled it with fish.
     Jonah got on a boat and almost sank it.

2) God will not allow you to hang on to two worlds. You've got to burn your plow.
     It's God's responsibility to send people to take you to the next level. It's your
     responsibility to burn your plow.

3) As a true friend we must warn those who've gone astray. Once we warn them,
     it's up to them to turn back.

4) We're in an all out war against our flesh giving in to the spirit of disobedience    
      that's at work in the world today. That's why the Bible talks about "weapons" of                  
      our warfare. Best be learning what they are and how to use them in 2012. Here are a few of them: the Word of God, written or whispered in our ears; the blood of Jesus; gifts of the Spirit, and fruit of the Spirit, especially love, joy and peace. Hint: anything from God can always blast to bits anything from the enemy.

Have a happy, blessed, victorious New Year!

Creating a hero tips

In a recent post Mary Lu Tyndale shared some great tips on creating a hero. Here
they are:
1) Pray and decide on a theme for the book, some moral lesson you want to express through the story. Make it a great take away--forgiveness, redemption, destiny, loving others, humility.
2) Choose a personality for your hero. You can use the many personality charts
available.
3) Give him a backstory. Write his history. Interview him.
4) Create a character arc and a spiritual arc for him. How does he grow? What does he learn? How do you get him from A to B?
5) Look for a picture of the man you've created and keep it close by as you write.

Have a blessed Thanksgiving and a great time creating a hero!
Elva Martin

Plotting Tips Part 1

Get a cuppa tea (or your favorite beverage) and let's talk some more about writing while
sitting in the shade on this lovely Unpubbed Island. Here's a cup for you and a photo of our setting.

Now, comfy?  Let's chat about plotting. Are you a seat-of-the pants writer or do you like to plan and outline? I'm more of a planner. I like to know pretty much where I am going before starting out. Two folks have been a good help to me in finding a good plan for plotting my wip (work in progress).  Randy Ingermanson has his great Snowflake method many find useful, including me. You can find out about it at AdvancedFictionWriting.com. I also like Cheryl Wyatt's "Plotstorming" idea, one of many great articles recorded in Seekerville's "The Unpublished Author's Boot Camp Manual".  You can go to the manual by googling Seekervilleblogspot.com. Click on the button at top
"Writer's Resources." See article and click on "The Unpubbed Author's Boot Camp Manual for 2011". This manual has a ton of information and easy click on articles covering every aspect of writing and getting published. In my next blog I will share some helpful things I've learned and am using from this manual.
Be blessed today and keep writing, planning and plotting. Don't get carried away by the sand, sea and blue sky on Unpubbed Island. It's a place we need to vacate!   Elva Cobb Martin

What Should You Take to Editor/Agent Appointments?

Years ago, as a first time conference attendee, I took a fiction book proposal of 30+ pages for about six editors. That proposal, which I had spent blood, sweat, toil and tears on, weighted down my suitcase all the way to the conference--and all the way back home. I learned in those 15-minute appointments that editors don't want a full proposal, at least not from new writers, at a conference appointment. But what do they want?

That's not saying we may ever know what ALL of them prefer, but I do know what some want, especially those who came to our great March Carolina Christian Writers' Workshop in Anderson, SC, which I directed. Just maybe your targeted editors would like the same or similar. So sit down with some chocolate and a cup of tea for a moment or two. Something here may inspire, instruct or maybe, surprise you.

Abingdon Press Fiction Editor Ramona Richards (quoted)
"I'd like to see a business card (free ones are available from www.vistaprint.com; inexpensive ones from www.overnightprints.com and for each author to have their elevator pitch memorized and polished. They should be prepared to answer questions about their protagonist, antagonist, various plot elements--and themselves. Authors can bring anything along they want to help them, but I'll only be accepting business cards."

Acquisitions Editor Rick Steele, AMG Publishing 
Rick told me on the phone that he would like to see a writing sample - an outline, or a synopsis, or a chapter by chapter outline/synopsis and a brief marketing comparison of current books on the market similar to yours and how yours will be different. He also likes to hear 50-word pitches and he sent me his submission guidelines for queries and full proposals to share which you can get by googling AMG Publishing. He prefers
queries before a full proposal on non-fiction or fiction.
Literary Agent Tamela Hancock Murray (quoted)
"An elevator pitch, a one-sheet, a synopsis, the first page, a chapter, a business card and brief bio are all great, especially if the author has only one project. I recommend a one-sheet for each project, or if its a series, then a paragraph devoted to each book in the series on the one sheet. I am happy with the author's bio and pic on the one-sheet. I don't need that and a business card if the author doesn't have them."

For those who might need to know, a One-Sheet contains: a photo of author with name and contact info, a blurb of the book project(s). If you have room, you can add: possible endorsers, a brief list of comparable books, a relevant illustration, a small bio. You  can google One Sheets for examples. Kaye Dacus has a
good example on the net, too.

Did you notice how many times the word "pitch" came up above?

Here is a tip from Robin Perini, quoted a while back by Treble Books Publisher, Lee Emory, that has helped me. Robin relates pitches for fiction to the story question.



(Your Protagonist)________________MUST_________________(Critical

Plot Goal) BY___________________(Conflict with the Antagonist, etc.),

ONLY TO REALIZE_______________________(What the character learns about life that helps him change his goal during the journey of the book)

Here is an example Robin gave: Jacob Marshall must avenge his father's honor by implicating Serena Jones' father, only to realize revenge often hurts the innocent.

Here is what I finally wrote (and keep writing) for my Christian romance, Charleston Nanny

Rachel an orphaned college girl, determines to unearth the facts about her brother's death by going to Charleston as a nanny on a tea plantation, only to discover that the truth may destroy her new found love and could cost her life.

Hope this blog has been some help!  Keep on studying to show yourself approved and keep on WRITING.
We will get off unpubbed island!    Blessings, Elva