My Writers' Coat of Many Colors

by Elva Cobb Martin

Jacob gave Joseph a coat of many colors to show the great love he had for this son.

Contrary to branding principles we're told to follow, I believe Father God has given me (and many of you) a writers' coat of several colors.


I am writing fiction and nonfiction, articles, devotions, and contemporary and historical romance novels. I have written a number of poems and a pourquoi children's story.

 I even have a cozy romantic mystery on the back burner whistling like a tea kettle.

But the latest "color" on my palette is an independently published mini-book, Power Over Satan. Publishing my brief Bible teachings and seminars, a long-time goal, is now becoming a reality. This 40-page book is a primer on the believer's authority and how to discern

and overcome attacks of the enemy. It includes many stories of people who have done just that, including my law officer son who chases criminals using not only his law enforcement authority, but powerful spiritual warfare principles as well. Just released on Amazon in both ebook and print, find it here http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00N28ORG0

I trekked across the Alps and forded many rivers learning how to indy publish on Amazon.

But that's another blog.

What about you? Have you found a single brand, genre or type of writing that is bringing you the fulfillment you are seeking as a writer? Or do you long to stretch your wings and soar over the walls of "specific brand" to new places the Lord might be leading you to and your heart beats faster to even think about them?

Joseph's coat of many colors led him into trouble and red-hot-lips testing. But, as Paul Harvey would say, "the rest of Joseph's story" included fame, fortune and being exactly in God's plan for not only himself, but for his family and a new nation being birthed during hopeless times.

 Thanks for dropping by and please do leave a comment and share on Twitter and Face book if you think this article might not bore others.

May you find joy in all you write! Except for that pesky editing. I pray you find endurance and diligence for that.
Elva Cobb Martin

Interview with author Gina Holmes

Please welcome, novelist, Gina Holmes. Gina is the founder of popular literary site, http://novelrocket.com   She is a two-time Christy and ECPA Book of the Year finalist and winner of the INSPY, Inspirational Reader’s Choice, and Carol Award. Her books regularly appear on Christian bestseller lists.

Gina, tell us a little about your newest release, Driftwood Tides.

Driftwood Tides tells the story of an aging, alcoholic driftwood artist turned beach bum, Holton Creary, and young Libby Slater. Libby grew up with an absent father and a loving but cold, socialite mother. Leading up to her wedding, Libby and her groom-to-be go through genetic testing and she learns her blood type doesn’t match either of her parents. She confronts her mother and is reluctantly told that she’s adopted. She goes searching for her mother, Adele, only to find her husband, Holton Creary lying face down on the carpet of his Nags Head beach shack.

She lies about her real identity until she is finally found out. Holton does not welcome the news. He never knew the wife he had given saint status too had given up a daughter for adoption. Together the two search to find the truth about Adele, Libby’s father and themselves.

What do you hope readers will take away from this book?

At its heart, Driftwood Tides is really about discovering who we are, whose we are, where we belong and the need to accept and bestow forgiveness.

Why did you set this novel in Nags Head?

Oh, how I love that place! I’m not sure there’s a more peaceful setting in all the world. And the further out I get from civilization, the happier I am. I love the sand dunes, the untouched nature, the quaint towns. Just everything! Well, except sand in my bathing suit maybe ( :

You seem to have a recurring theme in your novels about absent fathers, if it’s not too personal, why do you think that is?

It is too personal, but I don’t mind answering (wink!) When I was 6 years old, I was packed up by my stepfather and driven to my father’s house. Overnight I had a new Mom, new sisters and brother, house and life. It was as traumatic an experience as I can imagine. There were few explanations that made sense to me and I missed my other family desperately. I think ever since I’ve been trying to settle some pretty deep-seated questions. Writing books is wonderful for that.

The novel you’ve written that seems to be a fan-favorite is Crossing Oceans, do you ever see yourself writing a sequel?

I love that book too. Makes me cry just thinking about certain scenes. I would love to write a sequel, prequel or off shoot stories. I love those characters dearly. I’m under contract for three different novels, so I’m not sure when I’ll have the time, but I’d love to explore Craig’s story and of course, Bella’s. I miss Mama Peg very much!

You’ve said that your favorite novel you’ve written is Wings of Glass. Why is that your favorite?

Well, for storyline, I think Crossing Oceans is the strongest. I think my writing in Wings of Glass was my best, plus when I was very young I watched my mother in one abusive relationship after another, and then two of my sisters. I had been there too, despite thinking I was better than that. I know the mindset that keeps a woman (or man) in a relationship like that and I wanted to give insight to those who don’t understand. I’ve received enough letters to know I did what I set out to do.

You’re originally from NJ but write all your novels from the South, why do you set your novels down South if you’re from up North?

Ha, you found me out! Yes, I was born and raised in NJ. As much as I love my friends and family, I am definitely more suited for the slower pace of the South. I’ve lived in Southern VA for half of my life and I plan to spend the rest of my life here if I can help it. I try to write books from settings that make me happy. So I write where I want to be. (Although, I’ve got to say, NJ food is amazing and you’ve got to love a boisterous NJ laugh!)

What do you like most about being a writer? Least?

Most, I like being able to have a platform to share lessons I’ve learned in my life that I know others would benefit from. And more than that, I just love to tell a good story.

Least,would be the unpredictability of the business. Sometimes it seems so random and the lack of control makes me uncomfortable sometimes. (Which is probably right where God wants me!)

Do you have any advice for aspiring novelists?

My advice is pretty much always the same. 1. Write. So many people want to have written but don’t actually do the work. 2. Get to a writers conference because there’s so much you don’t know, that you don’t even know you don’t know. If you don’t you’ll be spinning your wheels for years, wasting valuable time. 3. Run, don’t walk, to the nearest bookstore and buy yourself a copy of Self-Editing for Fiction Writers. Then apply it. (Best money I ever spent!) 4. Join a good critique group and get a nice thick skin, ‘cause you’re sure going to need it!

If you could go back to the pre-published writer you were, knowing what you do now, what advice would you give her?

Well, I wouldn’t have told myself how many novels I’d write that would never see the light of day, because I would have given up. I wouldn’t have told myself how little money there is actually to be made or how lonely writing can sometimes be. I wouldn’t have told myself that I’d still have a day job with 4 novels out in stores, including 3 bestselling novels… okay, but that wasn’t your question… I would tell myself to relax. Some of this, most of this is, is out of your hands, and that’s okay. It’s not going to be at all what you think it is, but it’s going to be so much more. You won’t get rich, but you will touch lives. At the end of the day, that’s going to be exactly what will fulfill you.

Where can readers find your books and more about you?

Thanks for asking. My books are in B&N, BooksaMillion, Amazon, Lifeway, Parable, Family Christian and hopefully a good number of independent bookstores. You can find me at http://GinaHolmes.com. Thanks so much for hosting me!

If you enjoyed this interview with Gina Holmes, please do leave a comment.

Hugs,
Elva Cobb Martin

My GPS Writing Life: Recalculating

by Elva Cobb Martin

Driving the other day with our GPS, I suddenly saw how my writing life resembles this navigational gadget. My husband looked on with raised brows as I burst into uproarious laughter. If you read on, get ready to laugh and release some healthy endorphins into your system.

In writing I “put in” my goals and happily slam my foot on the gas doing what I love most these days, writing. But then I find the pavement running out from beneath my wings and must “recalculate.”

Goal: Write the dream novel.

Fall in love with an idea, a genre, a character, a setting, a theme.
Research, research and read tons of novel writing books.
Join a writers’ group.
Attend an expensive writers’ conference.
Plan like crazy getting the main plot points, conflict, MRU’s in order.
Gas up to the speed limit, getting the first draft down on paper.

Email: “Cozy mysteries are no longer selling well.”       Recalculating

 

Goal: Get an Agent

Research sites, friends, writing groups, the kitchen sink and the fence post for good measure.
Research query letters.
Research agents not on the any kind of predator list and their submission guidelines and blogs.
Revise, critique, and polish the query. Repeat, repeat, repeat.
Send it to The Agent.

Email: “Sorry The Agent is no longer accepting fiction clients.”  Recalculating

Goal: Submit to an Editor Myself

Research fiction editors and publishers. Repeat, repeat.
Learn how to do a great One Sheet.
Join or start another writers’ group heavy on critiquing.
Attend some more expensive writers’ conferences.
Get editor appointments.
Get some nibbles.
Memorize every word the editors say.
Revise, get critiques, polish, check DPOV, pesky words and tricky errors. Repeat till done (or till you hate the novel).
Send full ms to first editor asap.

First editor response: I really like this but we have just bought a novel with similar theme and setting. Sorry.

Repeat most of the above.

Second editor response: I like this so far, but we are really looking for novels of 95,000 – 100,000 words. Yor're about 20,000 short. Sorry.

Repeat most of the above.

Third editor response: I like this but it’s too wordy. You need to cut about 20,000 words.

RECALCULATING! ---The thing I now do best.

 

What about your writing life? Ever feel like you are on a GPS merry-go-round?

The good news is that my auto GPS, most of the time, even with several recalculations, manages to get me to my destination. I hope the same holds true for my writing life, especially since I have the best model on the market, GHS, God's Holy Spirit.

Somehow I believe we will get somewhere.



If this article made you smile and feel less alone as a writer on the uphill, curvy journey to publication, please leave a comment, tweet it and share on Face book.

Thanks so much for stopping by.
Elva Cobb Martin

Guest Blog What is a ONE SHEET Anyway?

So What is a ONE SHEET Anyway?

Guest Blog By Edie Melson

Today I welcome Edie Melson as our guest blogger on a timely subject, One Sheets. As co-director of the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers' Conference she has seen quite a few and written many herself. Do leave a comment or question and I'll pass it on to Edie!

Guest Blog

For those of you getting ready for a big writers conference, you may have heard about the need for a One Sheet. This tool is also known as a Pitch Sheet. It's a one page presentation of the project you're pitching to an editor or agent. Today I'll be explaining how to put one together.



Click here  to see an example of my cozy mystery, DEAD RINGER one sheet. This sheet led to multiple requests for proposal and full manuscripts. To answer your question, no, it's not been published. I sent it out too soon and killed my chances -- but that's fodder for a future post!


There are three basic components of a one sheet -- the project blurb, specifics about the project and the author's bio -- including a picture and contact info. We'll take each component individually and explain what's included.


An Image to Illustrate Your Concept

A lot of one sheets include an image to set the mood. This isn't a requirement, but we're seeing it more and more. You can buy an image, upload one of your own, or use one that's copyright free.

The Project Blurb

For this section, think back cover copy. This is NOT the place for a full synopsis. You want this section to read like the blurb on the back cover of a book. You should give more information than just a hook. Make sure you include enough for the editor or agent to get a good sense of the story.

Project Specifics

This is where you give some of the details and they're slightly different for fiction and non-fiction.

Fiction

Genre -- like Romance or Suspense.

Manuscript Length -- this doesn't have to be an exact word count, just an approximation.

Target Audience -- every book should be written with an audience in mind. I know, we all think our book will appeal to a wide range of readers -- and that may be true. But this tells the potential editor or agent how to market the book. It will help sell a publishing house on your manuscript by defining the reader you're writing for.

*There isn't a section here for completion date because it's understood that a manuscript must be complete before it's submitted. It's okay to pitch an uncompleted manuscript with a one sheet, but it's rare for anyone to look at it as a submission until it's complete.

Non-Fiction

Projected Completion Date -- the reason you don't have a non-fiction manuscript completed is because publishers like to have a say in the overall concept.

Manuscript Length -- since it's not completed, this is just an estimate.

Target Audience -- just like in fiction, you need to focus in on who specifically you're targeting with this manuscript.

Similar Titles, also known as Comparables -- you don't have to include this, but it's nice if you have room.

Author Info
This is where you need to include a recent picture, personal bio, contact information and social media information.

Picture -- this should be a professional headshot. That doesn't mean it has to be stuffy, but it needs to be of professional caliber.

Bio -- keep this short and relevant. The person reviewing your one sheet is going to want to know your experience. That includes writing experience and experience with your subject matter. In other words, why are you the person to write this book?

Contact Info -- You need to include your email address, phone number, and website URL. This is no need to include your physical address. It just takes up valuable real estate without adding anything.

All of these individual components will give you an effective one sheet. Be sure to post any questions or comments you have.

Edie Melson is the author of numerous books, as well as a freelance writer and editor. Her blog, The Write Conversation, reaches thousands each month. She's the co-director of the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference and the social media mentor at My Book Therapy. She's also the military family blogger at Guideposts.com, social media director for Southern Writers Magazine and the senior editor for NovelRocket.com. Connect with her on Twitter and Facebook.

Review of MaryLu Tyndall's Abandoned Memories

In this Book 3, Abandoned Memories, in her Escape to Paradise series, MaryLu takes us back to the Brazilian colony of Southerners who left the South after the Civil War.

The colonists have found their escape most definitely has not landed them in paradise where the living is easy. Their lives are filled with hard work, many dangers, natural enemies, and not a few supernatural ones. In fact, this book reminds me of the spiritual warfare we found in This Present Darkness.

Despite all the dangers, labor and spiritual warfare in Abandoned Memories, we still find a sweet love story between two very human and broken people, James Calloway and Angeline Moore. Not only do they have to combat all the various terrors that attack the colony, including huge army ants, they have to overcome their own past failures to find true love.

This is a great read if you love adventure laced with courage, romance, and mighty spiritual principles.

I found the Epilogue and Author’s Historical Note at the end of the story most satisfying and another confirmation of MaryLu’s diligent research she always puts in her novels.

I have no doubt this whole series would make a great movie. Bring it on!

Patriotism Winds A Blowing

This July 4th weekend I've watched several inspiring movies about our amazing battle for liberty.  I'm so full of patriotism and thankfulness to God, if anyone so much as touches me I might break out in "God Bless America," or the national anthem or the Pledge to the Flag! Or tears at how close we were so many times to not even having a Revolution or a free and glorious America. Only God could have made it possible.

The movie 1776, which so aptly portrays the battle in Independence Hall trying to decide to and then WRITE a Declaration of Independence, moved me to joy, then tears, and underscored how we have had and STILL have a  debating, often divided Congress.  But RIGHT and courage prevailed then, thank God, and we must believe it will again and again.

The inspiring movie about brave, skilled Captain John Paul Jones who founded the Navy and I think also the Marines is excellent, and moved me to righteous indignation when he was often passed over for commands by corrupted, noble family political appointments that he warned was the big mistake of the British military. But his ideas, his ideals and spirit prevail to this day in naval training and promotion. A most exciting scene in a deadly naval battle with a British ship shows Jones ship shot up, many dead on the decks and taking on water. The captain of the enemy ship shouts over to Jones and asks if he's ready to surrender. He replies, "NO SIR, I haven't begun to fight yet!'

What's not to love about the brief movie "Give Me Liberty" and Patrick Henry's mighty oratory that stirred up Virginia to enter the Revolution and help the northern states?

There is an old saying "When all is said and done, more is said than done."  But in the glorious, miraculous birth of this one nation under God, I believe more was done than has ever been said.

I am saving these movies on my TV log for my grandson who is six right now, but will need to see the truths they portray.

Of course, the recent great American Revolution series TURN got me ready for this Fourth Celebration in a big way. I've saved it, too, and hope they come out with a next season!




But who can talk about the first great battle for our nation without remembering those who battle for us still in bunkers all over the world? Let's never forget that the courage, bravery and sacrifice that birthed this nation continues on to keep us free. There are enemies who would love to swallow us up. This brings spiritual warfare prayer and some tears, too. But also faith that God will continue to bless America as we come back Him.

Have you renewed your patriotism and thanks to God on this birthday of our nation?

Thanks for stopping by!
Elva Martin

ACFW-SC First Pages Contest Winners

Hello Friends!

Today I would like to share below a photo and media announcement about the winners in our ACFW-SC Chapter Inspirational Novel Contest, First Five Pages.  Get ready for a new fall contest coming soon and you don't have to be a member of our chapter to enter.  Here's the media announcement pasted in FYI.
                                                                               

  The South Carolina Chapter of American Christian Fiction Writers is happy to announce winners of their 2014 Inspirational Novel Boot Camp contest, "First Five Pages." Awards were presented at the final session of the boot camp at North Anderson Baptist Church, Anderson, June 28. Attendees of the chapter meeting enjoyed hearing the first three winning manuscript pages and judge's comments read aloud.  


First Place went to Elva Cobb Martin, Anderson, for The Labyrinth, an inspirational romantic mystery set at Lake Junaluska Assembly in North Carolina.

Second Place winner, Debbie Turner of Greenwood, polished her five novel pages with one finger while recovering from a broken wrist. Her entry, a Young Adult mystery, is entitled Written in Red.

Third Place winner, Bruce Brady of Simpsonville, hooked interest with his opening pages of a young man being rescued from a deadly automobile accident. His Y/A novel Thom and the Time Tunnel is sure to be a hit with young readers.

First Honorable Mention winner, Fran Strickland of Abbeville, entered a fast-paced Inspirational Romantic Suspense, The Message at Stone Tree.

Second Honorable Mention went to author Kimberly Pickens of Simpsonville for Molly's Story.

The contest, coordinated by Edie Melson of Simpsonville, mandated entries from unpublished fiction writers, but authors did not have to be members of the chapter. Entries were required to follow strict guidelines regarding content, industry format, and the length limited to the first five pages of a novel. Authors also included a 200-word blurb or pitch.

An acquisitions editor judged the contest, offered comments for improving the manuscripts and remarked that all entries had merit.



Front Row left to right: Fran Strickland, Kimberly Pickens. Second row Elva Martin, Bruce Brady, Debbie Turner

 A fall writing contest is in the plans which will be open to ACFW-SC Chapter and non chapter members. Please call Elva Martin at 864/226-7024 for further information on the contest or the monthly meetings which are open to visitors.

Information on the national organization of American Christian Fiction Writers can be found at www.acfw.com. The South Carolina Chapter blog can be visited at http://www.scwritersacfw.com .

Thanks for stopping by today!  

Elva