The Power of Positive Thinking

As I sat at my desk, staring at a blank page, I couldn’t think of one single thing to base my article on for my chapter newsletter. Finally, I gave up and headed upstairs to bed. Along the way, I spied a booklet I’d received but hadn’t read. “Expect a Miracle—Make Miracles Happen” by Norman Vincent Peale.

I picked it up and began to read and knew I had to share this with my friends. I realized this principle is what has given me the peace to persevere through all the family “challenges,” and realized I should be applying this to not only my personal life, but also my writing life.

The miracle principle is based on six words: “Expect a miracle—make a miracle happen.” I’ve known people who are negative. Everything bad seems to happen to them. They pronounce doom and gloom and they can really sap my energy. Nothing I say changes a thing. If I make a suggestion, there’s a reason it won’t work. You know the type of personality I’m talking about?

After reading the booklet, I have decided that from now on when anyone preaches doom and gloom, I’m just going to say, “Expect a miracle.” I believe in miracles. They happen every single day. Perhaps they aren’t as spectacular as the burning bush or the parting of the Red Sea, but they exist. If a person expects the worst to happen, it will! But, what if a person expects the best to happen? Having a positive outlook and expecting wonderful things brings joy and happiness. I believe in this principle. I live it.

But, I haven’t applied it to my writing life. I’ve been so busy putting my personal life in perspective, that I’ve neglected to carry the principle through to all aspects of my life. From now on, I will sit down to write with the expectation that the words will flow and they will be good. I will approach submitting my manuscripts with a positive attitude, await the release of my books with a positive attitude. I will expect a miracle—and make a miracle happen.

How about you? Do you believe in miracles?
 
Carol Ann Erhardt
http://www.carolannerhardt.com/
JOSHUA'S HOPE

Time, Talent & Treasure

'Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth,

where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:
But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven,

where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:
For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.'

Matthew 6:19-21, KJV

You've been there, I'm sure. You know the place. It's that time and circumstance in your life where you ask God: "Am I doing what You want?" or perhaps: "Is the calling You've placed on my heart really from You, or is it my own wants and desires pushing through?"

Sometimes, like now, those questions crowd my spirit. Sometimes, like now, I find myself in that dreaded land known as Limbo. A disclaimer here: I don't do well with Limbo...which is probably why God uses it to teach me and mold me - but that's a blog post for another day!

Anyway, Limbo makes me question things. Limbo sometimes puts me in a place where I think: "You're not making progress. There's no forward motion. Since that's the case, then you're not doing what God wants. If God wanted this from you, you'd be leaping forward, with his power and might behind you. You'd be beating those swords into plowshares!" Couple that thinking with the success I see others achieve and doubts try to take root - like:

"You're not good enough." "Your message doesn't get through." "You don't reach people as well as that best selling Molly Author." And then there's the worst one: "What's all the effort for, anyway?"

Since that type of logic sounds suspiciously like the Devil talking, these are the times when I step back, and consider and my life, and its path. In other words, I explore 'The Big Three' - my Time, Talent and Treasure.

TIME: I dedicate whatever time I possibly can to the craft of writing. It brings me such joy to create a story! Especially a romance, because there's no better emotion to celebrate than love. For me, James Michener said it best: 'I love writing. I love the swirl and swing of words as they tangle with human emotions.'

TALENT: As Christians, we're challenged by God to make good use of the talents, and circumstances He gives us. I've been blessed to see my works in print and electronic formats - yet I refuse to be secure in myself as a writer. Maybe it's because I fear being prideful and 'me' centered instead of accomplishing my work as a disciple. It's something to keep in mind during my journey, as a writer and a member of God's family...but it's a talent. A talent of which I try to make good, Godly use.

TREASURE: Matthew's Gospel verse at the top of this post says it all when it comes to what we should (and shouldn't!) treasure. It's so simple, yet so complicated in today's results-driven, materialistic culture. Additionally, so much begs for our attention. Friends, family, careers, goals and the fulfilment of our dreams. So what about Treasure? What does 'Treasure' mean to me? I believe it lies in creating Christ-centered romances that help readers feel uplifted and affirmed.

Some day I may be a New York Times best seller. Or not. Regardless, writing has given me the opportunity to touch people, and show them God's unending, unconditional love. So, if my Time and Talent enable me to touch but one life, or turn just one soul toward Christ's love, I've attained Treasure beyond knowing, and beyond price.

That, to me, sounds like a God thing. And from there, I know I'm on the right path, and I can rest much easier - even when I'm in the Land of Limbo.

CONTEST! CONTEST! CONTEST!

In conjunction with this post, I have a contest going on at my personal blog: A Minute With Marianne. The prize is an autographed, print edition of Hearts Crossing, and entering is as easy as leaving a comment. Winner to be announced on Friday June 11th, so drop by and check it out!

Until next time, be blessed, and be well!

Marianne

Infuse the Muse

The weekend is upon us and I know for some that means more writing time and for others more family time. For me it’s both. We do spend time as a family over the weekend but I also try to sneak in a couple hours of uninterrupted writing time if I am in writing mode. So with that in mind let’s think about keeping that muse revved and ready for some productive work.

A while back I took time out to rewrite my very first book which had gone Out of Print in the hopes of resubmitting it elsewhere.

MY GOODNESS! That rewriting business really zapped the inspiration and creativity out of writing. I’d been feeling a bit overwhelmed and hadn't been having any good bouts of writing. And that made me irritable and an irritable writer is not a productive one. At least not in my case. I needed a shot in the pants to get me going but what? There are all kinds of articles about inspiring that story and focusing your muse. Some will work and others won’t. It just depends on you. Here’s what helped me during that rewrite.

I spent some time reading through Writer’s Digest magazine and The Writer magazine. Both excellent resources. In The Writer there was an article about breathing life into your characters. Now to be honest, there was nothing new or exciting about this article. Many of the points were ones I’ve read before and even shared with other authors. But I thought—what they hay—let’s give it a try. Because sometimes if you get bogged down, bored or just stuck on one project, a new one will get you going again.

I ran across a blurb I wrote about a year ago and thought—wouldn’t that make a great romantic comedy?! And the inspiration started to flow. I followed the advice in The Writer’s magazine and created the Alec and Jane characters as well as brainstormed some ideas of what would happen throughout the book and outlined the first chapter. Wow, the Muse was back! And then I reopened my other project and zoomed through the rest of the chapter. It worked. I was back in business. And when I get time I have a great story to start on.

So, tell me how is the Muse been treating you. If you’ve been feeling stuck, what works to get you started again?

An Introduction, The Story of a Thrill, & My 'First Ever' Contest!

So there I was – just noodling on the Net – when along came an e-mail that set my world spinning.

But wait, I'm sorry. I need to back up a pace or two and catch you up. I need to fill you in on the complete picture of my life at a most extraordinary moment in time – when I became a member of the White Rose publishing family. By the way, I’m delighted to be making your acquaintance here at the Blog.

My son and his wife had just come home for the holidays. My daughter had also just arrived for break from college. My hubby and our entire family were camped out in the kitchen, making traditional Christmas Sugar cookies for Christmas Eve festivities in a couple of days. A question came from my son, Dan: "Mom, while Mary's out for a minute, can you show me the top you got her for Christmas? I think I may have gotten her the same thing. I want to make sure my gift is different.”

The top in question was already wrapped and under the tree, but since I had ordered the item on line, I had an e-mail from the company, complete with photograph.

"Sure," I answered. "Come on over to the computer."

Question. Busy as we were (fresh-made cookie dough waited - as did green and red sprinkles and multi-colored sugar-balls...) why did everyone follow? Why? Because something was brewing, and God knows exactly what He's doing. Always.

I paged through e-mail and as I hunted down and opened the confirmation notice for Dan, I also saw a new message that made my heart pound. The sender was Nicola Martinez, Editor in Chief of White Rose Publishing. The subject line: Hearts Crossing Contest Entry.

I passed it by. I didn't want to click the 'open' button at all. In fact, I showed Dan the picture of the gift item - found out duplication was no longer an issue - then logged off e-mail.

Here's my justification: Just days away from welcoming 14 family members to my home on Christmas Eve, I didn't want to find out I had lost the Hearts Crossing writing contest sponsored by White Rose Publishing. I was happy and content. I didn't want anything to interfere with that fact. When you don't "know" there's always hope, right?

You see, this contest meant a great deal to me. For quite a while now, I've wanted to break into the Christian inspirational market, and White Rose has a strong, growing reputation in the industry. So, the contest, which I entered back in September, was a wonderful opportunity to do just that. At the same time, I was realistic enough to realize victory was beyond my wildest hopes. A lot of incredibly talented people were vying for the grand prize - a book contract.

So, I figured the e-mail would read something like: "Thank you so much for entering the contest. While your submission featured many appealing elements, the competition was very tight, and we regret to inform you that..."

Yeah -- you get the drift.

When I turned away from the computer, I caught my husband's eye and he could tell something was up just by looking at me. All I said to him was, "I think the verdict is in on Hearts Crossing." Steve sweats and bleeds publication issues right along with me - a partner in the best sense of the word. Unfailingly supportive he said, "Well, come on! Open it up! Let's find out!"

I was, shall we say, somewhat less enthusiastic. In fact, I was nervous as all get out. I even explained all the reasons why I avoided opening the e-mail. His answer to that somewhat psychotic behavior? "Marianne, really. If you win, we're all here around you. If you've lost, we're all here around you. What more could you ask for?"

Dang he's smart sometimes.

I huffed and I sat, opening up my e-mail once more. A deep breath later I clicked on the e-mail from Nicola. As it opened, Steve quipped, "It'll probably say Congratulations…"

First word of the e-mail? "Congratulations..."

I have to confess, and don't tell Nicola this, but, initially I didn't read much beyond that first word. Instead I burst into tears. Meanwhile, Steve and the kids whooped and cheered. I found myself blessed by an incredible moment, one I got to share it with the ones I love so much, and who have supported me through all the inevitable rejections and sad times that also come along quite frequently in the world of publishing.

The tentative release date for Hearts Crossing is late January. Below is a link to the video trailer for the book so you can get to know Daveny Montgomery and Collin Edwards a little better. These two were God-made for one another. Coming soon? The 'official' book blurb and excerpt.


Hearts Crossing Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QT0y46c3Mak

I'm eager to know what you think, so a week from today, one lucky visitor who leaves a comment on this blog, or at the site for my trailer, will win a $10.00 White Rose Publishing gift certificate so they can splurge on a few of their many wonderful offerings!

Meanwhile, thank you so much for welcoming me into the bouquet of White Roses. It is such an honor.

Blessings to you all – Marianne

Dedicating a story...

I thought long and hard about the dedication for my first inspirational romance, Dreams Do Come True, which was released yesterday by White Rose Publishing. After thinking about dedicating it to everyone who's ever read any of my writing, I decided to go for a dedication that also fit the story. What did I finally choose?

To all writers struggling with rejection: Never give up hope.

I've spent years receiving one rejection after another. Dreams Do Come True was rejected twice before White Rose Publishing offered me a contract. Even though there were times I thought I'd never receive a contract from a publisher, I couldn't give up my dream. That perseverance (some might call it stubbornness) is what made me keep submitting even when it seemed pointless. I'd gotten to the point where I expected a rejection from every submission I made, but I also made sure each of those submissions was as perfect as I could make it.

All the hard work of learning the craft of writing and rewriting nearly everything finally paid off. Last year, two of my short stories were accepted for publication by non-paying markets. I know that doesn't sound like much of an accomplishment, but those were my first pieces of fiction published, and one of the markets had rejected my work in the past.

With the confidence those acceptances gave me, I pulled out Dreams Do Come True (which had previously been rejected) and did a little rewriting and polishing and submitted it to White Rose Publishing (which was still the White Rose line of The Wild Rose Press at that point). I had a good feeling about it, sure this would be the publisher for my story. Then I received the email from the editor telling me it was good as far as it went, but I needed to make it longer.

Big sigh. I had absolutely no idea how to make it longer. I'd written the story until the ideas stopped coming. So, I spent a few days praying, thinking, and discussing it with my critique partners. To my surprise (and relief), the ideas started flowing. I added a few thousand words, wrote a much more satisfying ending, and sent the new and improved manuscript to the editor. Her response? She gave me a contract!

With a writing history like that, and since the heroine of Dreams Do Come True is a writer struggling to find a publisher, I had to dedicate it to all the writers going through their own struggles on the road to publication.

All I can say is this: If I can do it, so can you. All it takes is willingness to work hard, learn everything you can about writing and storytelling, and accept constructive criticism. I have yet to hear of anyone who writes a perfect first draft. Even the most well-written manuscript will come back from an editor with a few markings.


Blurb:
Aspiring author Cassie Teague has been rejected…again. As she considers giving up her dream of getting published, a handsome editor walks into her life and makes her wonder if God has more in store for her than just writing.

Acquisitions editor David Jameson wants more than just Cassie’s book. But will office politics destroy his hope for the future?

Dreams Do Come True by E.A. West is available now from White Rose Publishing.

Creepy Crawlies And Things That Bump Up Our Determination

It was a dark and stormy night… Okay, so it wasn’t exactly stormy, just a light gusty breeze, but it was dark and late. Finally, after a thirty minute commute from my local chapter meeting, I pulled into my garage, a little road weary and at the same time overjoyed I actually made it back to watch the late news on television. When the automatic garage door went up, my brain registered that one thing a woman does NOT want to see in the garage. And not just any where in the garage but in that three foot space between the door jambs. A big, fat, hairy tarantula. And it’s between me and my nice, safe house.

Folks, we’re talking BIG here. Apparently, it’s out hunting. Okay, breathe; those Lamaze classes certainly come in handy four years AFTER labor. I contemplated my next move. I could wait it out. NOT! Tarantulas are nocturnal. I could sleep in my not so comfortable car, or I could get out and fight the do I need to reiterate big and hairy spider? In between bouts of irrational musings, I decided to get out of the car and show this arachnid who’s the boss.

Not an easy feat for someone deathly afraid of anything with more than four legs. Stems back to childhood which I refuse to talk about. With husband and children in bed, I had no choice. So spying the offensive creature lying in wait for the unsuspecting dinner (ME) to cross his path, I grab the nearest thing that resembled a pole to shush the thing onto darker, stormier journeys. Now I know why I’ve kept that old broken shower curtain rod by the garage door all these years. I finally could put it to good use.

Let me tell you, Harry was huge. Oh, excuse me...I did tell you this before, but this great brown beast with eight legs was bigger than a breadbox. Hey, it’s my story and I can exaggerate. This particular spider was bigger than the last one I evicted. Harry Jr. must have been the son or daughter old Harry here, but believe me, I wasn’t about to check the sex as I showed it the door. Junior went quietly into the big box. Harry, on the other hand, wouldn’t give up his nice comfy surroundings with abundant food and some semblance of protection without a fight.

Did I mention tarantulas can JUMP? Fascinating as they are to watch each fat, hairy leg stretch and move in a synchronized fashion like those swimmers at the Olympics, this particular one wanted no part of “There’s the door, now stay on your side and I’ll stay on mine and we’ll all be happy” tune. Nope. He kept trying to turn around and crawl back in. And I kept poking him with the metal rod in the direction of the great outdoors. After five minutes, victory was mine.

Which got me to thinking about determination. Harry was determined to stay in my garage. I was MORE determined to evict the huge, hairy beast. The one with the most determination gained the prize. Just as I won in the writing world.

Did I let Harry get the best of me each time he turned around and tried to crawl back into the garage? No. I kept at him, prodding him along. Ergo, did I let each rejection letter end my dreams of being published? No. I kept taking classes and reading articles and honing my craft. But most of all I kept submitting. I kept at it against all odds even when it seemed like I had enough rejection letters to paper my bathroom wall.

Even when Harry lifted his big, fat hairy you-know what at me,– it’s a defense mechanism so I’ve been told – I didn’t let him stop me from my dream of a Tarantula free garage. (or at least the idea that I couldn’t SEE any more of them)

It’s that way with writing, folks. It’s a spider-eat cricket world out there. If you don’t have the guts to keep trying, get out of the way of those authors who will. Because in the long run, all your hard work and determination will pay off. Eventually, I found an editor who got my work. You will, too.

So that’s my story and I’m sticking to it, until tomorrow night that is when Harry, the gargantuan beast, lifts the garage door by himself and crawls back in, or I receive another one of those SASE’s containing a “Thanks but no thanks” form letter. As before, I’ll be ready. I’ll pull out that long pole or log onto my computer again and start the process all over again.

What I learned at our local conference.

Wow. What a weekend. Awesome food, drink and conversation. I love attending our local conference in the Phoenix, Arizona area. In between networking, meeting author authors, whether published or not, editors, agents and attending workshops, getting any sleep was not a priority. But realistically folks, if you ever have a chance to attend a local or regional conference, go for it. I find it way less intimidating than going to a national conference and meeting people in the industry seems to just be easier. Just a word of caution. It is still not acceptable to slip a manuscript under the bathroom stall, and um, agents and editors are more approachable AFTER a visit to the bathroom.

Here are a few things I came away with from Desert Dreams.

1) Paranormals and Inspirational romances are still the trend.
2) Editors and agents disagreed on query letters. Agents primarily read them to get a feel for the book and the author. Editors went straight for the manuscript.
3) Both editors and agents agreed that the first 10 pages are key. If you don’t hook them then, you’ll get a rejection letter. However, some were more willing to read past those key pages if something intrigued them then others. So make that beginning shine.
4) Editors and agents are looking for a reason to reject you. So don’t give them one. Learn what they want, learn how to spell their name correctly, and always make sure that you send them your best work. Face it. Signing you means work and a relationship for a few years while your project is in the works.
5) Editors and agents want to see that manuscript so submit, submit submit.

All in all, I had a very successful weekend. Now I’m practicing what I learned before I send out that requested manuscript. Because this industry is small and competitive, give your self the advantage. Good luck and God Bless.

Kim Watters