Word Praize

Trapeze Flying Without a Net?

Hello Chosen Ones:

I’m usually one that MUST post, full, edited, tightened, rewritten, and retightened pieces or I’m not posting.  But today I’m feeling it way different.  I’m feeling like a for real-for real blog piece.  Hey, I might not even do a spell check.  I’m taking flight here.  I’m flying on a trapeze without a net.

This is my last entry until 2007 so I want to make sure I give you something positive and just some good information and some hope that will float you on to the next piece that God has in store for you.  And he does have plans in mind for you—since the beginning of the beginning.  Read it for yourself in Jeremiah 29:11:13, “God says, ‘For I alone know the plans I have for you, plans for prosperity and not disaster, plans to give you a future and a hope.’”

I’m holding on to that promise right along with you and I am seeing God move on my behalf.  If you’re watching closely…if you’re listening you’ll hear him say, “here, my child, walk this way.” Or “Wait, I got you.  I know the desires of your heart.  I got your tears right here in a bottle beside me.”  Or ‘I know it’s been a long time coming but change is coming…I just want you ready and wise enough to walk tall with the change.”

Some of you, like me…have been digging soooo long it seems.  You been praying and praising, writing and sending, talking, and hushing up.  You’ve been hoping and disappointed.  You’ve been holding on and letting go.  You been watching folk all around you move out into the deep and yet you feel tied to the shore waiting for your ropes to be cut.  You been soaring and then crashing.  You been… you been… bad English and all but can’t stop now…

Perhaps God is saying to some of us right now… ‘you’ve dug long enough now let me bring the oil to you!  You just step up on the escalator and let me take you on up to where I birthed you to be even during Genesis times.

I’m writing to someone out there in cyberspace…you were predestined to be right here, right now…on this page reading this outpouring of whatever that I offer up to God feeling that it is flowing with the help of my Helper the Holy Spirit straight to you.  I pray that God is meeting you within the words.

The scripture beside the one I shared in an earlier paragraph that is the foundation of my writing and speaking ministry is Revelations 12:11, “We overcome by the Blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony.”  Thus, here is a testimony that I feel led to share…

If you as a writer, author, author-hopeful—consider setting up a free myspace profile page.  The harvest is plentiful and the workers are few but you are one of them…

At my son’s suggestion, I became actively involved in myspace profile that I had set up some months before but had just laid dormant.  Within two months of taking his suggestion I had over 5,000 profile views, over 1,000 comments left on my page, networking opportunities that have equated to more book sales, speaking engagements, radio and print media interviews, praying with people, leading folk to Christ, singing opportunities, friendships, connecting with old readers and building a whole new audience of readers, the need to go into the studio to create a CD because of demand. To view and to see the possibilities of utilizing your space there go to my profile at www.myspace.com/isayaprayerforme. 

A year ago, I prayed and asked God for a radio show.  In faith, I bought some equipment to at least produce a podcast which would be a start—although the equipment stayed in the box.  Well, I launched my podcast, Faith-Lift™ with Stanice on myspace profile using the free technology at www.gcast.com and a telephone.  In less than two months, there are been over 11,000 downloads.  To listen or subscribe free to my podcast go to:  http://www.gcast.com/u/staniceanderson/main. And now it is also available on iTunes at http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=206994621

About three weeks ago, feeling led, I sent an email to an owner of an internet radio station, Take12Radio.com. (Recovery Talk and Positive Music 24/7) I followed through in about a week, and he said that he was looking through possible interviewees but had not chosen yet.  I let it go and went on to the next thing I felt led by the Spirit to do—finding the equipment the podcasting/radio equipment I bought back in February so I could at least produce a better quality sound podcast product.

I got a call from the radio station owner.  He wanted to interview me on my show. 

The day before the Take12Radio.com show interview, I had read equipment manual and produced my first radio quality podcast installment and posted it.  My interview was at 2:00 pm EST, at the show’s end off-air the owner, Monty-man Meyer, said that the Lord had impressed on his heard to offer me my own radio show.  I gave him an excited, YES!  And told him of my prayer to the Lord for a show a year or so prior.  We both had chill bumps, Holy Ghost was moving and it was soooo clear.  He said all I needed was to tell him if I wanted 45-minute show or an hour; a title, theme song, and of pray about the content.  It was already done.  I took the hour show option.  The show is an extension of the brand God had already made possible, Faith-Lift™ with Stanice: The Radio Show; theme song?  The song, Just an Illusion, I co-wrote with my ex-husband, and it’s content? Here’s the 60-second promo as recorded on my radio equipment in my dining room make-shift studio in the quiet wee hours of this morning:

Hello Chosen Ones:

I am Stanice Anderson, host of Faith-Lift with Stanice here on Take12Radio.com.

In recovery for over 20 years.  One day at a time.  I’m an inspirational speaker, author of I Say A Prayer For Me: One Woman’s Life of Faith and Triumph, published by Walk Worthy Press/Warner Books.

And now I have the privilege of being here with you for one-hour on Thursdays!  Transparency, hope, excitement, healing, humor, and life stories are the gifts I bring.

Inspiring, uplifting, and encouraging people through personal testimonies of getting real, prayed-up and empowered to discover and live out God’s plans and purposes is what I do.  Infuse that with topic-related music, seal it with a prayer, and you have the recipe for Faith-Lift with Stanice.  Thursdays on Take12radio.com

My first show will air on Thursday, December 21, 2006.  It’s posted to be available that morning and will run until the next Wednesday evening which a new show is posted to be heard on that Thursday.  To listen go to www.Take12Radio.com It doesn’t pay anything, but it doesn’t cost me anything either.  Other than time… and for me it’s all about ministering in the Name of Jesus…my writing, the speaking, podcasts, radio shows, and whatever else God has in mind.  I just want Him to get as much glory as possible out of my life that He has spared over and over and over and over again.

In the meantime, I move on listening and watching, believing God is ordering my steps to His desired rhythm and places.  And grants such favor with people and institutions.  You just have to be open to listen and follow His lead and sometime He leads with the children.  My son, also suggested that I do a show to help pay the bills.  Oh, I wish it wasn’t so but the Lord knows we got to have money to take care of our living expenses and everything…Cesaer looking for his…

So I listened to my son, believing that God is using him to bless me and to get me where I need to be.  My first major show outside of speaking engagements is scheduled for Saturday, January 20, 2007.  It’s more than a show, it’s a One Woman Experience and I gave it the title that the Lord gave me about two years ago (I just didn’t know what it was for until now) –  The result –

Mike Tucker and Moms Present…

Walkin’ On Water When the Ground Ain’t Enuf: A One Woman Experience
Cada Vez Restaurant
1438 U Street NW, Washington, DC (Historic U St. Corridor), Tickets $20 in advance, more at the door (if seats left)
and available online at www.stanice.com and www.myspace.com/isayaprayerforme

I do hope that you are encouraged.  Just be on your way…God will take care the rest.  Trust him.  Don’t go into it looking for money and fame, if that is your due, God will do it…cause I feel like this if God don’t build the plays, the stories, the podcasts, the radio shows, the house even…the builder builds in vain.  But with Him in it…my my my.  I will tell you this, I ain’t missed no meals, and as I take care of His business, He takes care of mine, my hope is in Him and the best is yet to be.  My latter will be better than my former and I got His Word on that and that’s enough for me.

Nope, not going back to spell check or nothing.  This is what it is.  This is for you, with love and wishes for one of the Most Joyous Christmas you’ve ever experienced.  I’m flying on a trapeze of faith and Jesus is my net.

Stanice Anderson

Subscribe Free  Add to my Page

Sharon Ewell Foster

ABRAHAM'S WELL by Sharon Ewell Foster (Bethany House Publishers, November 2006)

ABOUT THE BOOK

The time is 1838.

Armentia pointed to a well on the land their Cherokee master owns. "It seems hard to believe now, son, but someday we'll have our own land. Land with a well just like this one…."

Inspired by true events, authentic slave narratives, and other historical accounts, Abraham's Well is the profoundly moving story of the Black Cherokee--African Americans, both slave and free--who, along with native people, walked the Trail of Tears. It is the story of their forced removal from the Southeast to Indian Territory--modern day Oklahoma--and of the courage and faith of one woman as she struggles to overcome her desperate circumstances.

And it is the story of an author who, in researching and writing, found her own way home.

"Foster returns to historical fiction with an evocative tale of the sticky lies and bloody promises of an often untold journey in American history--the trek of the Indian slave on The Trail of Tears. As a Christian, a woman, an African American and one who also has "Indian in her family" this book took me 1000 miles in both my heart and mind. As always, Foster's mastery of setting and language paint a family and a nation that we must never forget. This book will be required reading for all my children and their children after them. It's not to be missed."
--Marilynn Griffith, author of Pink and Made of Honor

"Sharon Ewell Foster merges little known history with fiction to pen another amazing novel with Abraham's Well. In her trademark style – rich language that makes you want to read passages again and again and descriptions that take you back two hundred years – Foster creates an engaging story that not only pulls on every one of your heart strings, but will have you talking out loud to the characters.  Abraham's Well is hard to put down.  Definitely, one of the best reads of the year!"
--Victoria Christopher Murray

HEAR THE INTERVIEW

Listen as Marilynn talks with Sharon Ewell Foster about her groundbreaking new historical novel ABRAHAM'S WELL. The tape cuts off at the end, but this is a good one. Check it out!

BUY THE BOOK

Grown Folks Talking: Me and Victoria, Part 1

Hiya,

Last year I joined a writer's group--the Atlanta Black Christian Writer's Group, which consists of ten devotional divas and a host of writing mentors. One of our mentors, is bestselling author, Victoria Christopher Murray.

This woman, who lives all the way on the west coast(California) takes the time to encourage, give advise, line edit, and offer agent referrals to us wee woman in the South(excuse my Scottish accent. I just watched Dear Frankie.)

On top of that she agreed to let me interview her about her bestselling, watercooler buzz novel, Grown Folks Business.

My two line snippet of the novel: Grown Folks Business is about a wife and mother, who relies on her faith when her husband leaves her for another man.

This interview will consist of Three Parts. Part One below.

Dee:Why the title[Grown Folks Business]?

Victoria: That's a good question, but why not this title? When I write a novel, I try to come up with a title that fits the story. I think with the topic of this book, I couldn't have come up with anything better than Grown Folks Business. Because this is the kind of stuff that we usually send children out of the room when we're discussing.

Dee: Homosexual lifestyle and writing about it in any context is off limits in most CBA fiction. When did God call you to write on this subject? And were you apprehensive at first?

Victoria: I was never apprehensive about writing this novel. I'm not part of the CBA market so there are no restrictions to what I can write. In the mainstream market, there are no writing guidelines. I first got the idea for this book in 2002.

Dee: Some readers think of you as more of a crossover Christian fiction author. Would you agree?

Victoria: I'm not sure I know what you mean by crossover. I hate labels and categories, but if I HAD to classify myself, I am an author who is a Christian. I think being a Christian is not an adjective, it's a verb. So in my walk with Christ, I pray that you can see Him in everything I do. But I just write every ordinary stories...with Christ in the center. Interestingly, I think by saying that I'm a Christian author, takes away from other writers - who are Christian, but who do not necessarily write books with a Christian message. I've had other authors (Brian Egeston, for one) question why I'm called Christian when they are not.

Dee: Wouldn't you agree that people want to read good and real stories over anything else?

Victoria: Yes.

Dee: Do the story's come to you or do you wait on the Holy Spirit to direct you?

Victoria: The Holy Spirit directs every part of my life, everyday. So blessedly, I don't have to sit and wait for the stories. I am so blessed because God has filled me so many stories already. Honestly, I don't know how I will have the time to write them all. But He will make the time.

To be continued...

Davidae 'Dee' Stewart is an editor, book reviewer, speaker and writer. Her works have appeared in Romantic Times, Gospel Today, Romance in Color, Soul Source, Precious Times, and Rejoice! She resides in Suwanee, Georgia with her daughter, Selah and is completing a christian fiction novel.

Tiffany Warren Interview

WP: Word Praize family, please welcome Tiffany Warren, debut author of WHAT A SISTA SHOULD DO by Walk Worthy Press. Welcome Tiffany!

TW: Thank you for having me!

WP:We're glad to have you. Tell us about your book. It's about three friends, correct? Pam, Taylor and Yvonne? Tell us a little about each of them.

TW: Well, Pam has the family and the career, but she really wants her husband to know Christ.  But he's more concerned about getting PAID and he's living that fast life, using marijuana and alcohol.  Taylor is a single mother and her battle is with self-condemnation.  She has repented for her past indiscretions, and the Lord has forgiven her, but she still has not healed.  Yvonne's struggle is with unforgiveness.  She lives with an adulterous husband and sits int the pew every Sunday with his mistress.  She feels that her rage is justified, so her forgiveness is truly a process.

WP: Umph. More faith in money and marijuana than God. You've got me hooked already. And sitting in the pew with your husband's mistress? Now that's more faith than I currently possess! LOL This sounds like a great group of sistahs. How did you come to write about them?

TW:  I knew that I wanted to write a book about the power of prayer, sisterhood  and godly friendships.  I've found that in my life, my sista friends have been so important to me.  When I came to know Christ, my friendships took on the added dimension of prayer partner.  I traded my kickin' it partners for prayer partners. 

WP: Wow. There's always a story behind the story. I know with all the twists this story promises the way it came about had to be just as interesting. You touch on a lot of real subject matter, things that people don't really talk about, like neglecting family for the church or how to deal with unsaved husbands (or saved ones who act like they aren't). What has been the readers' response to the novel?

TW: So far, the response has been overwhelming to me!  Just to hear one woman say that she was blessed by reading my book would've been enough!  It just confirms a lot of things for me because I spent a lot of time in prayer during the writing process.

WP: I can definitely see how women would love to finally see some of the issues facing them in a novel. Everything doesn't always end up (or start out) happily ever after. That's why your first chapter drew me in. I know that you have a message board on your site as well about some of these issues. What kind of conversation are you looking to start there?

TW:  On my message board, I really want to address those issues we deal with everyday be it family, work, marriage, ministry.  Sometimes there are things you're experiencing that you can't tell your friends, because you don't want to be judged by them.  What I really want on my message board are some anointed prayer intercessors!

WP:Right. Well, I'm definitely looking forward to getting through my deadlines and curling up with WHAT A SISTA SHOULD DO. Will their be a sequel or do you have another project in the works?

TW:  My next novel is called FURTHER THAN I WAS MEANT TO GO and it's about a woman of God with self-esteem issues.  She battles with her weight and the thought that she might not ever be married.  Needless to say, the WRONG brotha comes into her life and she disobeys the voice of God and marries him anyway.  Drama, drama and more drama.  Right now, I'm doing the promotion thing.  I'll be in the Washington D.C./Maryland area July 8th and 9th and Atlanta the first week of August for the National Book Club Conference.

WP: All right! Well, we'll be looking forward to many more excellent books from you. I hope everyone will surf over to Tiffany's site at http://www.tiffanylwarren.com and check out her message boards there as well. Her first chapter is available at http://www.walkworthypress.net and the title can be purchased at any local or online bookseller. Until next time, give God all the glory and all the praize . . . Word Praize!

Patricia Bailey Interview

Dr. Patricia Bailey, author of WOMEN RISK TAKERS, talks about her project rescuing Angolan girls from prostitution and perversion. Listen in!


MP3 File

Dr. Gail Hayes Interview

Dr. Hayes shares about her book DAUGHTERS OF THE KING and her ministry in helping women find identity, purpose and destiny. Don't miss this one!


MP3 File

Neta Jackson Interview

Author Neta Jackson talks about the latest in her YADA YADA PRAYER GROUP series, the meaning of "yada yada" and more. Listen in!


MP3 File

Robin Lee Hatcher Interview

Interview with Award-Winning novelist Robin Lee Hatcher about   her career and her upcoming releases VETERANS WAY and THE VICTORY CLUB.


MP3 File

Cheri Paris Edwards Interview

Chat with Cheri Paris Edwards, debut author of PLENTY GOOD ROOM about foster care, her path to publication and how her relationship with Christ makes all the difference in her life.


MP3 File

Ruth Axtell Morren

Chat with romance writer Ruth Axtell Morren, author of Wild Rose. Great thoughts about surrendering writing to God, triumphing over trends and more. Listen in!


MP3 File

Dr. Suzan Johnson Cook

Author of TOO BLESSED TO BE STRESSED and BALANCING YOUR LIFE, Dr. Suzan Cook, former television producer and Presidential advisor, joins us to discuss her books, her upcoming Women in Ministry Conference and celebrating 25 years in the pulpit.


MP3 File

Maxine Billings Interview

Chat with BET New Spirit author Maxine Billings about her new    book, A TEST OF FAITH.


MP3 File

Laura Jensen Walker Interview

WordPraize chats with chick lit author Laura Jensen Walker about her new book DREAMING IN BLACK AND WHITE and her transition from nonfiction to fiction.


MP3 File

Vanessa Miller Interview

Chat with Vanessa Miller, author of FORMER  RAIN, ABUNDANT RAIN and LATTER RAIN, which arrived just before this interview. Listen in!


MP3 File

National Book Award Finalist Talks on Faith and Fiction

Ron Hansen had some insightful things to say about believing and writing in his interview with Christianity Today. Check it out.

Kendra Bellamy Interview

Chat with Kendra Norman Bellamy, author of A LOVE SO STRONG (Moody Press) and FOR LOVE AND GRACE (BET New Spirit).


MP3 File

Linda Windsor Interview

  Interview with Linda Windsor, author of Paper Moon (Westbow, January 2005). Come hear all about her previous "hystericals" and current romantic comedies.

Listen here!


MP3 File

Vanessa Davis Griggs Interview

A lively chat with Vanessa Davis Griggs, author of WINGS OF  GRACE (BET New Spirit, Februrary 2005). Don't miss it!

MP3 File

Sharon Ewell Foster Interview

Today I had the treat of interviewing Christy winner Sharon Ewell  Foster, author of AIN'T NO MOUNTAIN. She even sang for us! Don't miss it.

Listen Here!

Cecelia Dowdy Interview

WP: Word Praize family, please welcome Cecelia Dowdy, author of FIRST MATES (Love Inspired, February 2005).

CD: Thanks, Marilynn. Glad to be here.

WP: Take a moment please and tell us about your path to publication. Your first break was the PROMISES TO KEEP anthology from Crossings with Aisha Ford. What happened from then to now?

CD:Basically, I just continued writing, submitting novels to various Christian publishing houses. I didn't get another acceptance until I submitted First Mates to Steeple Hill Love Inspired. I originally submitted the story for their then-newly-developed women's fiction line. However, Krista Stroever called me, making an offer to publish it in their Love Inspired line instead. I had to cut quite a few pages, since it was a longer book aimed for the women's fiction line. I'm very pleased with the finished product, though. During all this time, I got engaged and married!

WP: Now that's romance for you! Has finding your own romance changed your writing schedule at all? Or your writing itself?

CD:I don't think my writing has changed very much, but my writing schedule has changed a lot! With a husband, I don't spend as much time writing as I used to.

WP: I'll bet! Well, the African American Christian Market is growing by leaps and bounds. What trends are you seeing among readers in the AACM? Do have any plans for future anthologies or single title stories?

CD: I think the AA Christian fiction market was basically untapped. The Christian fiction market, to the extent that we know it today, is still what I consider fairly new. When I first started writing, back in the mid-nineties, Christian fiction was out there, but I don't think publishers were printing as many books as they do now. I believe the AA Christian fiction market is growing because the Christian fiction market is growing, if that makes sense.

Back in the early nineties, there were not even a lot of AA fiction books out there. But when Terry McMillian's Waiting to Exhale came out, publishers took note and realized that Hey, Black people read books, too! So publishers began acquiring more AA authors and Kensington launched the Arabesque line around that time, I believe.

I feel the same type of thing is happening in the Christian fiction market. Since the AACM is taking off, publishers are realizing that a large segment of these readers are African-American and they need books to satisfy these hungry readers! That's why Moody has their Lift Ev'ry Voice imprint, plus we have Walk Worthy Press, BET New Spirit and Steeple Hill has even acquired some AA authors. (Like me!)

I've noticed from a conference I attended last year, that a lot of Black women have formed reading groups and book clubs, selecting Christian novels to discuss at their meetings. They seem to have a lot of fun doing this and it just shows how popular the AA Christian genre has grown.

To answer your second question, I don't have any current plans for any more anthologies, but I'm always open to the idea! Also, I'm now working on another novel which I plan to submit to Steeple Hill.

WP: Your latest release centers around a couple on a cruise. Tell us a little about Rainy and Winston and how you came to write their story.

CD: Rainy is basically a heart-broken young woman who takes a Caribbean cruise to heal. She's  a little too judgmental, which causes a huge rift in her relationship with Winston. Winston is a recovering alcoholic who has recently accepted Christ. He still struggles with his addiction, still learning to lean on Christ instead of a bottle of booze when he feels depressed. I guess I chose to write their story because I have some friends and relatives who struggle with alcoholism and I wanted to portray a realistic way to deal with addiction. I set the story on a cruise ship because I've been on three cruises in my life and I had a fabulous time!

WP: How fun! The theme for this book seems to be overcoming the pain of the past and learning to love again. Did you choose this theme or did it emerge during the writing? How has your faith helped you to take risks in your own life?

CD: It just emerged during the writing. Sometimes, before I begin a story, I think it'll be told one way, but then the story comes out to be totally different that what I expected!

My own faith has increased a lot since I've started writing Christian fiction, if you can believe that! When I feel doubtful, or troubled about a certain situation, I've just learned that I need to trust in Jesus, and everything will turn out fine! I try my best to listen to God's voice, and try to follow what I feel He's telling me to do!

WP: No wonder you've been so successful. Thank you so much for sharing with us today. I hope everyone will stop by your website. FIRST MATES is available at Wal Mart, KMart and many other booksellers.

Lisa Samson Interview

Interview with Lisa Samson, author of TIGER LILLIE (Waterbrook Press, October 2004)

Tia McCollors Interview

Interview with Tia McCollors debut author, A HEART OF DEVOTION (Moody Press, Janurary 2005)

Stephanie Perry Moore

Interview with Stephanie Perry Moore, Author of True Friends, Carmen Browne #1.

Derek Jackson Interview

Audio Interview with Derek Jackson, Author of A Man Inspired (Walk Worthy Press, January 2005)

Good Girl Book Club Online Interview

WP: Word Praize family, please welcome Marina Woods, founder and CEO of Good Girl Book Club Online. Welcome Marina!

MW: I’m blushing. Hello, Hello! Thank you very much. I appreciate it.

WP: Your site has always held a special place in my heart since it was one of the first Christian book clubs I found on the Net. Tell us a little about GGBC and what you offer to your readers.

MW: Oh, my. That’s awesome. How can I tell a “little” about GGBC when there is so much to offer. (Smiling) GGBC is an online book club for today’s aspiring young and adult Christian woman. GGBC offers everything from fiction and nonfiction book reviews from some of today’s bestselling as well as up and coming authors; a GOOD GIRL pick which is the fiction book selection of the month (this book is read and discussed by the online discussion list), an online magazine where Christian book and music lovers are able to have an up close and personal look at their favorite Christian authors and music artists, an online Bible study where participants study and discuss a selected study each quarter that leads them back to the Word of God, contests, and finally GG YA which is a reading community/ezine for Christian girls ages 13-17 years old.

In the YA community teen books, movies and music are featured, reviewed, excerpted and YA authors provide “spiritual insight and encouragement” to help teens cope in today’s society. There is also an opt-in mailing list for those who do not want daily or weekly discussion but want to stay in the know for both areas. I encourage your readers with daughters to check it out.

WP: Wow! Bible study, youth resources, women's resources and an email list. GGBC definitely has a lot to offer. What about the chats and interviews with your feature authors? Who are some of the past GGBC picks and how have readers reacted to the interaction?

MW: How did I forget author chats and interviews?! GG Picks and chats have included Sharon Ewell Foster, Victoria Christopher Murray, Michele Stimpson, Aisha Ford, Ted Dekker, Stephanie Perry Moore and Mike Absolm just to name a few. Our fall chat calendar will be released soon and will include more nonfiction authors as well as some old favorites.

WP: What about those beautiful banners and flash promos on your site? Can authors or publishers advertise on GGBC? How would they do so? Briefly explain the literary support services offered by GGBC.

MW: Thank for the compliment! GGBC is blessed to have a wonderful and talented graphic and web designer. Yes, authors and publishers can advertise on GGBC affordably, efficiently and effectively. GGBC provides worldwide exposure for authors all day; every day unlike print publications where a person “may” see an ad or review once and forget about it—GGBC has a surplus of Christian book lovers who visit the site daily and many more than once a day so ad promos are always “catchy” and seen. GGBC advertisers always receive a great reaction. The good news about this is—this means people are buying and reading good books. Advertising can be reached: advertising@goodgirlbookclubonline.com

By the way, for a limited time your readers and subscribers email advertising@goodgirlbookclubonline.com and say Mary from Word Praize recommended it they receive an exclusive offer.

WP: With growing interest in national face-to-face clubs like Glory Girls and Go On! Girls, do you see GGBC ever expanding in that direction, a network of face-to-face clubs? Or do you think the Internet provides a special interface that your club captures best?

MW: This is a step we are prayerfully considering. We receive a lot of queries about this very subject. I think what GGBC provides is a special interface as you mentioned but we strive to keep a pulse on what our loyal members and visitors want. Sometimes readers want both or one of the other. Also, I believe the reason God gave me this vision for such a time as this is because GGBC is able to reach those who may not otherwise be able to participate in face to face book clubs such as stay at home Mom’s, people who work odd shifts, college students, the homebound, sick and shut in, those in shelters and/or prisons as well as those who live in Canada and other countries.

GGBC reaches the whole world and we love that! Its fun, it’s free and it’s convenient. God has definitely given us a global and enlarged vision and we are working on some great ideas to bring members and visitors together so stay tuned! It warms my heart when I receive letters from women in rural areas who say, “Thanks for being a voice in the wilderness” as well as women who have just accepted Christ in their hearts and minds and want to find edifying and entertaining books to read that actually make them feel hopeful and positive. Let’s not forget the contemporary and urban career woman who may be battling an illness and needs to feel a sense of community as they try to keep the faith.

Anytime, day or night, whatever the need or reason, goodgirlbookclubonline.com always has a light on. It’s a place of refuge and restoration as we continue to provide uplifting articles, books, reviews and interviews for every aspiring Christian woman around the world! I give God the glory for all is has done and continues to do.

WP: Thanks so much for sharing with us today, Marina. I'm a member of GGBC and always enjoy your uplifting newsletters and great contests (I recently won a book myself. What a blessing!)

MW: It is great reading with friends and we consider you a loyal friend of GGBC. In fact, you are family and I am glad you had the opportunity to participate in (and win) such a great contest. God bless you and Word Praize richly!

[Editor's Note: Since this interview, GGBC has created the Christian Author's Network (CAN) to connect media and event planners with writers. Check it out!]

Donna Conger Interview

WP: Donna, welcome to Word Praize! We’re so glad to have you. You've written books in different genres from inspirational to mainstream. Share a little with us about your writing and how you incorporate your faith into your work regardless of the market.



DC:  Thanks! I’m honored to be here! Well, I wrote my first novel over sixteen years ago, when my kids were in preschool, kindergarten, and first grade. I sent it out to more than three dozen Christian publishers. I’d get feedback, sometimes in the form of a letter, sometimes a phone call. They loved what they read, but would tell me that it was either too intense, or they didn’t know how to market it. One editor said that my main character haunted her. She even dreamt about her once. Another well known, highly respected agent who rejected me called me shortly after reading the first three chapters, and haltingly asked if I’d send the rest of the novel, because his wife was dying to find out what happened to the heroine. One vanity company offered to publish the novel for a mere $16,000.



I finally went to my mentor with my frustrations. Obviously I had something, but it was like a sneeze that wouldn't come out. I’d get close and then, nothing. He’d been published. He was also a pastor, but he’d been the Dean of Students at Gordon College, a liberal arts Christian school in Massachusetts. After listening to my extended whining, he told me that the Lord was telling me that I had a gift, and that perhaps I was not sowing my seed in the right place. There are people blessed and called to write Christian fiction. He believed that there was enough books that “preached to the choir”.

He said he would like to see gifted Christian writers willing to write secular fiction with a Christian message. After all, Satan camouflages his message in cartoons, movies, TV shows, and books. Why can’t Christians do the same? So I began to write secular romance. The Lord has blessed it, despite shock from Christians who believe that I should write “all Christian, all the time. There’s a taboo about Christians writing secular romance. Many believe it’s full of steamy bodice ripping sex scenes. My hero and heroine do have love scenes, but only after they are married. It’s true that I don’t close the bedroom door, but many readers have told me that the love scenes are beautiful, focusing on the emotion between two people who are truly in love after a harrowing adventure.



WP:Forgotten, your Christian romance has received rave reviews. Tell us a little about Sylvia Tandino, who wakes up to find herself with a wonderful life she doesn't remember.



DC: I am tickled and gratified by the reviews, but it’s even sweeter because of my long journey to get the work in print. I always felt there was something special and important about the novel, so that’s why I kept going in my quest to get it published. Sylvia is based on me. Most first novels are in some part based on the author, and so many people are stunned to find out that, like Sylvia, I also have retrograde amnesia. Readers are free to ask me any questions they wish about my lack of memory. I don’t remember the first fourteen years of my life. I don’t know why, but I’m okay with it. It could have been anything from emotional trauma to a hit on the head. That’s the thing about retrograde amnesia; you don’t remember what happened to cause you to lose your memory.



However, I’ve never been financially wealthy. I thought about what it would be like to be a Christian who loses her memory of people, of Scripture, and of so much else, but still retains a strong sense of Jesus Christ. Sylvia has everything money can buy, but no memories. She’s married to a godly, rich man. But there are secrets, lots of them, and she has to discover them. Hard to do when your mind is unstable and foggy and you can’t be sure where you’ve been or who you know. To find out what happened to her, Sylvia has to delve into her painful past and deal with what she finds with the help of the Lord, her friends, even her servants. There are miracles in the book, coupled by Scriptural truths and insights that other people, even if they aren’t fabulously rich, can relate to in their walk with the Lord.  I lived in poverty for more than ten years of my marriage, including a one month stint as a homeless family. I lived in a tent with my husband and three kids. We used the bathroom of a friend, and slept in a van at night when it was cold. And yet, I would rework my novel and add the lovely things that have blessed so many now, straight from God’s heart into mine.



WP: Wow. The background alone of that novel would make a novel as is. Retrograde amnesia, huh? Now you've got my mind turning. And working on a novel in a homeless shelter? You're a writer to the core. Thank God that your gifts and experiences are being shared with the world. No doubt your skills in the futuristic and suspense genres helped spin such an exciting plot. How has your publishing journey been? What would do you want most for your readers to take away from your books?



DC: Even though I wrote the Christian novel first and then the other secular books featured on my site, I do think that you’re right about some buried mental skills in weaving suspense and futuristic plots. I love watching and reading mysteries. And I’ve done a fair amount of watching Star Trek and Star Wars, as well as reading C.S. Lewis’ “Chronicles of Narnia” and fantasy with spiritual themes. Eventually, this fed into the desire to write a science fiction romance. "The Green Moon" is a romance set in the future, where electronic communication has replaced paper and made it illegal.

My Biblical worldview is mixed thoroughly and deeply in my secular fiction. Even though I don’t specifically use God, Jesus or the Holy Spirit, my books involve characters who are driven by a need to balance things out. My characters educate the powers that be, take on criminals, and outsmart and outwit the obstacles in their way. They use common sense, but they just want things to be right. One reader told me that while the couple in “VetCop” are not strictly Christian characters, she expected to see them in church on Sunday, because they just had that good steward, clean living quality to them. "The Last Lesson" tackles some issues without being preachy--homosexuality, cancer, and obsession, while a beautiful romance unfolds in the midst of an unsolved murder. The characters are caught up in a world that betrays them, but they do the right thing anyway.



Despite five books in print, a few with my agent, and many, many more in my head, my journey has been long and unglamorous. Practically speaking, there have been many tears, many rejections, and many cruel editors, Christians included. I’ve written way more books than have been published. But what keeps me going are the miracles. I know that I have a calling, and nothing God calls you to do is without hurdles. So when I get a “yes”, it’s truly a victory. I’m even more blessed when I do get a contract because I’m self taught. I’ve never taken a writing class. I had a lot of learning to do, but God put people in my path to help me, to instruct me, and to guide me.

My books are all published by print on demand companies and small presses. Last year (2003), I began praying about an agent so I could move to the big time. It had not been more than a few weeks when it all came together on a silver platter. The Ferguson Literary Agency works only on referrals, but I had gotten information in a miraculous way. I wrote the agent, Cheryl Ferguson, and then a few weeks later, she called me. She noticed that I grew up in Kansas, and to make a long story short, we discovered that we went to high school together! Plus, she is an on fire Christian and highly respected in the romance field. I have to believe that God orchestrated that jump for me, and that He will continue to do so.



If I had to sum up what I want my readers to take away from my books, it’s the following: Any amount of theology can now be smuggled into people's minds under the cover of romance without their knowing it." C.S. Lewis said that, which is very appropriate, concerning that I cut my literary teeth on his secular works. So stay tuned for a mixture of Donna Conger Christian and secular books that will continue to carry out my mentor’s challenge and God’s calling to be all things to  all men--and women--alike.



WP: What an interesting quote! We'll keep an eye out for where this wonderful vision will lead you next. Again, Donna, thanks so much for your time. I hope that everyone will drop by www.DonnaConger.com and read the excerpt for FORGOTTEN. We've enjoyed having you and look to hearing more great things from you in the future.

Stacy Hawkins Adams Interview