Faithchick

Welcome Allie Pleiter

The ordinary hero

 

I am a firm believer in the power of the extraordinary ordinary. The spectacular peanut butter sandwich. The amazing summer day spent doing nothing particularly eventful. The little miracles of our everyday existence we miss if we're rushing too fast.

 

Our society loves to rush, though, so I've discovered I need to swim against the current to keep by belief in the extraordinary ordinary. Schools love straight-A kids and have made C's a thing of horror. My computer, my car, my Blackberry, and my microwave are all espoused for their ability to let my life go faster. Even as a writer, I'm constantly encouraged to write more, faster.

 

Sometimes, that's a good thing. I could definitely fold laundry faster, wake up faster (Iím NOT a morning gal), write thank you notes in a more timely matter. But I've discovered that the unrushed ordinary is amazingly fertile ground for excellence and creativity. God loves the unrushed ordinary. Relationships are fed by the unrushed ordinary. Contentment is nurtured in the unrushed ordinary. Because, I've discovered, the unrushed ordinary is almost always extraordinary and often sacred.

 

Even though I write larger than life characters, I prefer to think of them as ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances. It's why I love the dual-identity component of Masked by Moonlightótwo people who think of themselves in one way discover another surprising side of themselves. And which one of us (even after we were three years old jumping off the couch with a bath-towel tied around our necks) hasn't yearned to take on a super-powered, crime-fighting alter-ego?

Superheroes all have ordinary lives, too-that's what makes them the heroes they are. The best lesson of Masked by Moonight is that everyone can be a hero when God is in the picture.

Whether or not you need the bath-towel to make your day extraordinary is up to you.

Allie Pleiter has over a dozen fiction and non-fiction titles in print or under contract. Her 2006 novel MY SO-CALLED LOVE LIFE was a finalist in both the Rita and the American Christian Fiction Writers Book of the Year Award. Her latest book MASKED BY MOONLIGHT, releases this month from Steeple Hill Books. Visit her website at www.alliepleiter.com

Christmas and Cowboys, among other things

Some days there’s just nothing to blog about, then there are days like today. Things at the Lynxwiler house have been happening so fast and furious that I have a plethora of topics. Picking one is the problem. Our oldest daughter started public school this year for the first time. She’s in ninth grade, so it’s exciting, but absolutely terrifying. I mean sick-at-your-stomach-every-morning terrifying. And that’s just me.

If I had to guess how she feels (and she's fourteen, so you know I do have to guess) I think she mostly feels like I should be worrying more about getting my book done and less about her. Which is sweet. But, first and foremost, I’m a mama. So there.

I am hard at work on a new book, but the one I just finished, FOREVER CHRISTMAS, is out this month and it’s so hard to keep my mind focused on the manuscript I’m working on. FOREVER CHRISTMAS was the easiest book I’ve ever written. The words just flowed onto the page. I laughed, I cried, I turned it into my editor. Stupidly, I thought I’d finally gotten the hang of this whole writing thing. Little did I know that occasionally God just blesses you with a project like that, so if He ever does, you should just enjoy it! But not expect it to be a recurring thing.

Words Bookstore (located in beautiful downtown Hardy, Arkansas) had a huge premiere booksigning for me Saturday and, in spite of the horrible weather, the place was packed. I actually had a line almost the whole time. Considering I’ve had signings where I sold six books, I was extremely thankful to be frantically scrawling my name. Plus I can’t wait to start hearing from readers about FOREVER CHRISTMAS.

In my spare time, I decided to conquer a lifelong fear. Why not? Obviously I had nothing else to do, so I took two riding lessons in August. It took ten minutes of my first one hour session to gather the nerve to get on the horse. Then I sat very still—tears burning my eyes under my sunglasses—for at least five minutes. Eventually though I was able to ride in a circle! YAY! And turn and go the opposite direction. Double YAY! I still have a ways to go, but now I can welcome (even if it is from a safe distance) the newest members of our family – Miss Sugar Reed and Miss Annabelle Lea. We’re the mostly-proud owners of a fifteen-year-old paint mare and a five-month-old palomino Missouri Fox Trotter filly. I’m still trying to decide if I can take the riding lessons as a tax deduction since I am working on a book called ALONG CAME A COWBOY. Oh! I just thought of something. Going out and looking at the horses every day really does motivate me to write this book. I’m wondering what the IRS would think about the horses and their upkeep showing up on my next year tax return.

Yeah, you’re right. I’m really letting my writer’s imagination get out of control now. Time for me to ride off into the sunset and get back to Rachel and her cowboys. Happy trails to you and yours!

Christine Lynxwiler lives with her husband and two precious daughters in the beautiful Ozarks of Arkansas. She writes contemporary romance with humor and has authored several novellas, as well as ARKANSAS, PROMISE ME ALWAYS, and her newest release, FOREVER CHRISTMAS. She's currently working on ALONG CAME A COWBOY, to be released in May, 2008.

I'm a faithchick!

Have you ever thought about what it means to be a faithchick? I’m so honored to be typing my first entry as an official blogger at this website. But even before I received that invitation, the name “faithchick” meant a lot to me. Every morning when I get up, grab my coffee on the run, and dash to take the kids to school, I feel like a faithchick. Deep down in my forgot-to-change-out-of-my-fuzzy-slippers soul.

Most days, I’m stepping out in faith—albeit in my houseshoes—that if I do the things my family needs done, I’ll have time to write later. And that the words will eventually come. The right words. And most of the time they do.

But when the words don’t flow, and I despair, does that make me a faithless chick who should just give it up and hang up her beak and wings? I don’t think so.

One of the most comforting sections of scripture, to me, is in Romans when Paul says (I’m paraphrasing) – “The very things I know to do, I don’t do. And the very things I know not to do, I do.” Does that mean Paul quit trying? Gave himself over to sin? Obviously not. So, when I’m burned out and feel I have nothing left to give and I turn to a game of Boggle on the computer instead of the Bible on my nightstand, does that mean I’m beyond redemption? No. It means I’m a human and I need grace. And I have faith that I’m going to get it. Not in a tiny little espresso shot, but in one of those huge Gilmore Girl's Luke’s-Diner-sized coffee cups that looks like a cereal bowl.

In other words, chick-style.

Christine Lynxwiler lives with her husband and two precious daughters in the beautiful Ozarks of Arkansas. She writes contemporary romance with humor and has authored several novellas, as well as ARKANSAS, PROMISE ME ALWAYS, and her newest release, FOREVER CHRISTMAS. She's currently working on ALONG CAME A COWBOY, to be released in May, 2008.

U-Turn or Turn-U?

      I was out walking this past Saturday—a radiant, beautiful weekend day—remarking to a friend how clearly I saw God’s hand in a certain area of my life.  How spectacularly I felt He had arranged certain details that were the solution to a long-time problem of mine.  How thankful I was for His provision, for God had (as He often does) solved this problem far beyond my expectations.

      Within minutes—minutes, I assure you, from the conversation I just mentioned—the entire solution came unraveled in the space of one phone message when I walked in my front door.  The situation was now even worse than before.  Talk about your whiplash-inducing u-turns.  We are still reeling in the aftermath, trying to pick up the pieces.  I am undone; stressed, annoyed, angry.  No chocolate in a four-mile radius is safe right now. I’m gulping coffee like water.  The Weight Watchers police are massing to haul me in for high treason as we speak.

      I am astounded at my instant flip of attitude.  C’mon, Allie, grow up a little.  Do I really believe that God is any less in charge of the situation than He was while I was out walking?  That the protection and provision I “felt” on that walk has evaporated?  After all my years in the faith, after all the peaks and valleys, I’m still held hostage by my viewpoint.  By what I can see or feel.  Even if my soul knows better, my heart proves a fickle believer.

      So is it a coincidence that my current book THE PERFECT BLEND is about a woman walking through the same whiplash-inducing u-turn?  I know better than to say “yes.”  I have a friend who says “we write the books we need to read,” and I believe that to be true.   So tomorrow, instead of reaching for whatever chocolate is left in the house (which might mean sifting through the chocolate chip ice cream with a fork), I think I might reach for my own words. Or, better yet, The Word. I might try remembering that God often empties a thing out of our hands to fill them with something better.  It might help me to remember that God still knows about my problem, still has a solution in sight, and still might have a few more u-turns in the works before everything gets sorted out.   And maybe, just maybe, I’ll get it through my head that life isn’t about the u-turns, but how you let God turn-you.

Allie Pleiter's current book from Steeple Hill Love Inspired, THE PERFECT BLEND, is available now.  Allie speaks around the country on faith, womens' and mothers' issues.  Visit her website at www.alliepleiter.com

Meet Tamara Leigh, author of STEALING ADDA!

Hey Faithchicks! How goes it? Good, we hope. This month's guestchick is Tamara Leigh, author of STEALING ADDA (Navpress, 2006). Enjoy the review and leave a comment with your thoughts. Tamara will be joining the blogging team soon as well. :)

FC: You've been writing historical romance novels for many years. Can you tell us a little about your journey from the medieval castle to the world of Christian chick lit?

TL: You know that saying "caught between a rock and a hard place"? That's how it felt when, over the course of several years, I toyed with-and rejected-the idea of crossing over to the "other side".  The "rock" represented the secular, medieval romances with which I'd had success, while the "hard place" represented the unknown, possibly failure-riddled world of Christian romance. But when God is set on his plans for one's life, there's no reasoning with him. So while I clung to what I believed was safe and predictable, he kept "calling" me-when I spent time in his word, when my youngest sister lovingly questioned the content of my books, when my editors picked at and slashed scenes that had too much "religion", and when my oldest son reached the age where he had the ability to read a book written by his mother. Yup. Snatched it right out of his innocent  little hand. Of course, then I had to explain why he wasn't allowed to read it (oh, those requisite love scenes….).

Unfortunately, that wasn't the end of my struggle with God, but to make a long story short, I finally relented.  Only to question him when I learned medieval romance doesn't do particularly well in the Christian market. What?!  Did we get our lines crossed, Lord? I groaned and grumbled when my agent asked for something different, but eventually pulled out a story I'd written to relieve my pen and paper craving following a particularly long boycott of the publishing world. Thus, STEALING ADDA, a humorous take on the life of a romance writer, ushered me into the world of Christian publishing. Looonng way from medievals, hmm?

God really does work in mysterious ways. Not only am I enjoying the change of pace, humor, and relative ease of research for the next three books contracted by Multnomah, but I was able to proudly present a copy of STEALING ADDA to both our sons. Now if they'd just stow the basketballs, hand-held games, and friends, and sit down and read it….

FC: Wow. Motherhood definitely changes the perspective doesn't it? How was it writing about a historical romance author? Were any of Adda's publishing experiences similar to your own?

TL: After publishing seven medieval romances with Bantam, HarperCollins, and  Dorchester, the story of a historical romance author was pretty smooth sailing-"write what you know", and all that. To top it off, it was cathartic. Though STEALING ADDA is definitely a work of fiction, truth did bleed (not quite literally) into its pages. In the person of Adda, I took my frustration and disillusionment as a writer and twisted and exaggerated my experiences into snort, laugh, and giggle moments. It really is good to laugh at one's self. Well…in hindsight.

FC: What advice would you give to the aspiring writers among us?

TL: Get out while you still can! Nah, I'm kidding. If writing is "in your blood"-kind of like the first bloom of romance rife with infatuation, longing, and need-you WILL write. Through writer's block, interruption, revision, criticism, and rejection, you will write. Once your story is on paper-ooh, you're probably not going to like this-you will REVISE. That's right. You'll go back and detail characters, fill gaping holes, pump up scenes, check for consistency and point of view problems, etc. The next one's a biggie: you will ask trusted friends to read your work and provide specific feedback. Then-gulp!-seek out experienced writers who are willing to mentor. Organizations such as American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) and Romance Writers of America (RWA) have local chapters you can join to network with other writers. And you will READ, not only books on publication and the craft of writing, but other authors whose work you admire. Whew! Lastly, there are the three Ps: Patience, Persistence, and Prayer (Psst…that last one really ought to come first).

FC: You've won many awards and developed quite a following in the romance community. How different have you found the world of Christian publishing to be? Was there anything that surprised you?

TL: Having been a mainstream writer, and now a Christian writer, I can tell you there is definitely a difference.  As a Christian writer, I have permission to share my faith without fear of offense, which sometimes required extensive editing of my other books (check this out: 30,000 words slashed from one of my medievals-that one really hurt). Thus, I have the opportunity to give my readers more than just a romance. I can give them a life-changing message.

Fortunately, most of the surprises I've had in the world of Christian publishing have been of the "pleasant" variety. Working with my agent, Beth Jusino of Alive Communications, and my publishers, NavPress and Multnomah, has been a wonderfully refreshing experience. Not only do they make me feel as if I'm a person first, but they pray for me-can you believe it! Additionally, last fall when I attended my first American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) conference, I was amazed by how friendly and approachable editors, agents, and other writers were. They exuded…well…God. Of course, that really shouldn't surprise me.

FC: Do you find that your new readers are much the same as the ones from before?

TL: Hard to say, as STEALING ADDA was only recently released. Though I've received positive responses from past readers, quite a bit of the mail is from Christian readers new to my writing. What I didn't expect was the number of inquiries about my medieval romances. Talk about a quick response! Though I believe the love scenes in my medievals were done tastefully, I worry about offending Christian readers who assume my earlier books are as chaste as STEALING ADDA. You see, I have this thing about receiving angry reader mail….

On the "hmm" side, curiously enough-or maybe not so curiously-one of my medievals which has been out-of-print for several years, and to which I've regained the rights, is suddenly available. NEW. Hmm….

FC: Isn't that something? I love those kinds of surprises! Well, we'd love to keep you longer, but we know you're probably working hard on another great book. Do you have any parting words that you'd like to share with the Faithchicks around here?

TL: In between chewing my nails over the forthcoming revisions to PERFECTING KATE, and typing my little fingers to the bone to work up a proposal for SPLITTING HARRIET, let me just say I'm excited to finally be writing for the Christian market, and grateful God gave me so many chances to answer the "call". I am truly blessed.

Thank you for the interview, fellow Faithchick!

FC: Thanks for being here, Tamara! Glad to have you in the family. :) Please stop by TamaraLeigh.com and read more about STEALING ADDA!

Marilynn Griffith is wife to a deacon, mom to a tribe and proof that God gives second chances. When not scrambling to park her van straight AND catch a good sale, she writes novels and scribbles in her blog. Her latest release, JADE, tells the story of Lily Chau, a fashion designer who wonders if her hands aren't too full to reach for her dreams.

Guestchick:Neta Jackson

Marilynn Griffith talks with Neta Jackson about THE YADA YADA PRAYER GROUP GETS TOUGH.


MP3 File

Emily Ever After

THE STORY BEHIND THE STORY

It's hard to believe we started working on Emily Ever After more than two years ago, when Christian chick lit was virtually unheard of in the mainstream New York publishing world. We should know-we were working at Random House, the largest book publisher in the world, at the bottom of the food chain (fetching water, making photocopies, answering phones) when we started writing it. Everybody laughed. Who did we think we were? And where were all these Christians that were going to want to read about a girl in the big city with values?

In many ways, Emily Ever After is our own story of growing up Christian and carrying that faith with us to New York. It's no coincidence that Emily works at the largest book publisher in the world! Now, still employed at Random House, people look at us differently because they know about our faith and have seen Emily on the shelves of Target and Barnes and Noble. Even after we sold it, many wondered if the mainstream world would embrace the book. But Emily is, at heart, a universal story of making it in the world-while she is a Christian, very few people around her understand her, which is a realistic portrayal of faith in America. Plus, we knew that there were lots of women who were hip, smart, sassy, and Christian out there!

ABOUT EMILY EVER AFTER

Emily Hinton has been Manhattan-bound for as long as she can remember. So when she lands a job in New York, she knows that she is finally on her way. She packs her bags and sets out for the Big Apple, where she will fit in even if it kills her.

She quickly becomes friends with the girls at work and begins to learn a thing or two about how things are done in Manhattan. She attracts the attention of the handsome Bennett, who, according to her friends, is a goody-goody who attends church every Sunday. What her friends regard as a "tragic waste" is just what Emily has been looking for, and she is soon swept into a whirlwind romance. Meanwhile, Emily's life at the office is becoming complicated: an ambitious editor is breaking all the rules to publish a controversial book that demeans everything Emily believes in. Will she stand up for what she knows is right and risk losing it all?

Balancing her passion for the glitz and glamour of New York with her determination to live by her faith in the challenging world of a young Manhattanite turns out to be much more difficult than Emily ever imagined. Watch Emily struggle to figure out what really matters in this modern retelling of the story of Esther.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

ANNE DAYTON graduated from Princeton University and is currently earning her Masters in English Literature at New York University. MAY VANDERBILT graduated from Baylor University and went on to earn a Masters degree in Fiction from Johns Hopkins University. They both work in the editorial department of Random House and live in New York City.

Coming Up...

We'd like to thank Cyndy Salzmann, author of Dying to Decorate for dropping by this past week and sharing about her fun book (not to mention that yummy brownie recipe!). For the next week, we'll be entertaining Anne Dayton and May Vanderbilt, authors of Emily Ever After.  Kick back and get ready for another great week!

Real Family Values

People like to toss that term around, often in pop media it’s with a sneer and a wink to each other to let us all know they think it’s at best a quaint and probably hypocritical term and at worst a heinous falsehood put forth by backward, faith-embracing, hope-filled, home and country loving folks – you know, 80% of America and most of the rest of the world.

But let me just say family values are alive and well and a reality I have had the privilege to enjoy all my life growing up in a big, noisy, loving extended family of Aunts, Uncles, cousins (first, second, twice-removed, wishing they would remove themselves further) siblings, in-laws, outlaws(every family has them) and people who just wandered in and felt like sticking around. Next week (oh that reminds me – no blog from me next week) I will head out to a cabin near Turner Falls, Oklahoma (near Falls Creeks Camp for those of you who have spent a summer there)to share a few days with my family, as I have each and every year the last 16 years!

We will eat together, laugh together and yes, pray together. And we will come away renewed and rejoicing in ways I suspect people who pooh-pooh the values of a family would find corny. Let them. In the end it’s not the notorious them that we have to account to, it’s God and His Son, the originators of family values. And when I look at my family, with all our shortcomings I can’t help but think – God is smiling at us.

Graduation 2005

When my kids were little I used to say to Mom’s of older children, I can’t wait until they get easier and the answer always came back “When would that be?”.

I’d laugh along but in the back of my mind I was sure they were just being clever. Older kids had to be easier kids. Right? Right?

Well, sure, in some ways right but take it from this Mom who’s baby is graduating from high school tomorrow night – when your children grow, their problems grow with them. And usually carry far more serious consequences. Driving. College. Relationships. Yikes!

Since I first looked into my baby’s eyes I have marveled at the love I felt and couldn’t help comparing it, as the Bible, does to the love God feels for us.

And now as I get ready to send my child out into a world that sometimes scares me, I make that comparison again. As Christians who have matured in faith (we hope!) we face a whole new set of issues and problems than we did as young believers. The stakes are high.

But God is with us.

   When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.     1 Corinthians 13:11, KJV

Go into that new life with God, Patrick, you’ll do great. And you’ll always be my baby.

Since first getting published ten years ago, Annie Jones has seen 20 books on the shelves so far, with another 11 in various stages of production. Her first chick lit, SADIE IN WAITING, was released December 2004 and is available at bookstores everywhere. Her next title, MOM OVER MIAMI, will be served at Steeple Hill Cafe in June 2005.