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Looking to squeeze in one more great summer read? Let Word Praize help you out with that! Answer the question below and send your responses to: wordpraize@gmail.com with Sista Should Do Contest in the subject. The winners will be chosen from the correct responses.
1. What are names of the three main characters in WHAT A SISTA SHOULD DO?
Jacquelin Thomas will be honored by the North Carolina Black Book Festival with the Writer's Achievement award. Author of 18 books including Singsation, The Prodigal Husband, Soul Journey and her latest, Saved in the City, Thomas will be the first novelist to be presented with the award.
Other authors taking part in the March 2006 festival include Stacey Hawkins Adams, Kendra Norman-Bellamy, Vanessa Davis Griggs, Tia McCollors and Ryan Phillips. See http://www.NCBookfest.com for the complete author list and details. Congrats Ms. Thomas!
REAL Biblezine (Thomas Nelson) was featured today in Time Magazine's "Inside Business" section in a piece called "Glossy Scripture." The latest in a line of bibles in magazine form, REAL was compiled by Michele Clark Jenkens and Stephanie Perry Moore and is focused toward the urban/hip-hop market. Listen our interview with Stephanie Perry Moore here.
Kendra Norman-Bellamy's CROSSING JHORDAN'S RIVER (Moody Press) is #3 on the September Essence Best Seller's list. Hear our interview with Ms. Bellamy here. Congrats Kendra!
Debut authors Cheri Paris Edwards (Plenty Good Room) and Xenia Ruiz (Choose Me)have started blogs to chronicle their lives as new authors. Edwards blog can be found at http://www.cconfusion.blogspot.com and Ruiz' blog is at http://laequis.blogspot.com/. Surf over and check out these authors and what happens to them on their book tours and beyond.
Working Full-Time and Writing
(or for any busy writer)
As always, remember that these tips won't all work for everyone, so pick and choose what's right for you.
Bless This Mess
I am immersed in Joe Superhero and his beloved Sally Screamer. They pound on the locked door of the empty store room. Suddenly, they hear the crackle of flames! The sinister Dr. Devilment has set the old abandoned warehouse on fire!
An explosion rocks the dusty ceiling, raining spiderwebs on Sally's head. She screams.
Joe slams his bronzed body against the heavy oak door. "The long-forgotten tubs of decades-old toxic waste are exploding! We must escape!" He grabs the heavy iron door knob, but it breaks off from the door in his hand . . .
I hear the key rattling in the front door lock. My husband is home from work. My brain goes into panic mode:
Oh no! I forgot to take out the garbage for pickup day tomorrow.
Ack! I didn't wash the dishes in the sink.
Uh oh, do I smell something burning?
Yet another day I put off vacuuming up all the dog hairs! Oh well, the carpet already looks an interesting brownish-gray color . . .
Sound familiar? Add in the shrieks and giggles of toddlers shoving Cheerios up their noses and you'd have any writers' household.
Writing doesn't mean you have to give up your "other" job as maid and parent. All it takes is a little pre-planning and a short family meeting or two.
Delegate chores.
If you have a spouse, schedule to share chores. Figure out a way to trade off and work with each others' strengths. If he can't cook without burning something, arrange for him to take care of cleanup. If you can't cook to save your life, let him feed the kids and you can clean up. Or schedule the days he cooks for the family and the days you are the Kitchen Goddess. Have him clean the bathrooms while you tackle the laundry pile each week. Don't be afraid to ask him to dust or mop.
Rope the kids into washing dishes, doing laundry (their own and their siblings'), sweeping, vacuuming, cleaning the bathroom. They won't be as good as a hired maid service (or yourself), but they'll be a lot cheaper, even if you have to pay them extra in their allowance.
Research for fast cookery.
The internet has tons of recipes for families on the go. Spend some time to find and print out quick meal ideas. Your crockpot will become your best friend. Take a day to make several full meals and freeze them for fast reheated dinners. One great book to invest in is Cyndy Salzmann's: "The Occasional Cook: Culinary Strategies for Over-Committed Families."
Be flexible.
A writing schedule that worked last month or last year may not be efficient when your social or work schedule changes. Be creative with your time juggling. Be aware that you may need to shift things around, don't be too set in your time slots.
Let it go.
If you want to commit to writing as more than a hobby, some things just won't be doable. The house won't always be spankin' clean, you won't always have wholesome home-cooked meals for your family, there just won't be time. Think and pray about your priorities, make a list if that helps you.
Next month: Kids, loops, and Desperate Housewives
Camy Tang lives in San Jose, California and works in biology research and is a staff worker for her church youth group. She writes Asian Christian fiction, and you can read more at her website or drop her an email for more information.
