ACFW Blog

The first 2010 statewide meeting of ACFW-Indiana will take place on March 6, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Veterans Room of The Rathskeller restaurant in Indianapolis. Our special speakers for this luncheon event will be Cara Putman and Crystal Miller. The topic for the luncheon will be Surviving the Journey: tips for the unpublished and published.

Cara has authored nine books, and next month A Promise Forged will be her tenth. Crystal has worked for editors, authors, literary agents, judged in writing and published book contests, had book review columns, and published over 800 nonfiction and fiction book reviews. Their joint presentation promises to be inspirational and informational. Come prepared to dine on linen-covered tables with linen napkins—no paper and plastic at this meal. The smoke-free Rathskeller is easily accessible just off I-65 and I-70, in downtown Indianapolis.

Address: 401 E. Michigan Street, Indianapolis, IN 46204
Tel.: 317-636-0396
www.rathseller.com

Please RSVP to Rick Barry by email at biemrick[at}gmail.com so we can be sure of having the right size room reserved. Cost of meeting is $5.00 for members. $10.00 for non-members. You can invite a friend, but remember that non-members may attend only two of our functions without becoming paying members.

History: The Rathskeller Bavarian restaurant is located inside Indy’s Historic Anthenaeum Building. Built in 1894, the building was designed by Bernhard Vonnegut (grandfather of author Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.) and is home to Indy’s oldest restaurant, our oldest existing gymnasium (the east end of the building houses the YMCA) and is home to the German Heritage Society. The menu features various Bavarian dishes but also a wide variety of soups, salads, sandwiches, and dishes that should satisfy a wide variety of tastes and budgets. You can eat a little or a lot. You decide!

Lisa Faye Harman2010
Indiana ACFW chapter publicity officer http://www.hoosierink.blogspot.com

The CenTex Chapter will feature author Marilyn Eudaly at it’s Saturday, February 20th meeting
to be held in the Lane House at First Baptist Church, Round Rock, TX, 306 Round Rock Avenue. Meeting
is from 9:30 – 11:30 a.m. For map and driving directions see: http://www.fbcrr.org

Characters in a Novelist’s Zoo is a fun interactive workshop. A tool used to layer stories with deep POV, motivation, and conflict, the talk allows you to experience how personality strengths and weaknesses will enhance character development while improving personal relations and resolving real-life conflict.

Creating characters as real people has come from Marilyn’s professional experience and expertise as a facilitator for the True Colors organization, a mediator and student advisory group. She has been trained in team building, communication skills, conflict resolution, suicide prevention, and dealing with troubled and angry people. Marilyn takes the one element that these all have in common, personality identification, to create a tool useful in character development. She will show you how to use that same tool to develop deep, multi-sided characters that will jump off the page and into the hearts of your readers.

Marilyn has known since she made her first book in Kindergarten that she was meant to write books. A membership in RWA, ACFW and DFW Ready Writers has given her the education and mentoring needed to become an author published in Chicken Soup for the Dieter’s Soul, Ulitmate Gardner, Words to Write By, and several devotions published on line. She is currently working on a novel that piqued the interest of two editors and one agent at the 2009 ACFW national conference in Denver, CO.

All Central Texas writers are invited to attend.

Dorothy Featherling, President, CenTex Chapter

Guest Author: Michelle Levigne

My newest book in my Tabor Heights, Ohio series was released Monday at Desert Breeze Publishing.

“The Family Way”

In conjunction with the release of “The Family Way,” I’m having a fundraiser to benefit the Salvation Army, with funds earmarked for Haiti relief.

THE FAMILY WAY, a Tabor Heights, Ohio novel

www.desertbreezepublishing.com

Lisa Montgomery is pregnant, but that happy announcement turns into the trigger that reveals the shaky state of her marriage to Todd. Thanks to his judgmental, domineering father’s influence, Todd’s first words are, “Is it mine?”

As the situation spirals downward, Lisa learns some cruel family secrets. When Todd’s own sisters urge her to leave him, for the sake of the baby and her own mind, Lisa has some hard choices to make. Where is her faith? Where did the love she and Todd shared go? Can Lisa and Todd regain their love, repair their marriage, and break free of some destructive Montgomery family traditions?

THE FUNDRAISER
During February and March, half the proceeds from ALL Tabor Heights novels will go to the Salvation Army, earmarked for Haiti.

THE CONTEST

I’m going to have a raffle at the end of March for a fantastic prize:

An ocean motiff set: Spiral notepad, magnetic notepad, notecard/envelope set, coasters, novelty soaps, and scented tealight set, along with a mechanical pencil and refill. All packaged in a seafoam green tote bag with a cosmetic pouch.

How do you earn RAFFLE TICKETS? There are several ways to earn tickets. Just remember 3 important steps:

1- Email the required information to MLevigne@aol.com
2- Put FAMILY WAY CONTEST in the subject line
3- Include your postal address so I can mail your prize to you

A: Help me decide if Lisa and Todd are going to have a boy or a girl. Cast your vote by emailing me. This earns you ONE raffle ticket. (One entry per person)

B: Help me choose a NAME for the baby. This earns you ONE raffle ticket. (One entry per person)
At the end of February, I will put the top name suggestions on my blog and ask for a vote — voting will earn you a raffle ticket as well. Check out www.MichelleLevigne.blogspot.com during February and March for details.

C: Donate to the Salvation Army online and copy me with your electronic receipt. You get ONE raffle ticket for every $20 in donations you make. ($40 = 2 tickets, $60 = 3 tickets, etc.)

D: Buy a Tabor Heights Novel and copy me with your electronic receipt. You get ONE raffle ticket for each book you buy.

EVERYONE WHO ENTERS gets a nice little thank-you package at the end of March — including a bubble gum cigar in pink or blue, depending on whether the vote results in a boy or a girl!

For more information on the fundraiser for the Salvation Army, check out my web site: www.Mlevigne.com

I hope you’ll all visit Desert Breeze Publishing and check out all the new titles available this month!

Michelle Levigne
www.Mlevigne.com
www.MichelleLevigne.blogspot.com

Michelle Stimpson can help you find it.
Multi-published author, speaker, and educator Michelle Stimpson will be with DFW Ready Writers Saturday, February 13th presenting: “Your Voice – Is It Unique?”

Let’s face it: next to a great idea, voice is what appeals most to editors and readers. Absent this essential human trait, a computer could have been programmed to spit out your novel. So how do you include your own voice without overwhelming the reader? And how can you bring “you” into a third-person narrative so that readers will fall in love with the way you tell a story?

In this session, Michelle will be addressing those questions by analyzing bestselling authors’ works to discover their unique voices and practice techniques to kick up the voice in your own novels. A touch of humor, a unique voice, and a Christian message is what you can expect from Michelle in her writing and in her workshops. You won’t want to miss hearing her.

Michelle Stimpson is an author, a speaker, and an educator who received her Bachelor of Science Degree from Jarvis Christian College in 1994. She earned a Master’s in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Texas at Arlington in 2002. She has had the pleasure of teaching elementary, middle, and high school as well as training adults.

Date: Saturday – February 13, 2010
Time: 11:00 am – 1:00 pm
Meeting Place: La Hacienda Ranch Restaurant
5250 Hwy 121,
Colleyville, Texas
(Restaurant sits alongside the southbound access road between Hall-Johnson and Glade).

Hope to see you there.

Janice Olson
His Words, His Story, His child
Vice President, DFW Ready Writers Chapter
www.JaniceOlson.com

Hello Everyone,

We’ll be hosting our Second Annual Peak Writing Conference here in Colorado. We are gearing up for an amazing day packed with workshops and fellowship with other writers.

Below are the descriptions of the three workshops, as well as the bios on our incredible speakers this year – Erin Healy, Rachelle Gardener, and Colleen Coble.

The conference is an all-day event and will be held on Feb. 27 in North Colorado Springs, food is provided, there will be a booksigning, and Q&A time.

For more information, please visit: http://acfwcolorado.com/events.html

AND- if you’d like to make plans for next year, we are pleased to announce that for 2011- We have the amazing Karen Ball coming to teach.

In His Joy,

Kim

President WWW Colorado Springs

Self-Editing for Novelists
You’ve read Browne and King and mastered many important details of fiction writing: pure points of view, snappy dialog, showing like a movie screen. Now go deeper by learning how to ask the questions that probe the very heart of your novel—plot, character, theme, pace, and originality. Having sat in both the editor’s and writer’s chairs, Erin can teach you how to self-edit what matters most before you shop your novel in this highly competitive industry.

Erin Healy is co-author with Ted Dekker of Kiss and Burn and has been editing novelists such as Colleen Coble, Melody Carlson, Lisa Samson, James Scott Bell, Jane Kirkpatrick and many others for more than a decade. Her first solo novel, Never Let You Go, comes out from Thomas Nelson in April 2010. Erin lives in Colorado Springs with her husband and two children.

Grab an Agent’s Attention from the Very First Line
The opening page of a novel can determine whether a reader will turn the page or put the book down. It can also determine whether an agent or editor will read any further, making the difference between being published—or not. In this workshop, we’ll look at opening paragraphs from successful and critically acclaimed books, identifying exactly what makes them powerful. We’ll discuss specific techniques for creating captivating opening lines, including an in-depth examination of the Writer’s Voice—what it is, and why it’s so important. Please bring the opening page of your own novel for class interaction.

Rachelle Gardner is an agent with WordServe Literary and works with both fiction and non-fiction authors. In the last two years she’s sold books to Zondervan, Bethany House, Baker Books, David C. Cook, Guideposts, Harvest House and others. Prior to being an agent, she spent many years as an editor and writer. She lives in Colorado with her firefighter husband, two daughters, and lovable yellow lab.

The Joy of Revisions: Yes that’s right – JOY.
There’s something magic about revisions. The right ones can take your novel to a whole new level. Best-selling author Colleen Coble will discuss how to tackle those big revisions and put the unexpected into your story.

Colleen Coble is the best-selling author of twenty-seven novels and nine novellas. She is CEO of American Christian Fiction Writers and has won the ACFW Mentor of the Year award twice. Her books have won or finaled in numerous contests including RWA’s Rita award, the Holt Medallion, the ACFW Book of the Year, Booksellers Best, the Daphne du Maurier, and the National Readers’ Choice Award. Visit her website at www.colleencoble.com.

Guest Post provided by:
Kimberley Woodhouse

COMING in 2011 !! Romantic Suspense from B&H Publishers written with daughter Kayla!
Welcome Home: Our Family’s Journey To Extreme Joy AVAILABLE NOW!! from Focus On The Family/Tyndale House Publishers
Author Website: www.kimberleywoodhouse.com
Newsletter: http://visitor.constantcontact.com/email.jsp?m=1102308221538

James 1:2-4 “Consider it pure joy my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything”