Weekend Editon

  

If you are not familiar with our giveaway rules, take a minute to read them here. It keeps us all happy! All winners should send their name, address, and phone number to claim prizes.  Note our new email address and please send your emails to Seekerville2@gmail.com

Monday: Erica Vetsch took a look at the lighter side, using the 'emoticons of the writing life!'

Tuesday: V. Joy Palmer brought us a post about Love-into-Hate romances! The winner of one of her books is: VINCE! (You know the drill, contact Seekerville at the address above to get your book!)

Wednesday: Cate Nolan shared some exciting news...A NEW CONTRACT! To celebrate, Sarah Taylor will be receiving a copy of Christmas In Hiding!!

Friday: Pam Hillman shared insights as she compared Tigger, The Muffin Man and other beloved characters! What makes you love them?

Monday:  Mary Connealy will be talking about her new release, Woman of Sunlight and there is a giveaway!!! Stop in to leave a comment.

Wednesday: Mindy Obenhaus will be here to talk about adaptability in life and in publishing.

Thursday: Ruthy Logan Herne busts in to celebrate HER NEW RELEASE!!!! Freshly out on Amazon.com in Kindle & paperback, book 3 of her bestselling Wishing Bridge series is out! "Finding Peace in Wishing Bridge" is here and Ruthy wants to celebrate with all of you by giving away a copy (Kindle or paperback) to a lucky commenter/party-goer/attendee who talks about why America loves small town stories. That's it! Come see Ruthy on Thursday and we'll celebrate together! 

  

Friday: Amanda Cabot is stopping by Seekerville today and sharing her insights on how to measure the impact of our books.

Woman of Sunlight

Book #2 in the Brides of Hope Mountain series

Releasing March 3rd

Come to Seekerville on Monday for a chance to win!

Happy Dancing!

"Finding Peace in Wishing Bridge" releases on Monday and we're having an old-fashioned book birthday party on Thursday! Come join us!

Here's your link to more WISHING BRIDGE!!!!!

The Maggie Award of Excellence 2020

is open. Get your manuscripts ready for submission!

NEWS FLASH!!!

Love Inspired Editor EMILY RODMELL

will attend Georgia Romance Writers

Moonlight & Magnolias Conference 2020.

Plan to attend and pitch your story to Emily!

www.GeorgiaRomanceWriters.org

RELEASES APRIL 1ST! 

Dangerous Amish Inheritance

By Debby Giusti

“Move off the mountain. No one wants you here.”

Can this Amish widow survive her dangerous stalker?

Someone wants Ruthie Eicher off Amish Mountain…enough to terrorize the widow and her boys. Now Ruthie must rely on her former sweetheart, Noah Schlabach—the secret father of her eldest son—as they figure out why. But Noah has turned his back on love and the Amish way of life. Can he shield Ruthie…without breaking her heart again?

Order HERE!

https://acfwnga.com/one-day-workshop/

Check out these links for the WE next week!

Dear Editor: How Do I Get my Book on a Blog Tour? by Iola Goulton at Christian Editing Services

5 Self-Publishing Mistakes To Avoid by CS Lakin at Live Write Thrive

The Professional Writing Resources I Use For All Parts Of The Writing and Publishing Processes by KM Weiland at Helping Writers Become Authors

Open Access just granted to nearly 3 million images at the Smithsonian. Thanks to Tina Radcliffe and FHL for sharing this link.

Tigger, The Muffin Man, and Me

by Pam Hillman

Tigger bounced into the front office, hand outstretched, an infectious grin on his face. “How are you today, Ms. Johnnie?”

The receptionist couldn’t help but respond to his energetic step, his jovial manner, and his wide grin. He even kind of looked like a Tigger. He was tall and lanky and middle-aged, and just bouncy. But the similarity ended there. He was a cardboard box salesman.

But he acted like a Tigger, and he brought a smile to the entire office as he peddled his boxes. And over the years it became apparent that he wasn’t friendly and bouncy and interested in us just to sell boxes. No-siree! 

He genuinely cared about people.

One time my husband had a life-threatening injury that kept him in the hospital for ten days. Tigger dropped by the office while I was out. He was so concerned for my husband (whom he had never met), that he got the number to the hospital and called to check on us. You don’t forget Tiggers like that. I haven’t seen Tigger in several years, and honestly, I can’t even remember his real name, but I will never forget him, and I’ll always think of him as Tigger, and when I do, I will smile.

The Muffin Man was another one of our favorite salesmen. I dubbed him The Muffin Man because he brought us to-die-for muffins from The Beagle Bagel Café.

Oh.My.Stars! 

Those muffins were the size of dinner plates and so moist, they just melted in your mouth. One would hold you all day…if you could manage to stop at just one. If The Muffin Man visited in the morning, forget about lunch. I just skipped the healthy stuff altogether and ate a Beagle Bagel Café blueberry muffin with a fresh-brewed cup of coffee. Yum!

The Muffin Man shared pictures of his beautiful daughters, his latest hunting escapades, and his turkey calls and always asked about my boys. Eventually we got around the purpose of his visit, talking about the premium stainless steel that he sold (I bought it by the truck load … 18 wheeler/40,000 lb truck loads).

Good men, good salesmen who took the time to get to know their customers, who sometimes came bearing gifts, and always came bearing smiles, the gift that keeps on giving.

I’ve met more Tiggers, Muffin Men, and friendly Winnie the Pooh types over the years, but I’ve met a few Eeyore types as well. Don’t get me wrong, Eeyore is so cute and cuddly, and we want to fix him, and make him feel better about life.

 

But in real life, having an Eeyore around who never, ever has a good thing to say about anything would put a damper on things for sure. I don’t know about you, but I like to be encouraged. A bit of encouragement goes a long way. But on the flip side, discouragement and a toxic attitude does as well.

The very un-remarkable un-memorable salesman who replaced Tigger was the exact opposite of Tigger. He talked slow, he walked slow, and he acted like he was selling something as bland and unappetizing as a cardboard box. Well, he was, but still, he was the closest thing to an Eeyore salesman that I’ve ever seen. I literally dreaded to see him coming. No personality, no excitement about anything. Just ho-hum, do-ya-wanna-buy-a-box-boring.

Now, I’ll be honest. Having a hard-core Tigger bouncing around me all the time would drive me insane, but on the flip side, I’d go bonkers and have to be in a strait-jacket with Eeyore as a side-kick as well. In the words of Goldilocks, I relate more to someone with a “just right” personality. Maybe someone more like Pooh Bear.

If our attitude is so easily swayed in one direction or another by someone else, then it stands to reason that others react to our attitude the same way. Even the make-believe characters in our stories can and should be affected by other characters. And if they’re not, then they need to be so self-absorbed or deep in their own woes or high with the beauty in their own life that they’re oblivious to the drama going on around them.

One character can be swayed by another. Our readers can be swayed by our characters. A good story has a well-rounded cast of characters, some Tiggers, Eeyores, Pooh Bears, Piglets, and even a few Muffin Men. Are the Tiggers in your story that way simply because it’s his personality? Is there an underlying reason Eeyore seems depressed all the time?

Those characters need concrete reasons for being that way. So give ‘em reasons. And your readers will love your stories just as much as they love Winnie the Pooh and the Hundred Acre Wood.

Let’s discuss the Tiggers and Muffin Men (or Women) in your life. Where did you meet them? What made them special? What about them makes you smile even today?

CBA Bestselling author PAM HILLMAN was born and raised on a dairy farm in Mississippi and spent her teenage years perched on the seat of a tractor raking hay. In those days, her daddy couldn't afford two cab tractors with air conditioning and a radio, so Pam drove an Allis Chalmers 110. Even when her daddy asked her if she wanted to bale hay, she told him she didn't mind raking. Raking hay doesn't take much thought so Pam spent her time working on her tan and making up stories in her head. Now, that's the kind of life every girl should dream of. www.pamhillman.com

It's all about Perspective

Last summer I did two posts on writing-related words starting with the letter P.


Another "P" Word = Persistence posted back in August and A 15 letter word Not Equal to Lazy (Procrastination) in June.

One of my favorite quotes from the persistence post was this (referring to an article about why people don't meet their full potential) :

The trouble is that most people don’t seriously want what they say they want.

’I want’ means, ‘if I want it enough I will get it.’ Getting what you want means making the decisions you need to make to get what you want.”In other words, few of us are willing to do what it takes to achieve what we desire. 

So why do I bring these old posts up today????

Well, because THIS happened last week.

Despite my tendency to procrastinate, I persisted. I did the work and sold another book to Love Inspired Suspense. You can expect to see it on the shelf in January 2021.  

I'm celebrating and I couldn't think of anyplace I'd rather announce it than here!

But as anyone who has ever sold a book knows, contracts come with lovely revision notes from your acquiring editor. I've been lucky so far, because neither of my books have required extensive revisions. However, the note that came this time made me think of a new P word, one that has been on my mind recently.

I had an experience that made me focus on PERSPECTIVE and how it relates to writing.

I have lived in the same neighborhood for the past 33 years. Nearly every day of those 33 years, I have walked down the block that is half a block over from mine. Most days I walk it multiple times - to and from work, walking the dog, going food shopping. 

I live in a Brooklyn neighborhood that is known for it's Brownstones. Many of those houses have front stoops that end in pillars/pedestals. They look like some version of this.

That is what I have seen every day for 33 years!

But a few weeks ago as I was walking down that very same street, I noticed something. If I looked at the stoop from a different angle, it looked like this.

Do you see the face?  I had never noticed it before? I sent a photo to my daughters and neither of them had ever noticed it either.

So I got to really looking, and then I noticed that this was true on many blocks.

And most shocking of all - it was true of the pedestal at the bottom of the flight of stairs in my own house!

I had just never looked at it from that angle before.

So you may be asking, what is the connection to writing?

It goes back to that revision letter, and how sometimes, in order to see what our editor is seeing, we have to change our perspective. But that's not always an easy thing to do when you've been stuck in a rut thinking about something the same way for a long time.

(Fortunately, despite how it feels at times, I have NOT been working on this book for 33 years!)

In order to make the one change my editor requested, I had to change my perspective on why the heroine was acting the way she was. I did a lot of thinking about it, but then I did what I often do, I studied up on craft.

I read several articles on writing in an attempt to reconsider the changes I had to make. That's when I came across this video.

For those of you who don't have the patience to watch (though I highly recommend that you do), this short film called The Ten Meter Tower, this is the YouTube blurb:

A 10-meter diving tower. People who have never been up there before have to choose whether to jump or climb down. The situation in itself highlights a dilemma: to weigh the instinctive fear of taking the step out against the humiliation of having to climb down.

Most of the video is a closeup shot of people on the diving platform as they agonize whether or not to jump. It's by turns amusing, excruciating, and painful to watch.  (warning:  once or twice there is a curse word).

The viewer is left feeling SO curious about what the jump looks like. Eventually they pull away and show a long shot. I was going to post a photo of that, but I didn't want to violate copyright, so just imagine a long view of a pool (or go to 6:07 in the video).

The thing is, it didn't look so terrifying.

But then they showed a different view - the potential diver's view.

OH!  Big difference!!!

Suddenly you could understand why people were having such a difficult time deciding what to do.

And that spoke to the writer in me. We have to create that tension with our words. Switching the cameral angle proved just how critical that perspective can be. Sometimes, when we're deep into a scene, we don't remember to look at it from other angles. But doing that may make a huge difference!

In my case, it meant rearranging some chapters.

What does it mean for you? Have you ever needed to change your perspective on anything? Think about the scene you are writing today? Would changing your perspective improve it?

While I was waiting for my editor's letter, I did some cleaning up in my office and discovered a box that had copies of Christmas in Hiding. I'd like to give away a copy in celebration of my sale. Let me know in the comments if you'd like to be in the drawing!

Guest Blogger V. Joy Palmer

Erica here: It is purely my pleasure to introduce to you my friend V. Joy Palmer. Joy is everything her name implies! I met her at an ACFW Conference, and she could not be any cooler! I'm so glad she agreed to visit us at Seekerville today, and I know you'll make her welcome. 

Take it away, Joy!

I love spit-in-your-face-to-kissy-face romances. There’s just something about the enemies-to-sweethearts trope that is so. much. fun! Case in point, Pride and Prejudice.

We should get this out of the way right now… Yes, my favorite movie adaption of Pride and Prejudice is the 2005 version with Keira Knightly and Matthew Macfadyen. This was my very first exposure to Jane Austen’s stories, and I will forever love it because of that fact. Can we still be friends?

Moving right past that awkward plea, let’s get back to the awesome literary sauce that is (to channel all the Baby Yoda memes) the stabby-stab-to-kissy-kiss trope.

I love how this trope can add that extra spice of sarcasm with a side of burning bickering to romances in any genre! From the classics hate-to-love couples like Han Solo and Leia from Star Wars to Joe Fox (NY152) and Kathleen Kelly (Shopgirl) from You’ve Got Mail.

To the trope within a trope. The slow burn, will-they-won’t-they couples like Luke and Lorelai from Gilmore Girls to the second chance romances like Melanie and Jake in Sweet Home Alabama.

To Cary Grant because no list would be complete without a Cary Grant appearance, such as I Was a Male War Bride!

In my biased opinion, Cary Grant personifies the standard that all other heroes should be measured against when it comes to snarky romantic tension!

Wow…I’m potentially making a lot of enemies with that statement… Forgive me!

Ultimately, my favorite aspect of the enemies-to-sweethearts trope isn’t the laughs it provides but rather the way I can see God softening hearts, redeeming lives, and breaking lies that hold hearts captive! I love seeing characters who screw up, who’ve made bad decisions, who put their giant feet in their big mouths, who definitely say the wrong thing once or twice…or two dozen times. I love these characters because I am one of these characters in the story God’s writing with my life. His love, forgiveness, and grace covers so much in my life, and I love writing characters that get to experience these things!

Whether it’s second chances at love or botched first impressions or unrequited love sprinkled with family drama, the initial fighting makes the ending so much sweeter for me – to watch, read, and write!

But perhaps my love for a bickering yet wonderfully sappy story was destined to be. Maybe it all goes back to that day twenty-two-ish years ago when my own enemies-to-sweethearts story started on a school playground. That’s where my future husband said, “Girls are stupid. Your doll is stupid.”

Rude, right? It’s okay; I got even with him. Who’s laughing now, buddy?

That’s right. Me.

Because I’m the writer.

*mic drop*

What are some of your favorite stories with a hate-to-love thread?

Isabel “Izze” Vez, bridal consultant extraordinaire, has been helping brides find The Dress for years. She loves nothing more than helping make wedding dreams come true…but sometimes the happy endings grate on her. How many times can a girl discover someone else’s gown without dreaming of the day it’ll be her turn to wear one?

When James Miles Clayton walks into her life, he represents everything Izze can’t handle: change. He’s determined to bring the Ever After Bridal Boutique into the black…and to prove to Izze that she should give him a chance.

But if there’s anything Izze handles worse than change, it’s trust. She may have a few issues—fine, she knows she does. But will they keep getting in the way of any chance of her own Happily Ever After? She wants to trust God to give her those dreams of love and lace, but that’s going to require some…minor alterations.

Read a sample HERE!

Available now from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Books-A-Million, and WhiteFire Publishing’s READ Store!

Seventeen years after being orphaned, Apryl Burns and her twin sister Courtney have their own expectations for life. While Courtney continues to shine at everything, Apryl holds fast to the mantra that as long as her potato chip stash remains intact, then she'll be fine.

But when their beloved grandmother ends up injured and unable to manage her struggling antique store, Courtney makes it their mission to revamp the business and save what's left of their family's legacy. Despite rampant doubts in her abilities, Apryl finds herself trapped under the weight of family loyalty as they transition to a wedding venue decorating service. Soon she's forced to ask (translation: blackmail) their grandmother's renter/handyman, Chance McFarland, for hep, an arrangement that is made even worse by the fact that Chance is her former (ahem, and current) crush.

Chance knows a few dozen things about family loyalty, which is why he begrudgingly agrees to Apryl's insane plan. While Apryl claims they're archenemies, the girl Chance only glimpsed in their teens starts to emerge, stealing what remains of his heart.

But expectations are a powerful thing. Amidst the glamorous weddings and swaying willows, can those old expectations be revised into something new?

Read a sample HERE!

Available now from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, and WhiteFire Publishing’s READ Store!

V. Joy Palmer is the author of Love, Lace, and Minor Alterations and a member of American Christian Fiction Writers. She is also an avid blogger and co-founder of Snack Time Devotions. In her spare time, Joy is an unprofessional chocolate connoisseur/binger, and she loves acting crazy and drinking coffee with the teens she mentors. When Joy isn't urging the elves that live in her computer to write, she's hanging out with her husband, their adorable baby girl, and their socially awkward pets.

Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads | Website | Blog | Snack Time Devotions | Pinterest | Amazon Author Page | The Diamond Mine of Christian Fiction

Joy is giving away a reader's choice of either of her books, print or ebook to a US resident, or ebook to an international resident. Leave a comment answering Joy's questions (Go ahead, scroll back up to read the question....) and we'll draw a winner!