What Really Goes On In A Pastor's Meeting?

Idea Sparking! How to Brainstorm Conflict Into Your Novel

Hey all, please welcome My Book Therapy team member, Michelle Lim. She's taken the time to write a well done book on how to spark new ideas for your novel that will add depth and conflict.

Welcome, Michelle!

 Rachel, thank you so much for inviting me to visit your blog. 

I’ve enjoyed getting to know you through My Book Therapy and our local ACFW Chapter, Minnesota N.I.C.E. retreat a few years ago.

 For those of you who haven’t heard, during my Idea Sparking: How to Brainstorm Conflict in Your Novel Tour I’m having a drawing for a Free Kindle Paperwhite.

 For each different blog I visit that you comment on during my tour, you get one entry. Each day I will post any new tour locations on my blog.

 One of my favorite romantic moments in my life was the day my husband left a rose in my mailbox. A surprise meant to bring me delight and it did. 

I fell in love somewhere between roses in mail boxes and moonlight strolls along the shore of Lake Superior.

 Our characters fall in love in much the same way. The struggle is how to be unique in building conflict in a Romance novel. Brainstorming is a great tool for bringing out the conflict to accentuate the romance.

 In my new book Idea Sparking: How to Brainstorm Conflict in Your Novel I give tools and strategies to build that conflict to lift a sagging middle or intensify a limp plot.

 Let’s try the Strategy of Pedestal Principles when talking about your characters. Characters all have expectations of themselves as do those around them. Oftentimes our expectations cause internal conflict when we don’t meet our personal expectations.

 For example:
 Linda is a Pastor’s wife at a small country church. It is her goal to always bring a meal to a family with a crisis like hospitalization, etc. When Linda comes down with pneumonia she is unable to bring food to a family they have been trying to reach out to for the last year. She feels she has failed. This might cause internal conflict.

 The expectations we have of ourselves are not the only expectations. What about the people around you? The boss that expects you to finish your work by the end of the day, but you value quality and there is no way you can produce quality work in that time line.

 Pedestal Principles are one of the tools I cover in greater detail in my Idea Sparking Book. They are just one of the many ways to add conflict in a novel.

 Focusing on not just the happy gushy moments in our romance story is difficult, especially when what we tend to remember most about our own love story is the special moments that made us feel cherished. Both are needed to create a strong story.

 How about you? What is your favorite romance moment? 

***
What Others Are Saying About This Resource!

 “I think it's a great resource! I love the way you give examples, offer opportunities for writers to craft out their own ideas.”  ~Lisa Jordan Author of Lakeside Reunion and Lakeside Family

 “Michelle recently helped me brainstorm Silent Night, my new Rock Harbor digital novella coming at the end of next month. Her brainstorming prowess amazed me! I loved her new book, especially the chapter on secrets.” ~Colleen Coble Award Winning Author

 “Michelle encapsulated some workable, practical, yet energizing techniques to help spark that all-important conflict and tension in our stories. I especially appreciated the buffet of ideas that showed how a combination of tips could bring about a tailor-made solution to a lack-luster character, scene, or plot.” ~Cynthia Ruchti Multipublished Author, speaker, and writing instructor.  

Michelle Lim is the author of the new book Idea Sparking: How to Brainstorm Conflict in Your Novel. Also a romantic suspense author whose manuscripts have earned recognition in The Rattler Contest 2012, the Genesis Contest 2011, and the Frasier Contest in 2010. Michelle is the Brainstorm/Huddle Coach at My Book Therapy and serves as Vice President of MN N.I.C.E., a local chapter of American Christian Fiction Writers. Check out her blog at: http://thoughtsonplot.wordpress.com/.
 

Diary of A Writer: Politics Continued...

Are you struggling with the vote? I hear this so often, "I'm tired of voting for the lesser of two evils!"

Well, Beloved, being silent, quitting and/or checking out and drawing into ourselves is not the answer. Some Christians have become so insular. We've left the world to itself and lookit... 

Then we become more discouraged and more insular and yes, this is coming from a fiction author writing for a Christian publisher.

But the lines have been drawn. Too many publishers don't want the "Christian stuff." If Christian books are shelved with the rest of the books, readers go ballistic. "I didn't know I was going to be forced to read about God."

But originally publishing was done by Christians. The moveable press was invited by a guy who wanted to publish Bibles.

Universities like Harvard and Yale were founded to teach theology and the Bible, to make sure the tenets of the faith.

Now it seems they are quite the opposite. How to destroy the faith.

Hubby and I were talking about the election and I said, "What do you think God is saying? What's on His heart?"

Hubby said something profound, "You know, we're a Republic. Maybe the Lord is leaving it up to us to choose. We get who we vote, or don't vote, for."

A light dawned. America is a Republic, meaning "belonging to the people." Our Fathers dreamed and declared God is our King. So, when we have the opportunity to vote for leaders, it behooves us to choose the best possible men and women.

Christians should not be OUT of politics but in the heart of it. We should not adhere to restrictions on speech such as, "never talk about religion and politics."

No, Beloved, talk about it. Kindly. Informed. With a heart for God rather than ourselves.

Are you struggling to vote for one of the candidates? Don't. Pray. Search the scriptures. And vote. 

We have been given a blessed right by the Almighty to align with Him for the leadership of this nation. "Come, let us reason together," He says.

I know many Christians struggle to vote for a Mormon. Frankly, the alternative with his Liberation Theology and Muslim leanings isn't any better. 

Study. Don't just guess. Don't just go on the politics you had in the '70s, '80s and '90s, Those days are over! Way over!

More is at stake here than our personal comforts and beliefs.

My friend and fellow author Randy Alcorn, author of Heaven, has been blogging about this election. It's thorough, thought out and well written. Much better than what I'm doing here. So, please, check out his series.

Pray. Vote. Be vigilant for freedom.

Dairy of a Writer: I Care About Politics

I think a lot about politics. Not because I'm a junky. I'm not.

Nor because I'm a news junky. I'm not. But when I read the Bible, I see politics. 

I see Jesus as a returning King to judge the nations.

I see verses like, "If My people who are called by my name humble themselves and prayer... I will heal their land."

God, healing a nation, IF His people pray? Sounds political.

As a Believer, I can't ignore the political landscape of my country. If I hide myself away and pretend all is well, surrendering my partnership with Jesus for His kingdom to come on earth as it is in heaven, then I'm ignoring my calling and right as a co-heir. 

So, my first action is to pray. For our nation. For our president and our leaders. For my state and my county.

Second, I stand for Biblical values. I ask for wisdom to understand what the Word teaches me and how it should look in the society I live in.

I strive to think critically. I've been moved by ideas, speeches and leaders only to discover no substance behind the person or the promise.

Asking questions. Looking deeper. So critical in politics.

Too often we just vote the party line. Vote our traditions. But as Believers, we must be transformed by the Word we read. By the Holy Spirit. We must vote and stand according to the truth of God's Word.

How are you voting next month? By your own standards or God's? I'm praying about the vote -- mine and this nations.

I want to remain, "One nation under God." We've a lot to fix. A lot of unity to restore. But with God as our King, it's possible.

Don't sit this one out. Pray. Vote. Be a voice. 

Diary of A Writer: Crash. And Burn

Well, as you can see it's been a month of Sunday's since I blogged here. Why?

Busy!

Using my words for other things!

I had a revelation. Most writers try to blog three times a week. Less some, more others. I blog once a week at Southernbelleview.com and once a week at MybookTherapy.com.

Each post takes me about an hour to do.

Between travel, writing and blogging, my own blog has been neglected.

I think of things to write, but by the time I get to them, I'm weary or have forgotten.

This is the life of a writer. I want to save my best energy and words for my stories. I feel I owe that to my readers more than a quippy, regular blog.

I've thought of just taking it down. But I do like to post when I can. So there's the truth about blogging.

I'm working on the second royal wedding book. Can't wait for Once Upon A Prince, the first in the series to release in May!

Be a peace everyone. God is with us. More later... ;)

Diary of a Writer: Deadline

Deadline.

Deadline.

Dead. Line.

Working on substantive edits and rewrites for "Once Upon A Prince" coming to you April 2013!

Look for the cover soon!

It seems no matter how and what I plan, or all my valiant efforts to avoid deadline crunch, I wind up in it anyway.

Oy.

Power recliner!

Keeps me leaning against Jesus.

Random Fact: I still use the ironing board I bought when I first moved her 26 years ago. My iron is the one I inherited from my great Aunt Lillian 20 years ago. Ha!

News: Getting new furniture this week. Hubby picks up his Lazy-Boy today. Wednesday, the rest comes. :)

Blog Tour: Mackinac Island with Cara Putman and Melanie Dobson

Mackinac Island. It’s a magical place that allows you to step back in time from the moment you first step off the ferry. Authors Cara Putman and Melanie Dobson have teamed up for a tour of the island, now and then. Comment at each stop for a chance to win a copy of one of their books set on Mackinac Island. You’ll find the list of stops here. Share the tour on twitter, Facebook, pinterest and other places, and you’ll gain extra entries for the grand prize of a copy of each of their books and a 5 slice box of Murdick’s Fudge, straight from Mackinac Island. Just be sure to email Cara at cara@caraputman.com, so she can record your entries. The grand prize winner will be drawn August 27, 2012.

Cara Putman: A Wedding Transpires on Mackinac Island The draw that pulls my heroine Alanna to return to Mackinac Island is helping her parents keep their art studio open. Several shops on the island display art and photos created by local and regional authors. That served as the impetus for me to create the Painted Stone studio. The island is a place that inspires photos that show the blue sky reflected off the lake in contrast to the grass and quaint shops and Victorian homes. It’s hard not to shoot tons of photos under a cloudless sky.
The island has drawn artists and writers from its earliest days. There are several shops that highlight local artists. And the plaque pictured to the right is in memory of Constance Fenimore Woolson, an early American writer who loved the island. Is it any wonder we were drawn to the island as a setting for our stories? 

A Wedding Transpires on Mackinac Island:  Join attorney Alanna Stone as she returns home despite her determination to never set foot on Mackinac Island again. Once again in close proximity to Jonathan Covington, her first love, she vows to protect her privacy and her heart from the man who still makes her pulse race. But when her worst fears are realized and history repeats itself—landing her in the midst of a murder investigation—Jonathan may be her only hope. Will they be able to lay aside the past and let God heal their hearts, or will reconciliation come too late?  Read the first chapter here.

Love Finds You on Mackinac Island: As the Gilded Age comes to a close, Elena Bissette’s family has lost most of its fortune. The Bissettes still own a home on fashionable Mackinac Island, and they spend summers there in hopes of introducing Elena to a wealthy suitor. Quickly tiring of the extravagant balls at the Grand Hotel, she spends her days walking along the island’s rugged coastline. There she meets Chase, a handsome laborer who invites her to watch the ships from an abandoned lighthouse. The two begin to meet there in secret, hoping to solve a mystery buried in the pages of a tattered diary. As Elena falls in love with Chase, her mother relentlessly contrives to introduce her to Chester Darrington, the island's most eligible bachelor. Marriage to the elusive millionaire would solve the Bissettes' financial woes, and Elena is torn between duty and love.  Read the first chapter here

Back from Oregon Christian Writers Conference

Mt. Hood

I was honored and thrilled to be invited to the Oregon Christian Writers Conference this year.

What a great conference. Going on 50 years of encouraging writers to share the good news of Jesus Christ to readers.

The staff and attendees were fabulous. Kind. Helpful. Eager to learn. Joy abounded at every meal. There was such a spirit of worship and prayer.

It was a complete and utter joy to be there. I taught two classes and hosted two Nite Owl sessions with a My Book Therapy Live. Susie joined me and we did what we love to do -- comb through a manuscript.

Aldersgate

I learn so much at each live book therapy. We had an enthusiastic attendee Bob who said live therapy was the best thing he'd ever heard. The next night he applied what we demonstrated and taught to his first chapter. At breakfast he said, "It worked!"

Now, if only Bob could come and write my story for me... LOL.

On the last morning, the fabulous Jim Rubart invited me to sit in his class with him and take questions from his class. Awesome time.

If you can't tell by now, I'm going to say "awesome" about everything I did at OCW last week.

Susie and me on the last day.

There was one other time in my life where "awesome" was the only appropriate word to use for what we'd experienced. It was the first summer we took the youth band "on the road" and did a youth rally in Poughkeepsie, NY.

God just breathed on our weak effort and each night the attendance grew. When we left, the host church had grown over 150 members.

Awesome! Truly awesome.

So, instead of going on and on, I'll just add the pictures. I'm excited to be returning to OCW in October 2014 to keynote their fall retreat. Woot!

Trees.

Randy Ingermanson and Jim Rubart

Oregon sunset

With Harvest House editor, Kim Moore

With Sandra Bishops lovely puppy! And photo montage

I like the quiet...

I like the quiet.

When the only sound in my office is the whir of the ceiling fan.

The tick of a clock that won't keep time.

The rapid click-click of my keyboard.

The resonance of my thoughts...

I like the quiet.

Those moments when the world is still.

When the breeze lies down.

When peace finds a harbor.

I like quiet.

When the white noise of ceases.

When social media ends.

When the music is off.

The radio dim.

No voices outside or in.

I like the quiet.

When God speaks.

JOY!

I like the quiet...

ACK! How many days since my last post...

It's true. I've scientifically confirmed it...

Time flies!

What have I been doing since my last blog?

Mentoring, hosting company, plotting my next book... Working title An Uncommon Princess.

I'd planned to be here more. After all this is my own, personal blog watering hole. But, alas, I've not meandered by.

I'm writing today. Rewrites for Once Upon A Prince. The book releases April 2013! So excited for this book.

How about some pictures? Sure...

Lunch with friends. Two of the couples worked in youth with Hubs when I met him!

The picture says it all

Notes from brainstorming a rewrite scene with the great Susie May.

A gift. What a nice surprise.

Long time friends the Leslies. Thumbs up from a Michigan State fan!

Hector, the yard jockey!

Diary of a Writer: Starting A New Book

I'm starting a new book. It requires a lot of thinking... A lot of staring at out the window. A lot of noodling.

Let's see, what is this book about? What story question can I ask? What is the journey of my protagonists.

This will be my second book in the Royal Wedding Novels. The first "Once Upon A Prince," releases next April from Zondervan.

I'm tentatively calling this story "An Uncommon Princess" because she is just that, "uncommon."

The Lord is dropping these salvation and bridal themes in my stories lately.

I love grasping and molding a high level spiritual theme because it gives me understanding into the journey of the characters.

But yea, midway through writing, in the throws of deadline and mucking through the middle, don't be surprised to hear a heavy "Sigh" or two coming from my direction.

Hey, random questions: "What do you think is the best way for an author to get her book to the readers?"

"How can she best interact with old and new readers?"

"What makes you a forever fan of an author?"

Thank you for responding.

Now, back to me... LOL.

Back in the '90s when we sang that song, "It's all about You, Jesus..." I used to tease the teens and sing, "It's all about me..."

Sure the metaphor was lost on them but I had fun anyway. Got to be kind of my signature song for awhile. Ha!

Praise the Lord it's NOT all about me. What a drag that would be.

Well, I'll make this a short post. Have a great weekend.

Diary of a Writer: Busyness! ICRS Trade Show!

Hey all!

Just back from the International Christian Retail Show which took place this week at the Orange Country Convention Center in Orlando, Florida.

It's a straight shot from my house -- about an hour plus -- and I drove over Sunday night to spend a few days.

I love trade shows. I love meeting people, catching up with old friends, making new ones, walking the show floor, standing in line for the newest and lastest books.

My first trade was in '87. Vegas. With my first job. I was a software trainer and we helped support the trade shows. I got the honor of being the "in the round" speaker.

Someone sat at the proprietary computer program, ran the software while I talked about the system's features.

Fun!

So, I love trade shows.

Javier by the giant iPod! He freaked.
But I was looking at the giant book! 

Monday morning my friend Javier LaBoy and I led worship for a small prayer gathering.

Author Gayle Roper sharing on the ACFW panel

Then I went on the trade floor and helped with the ACFW panels.

That was fun. Since the show is for retailers, we focused the power and importance of story and fiction.

We also shared about Fiction Finder, ACFW's database that helps reader find the kind of novels they love to read.

In the afternoon I participated at the Fiction Event put on by the lovely Suzanne Kuhn.

I was able to talk about The Wedding Dress for a minute or two, then sign for the retailers.

I sat next to Colleen Coble and we ran out of books lickity-split!

Me with Kim Alexis

The big highlight of the Fiction Event though was meeting supermodel, Kim Alexis.

I said, "Kim Alexis, wow!" She was there promoting her book with Mindy Starns Clark, "Beauty to Die For."

At the 13th Annual Christy Awards, I was the guest blogger, helping Tyson Wynn of Wynn-Wynn let online attendees know what was going on in the room.

With Tyson Wynn at the Christy Awards

Allen Arnold was the keynote speaker and he was so good, so quotable I was able to blog a lot for the online viewers.

You can view our live blog here.

Tuesday I sat again for some ACFW panels and walked the show floor. I learned a few things.

The new buzz word is "discoverability." Meaning, how can readers discover you and your work. Social media is a part of that but I'm not sure what else is involved.

Seriously, I think the word was invented this week so the definition is still be molded. But I get where "they" are going.

Cozy mysteries sell well in e-book.

Trade books are still the largest part of the market because people still like to hold a trade book, but the market is still changing.

From Allen Arnold's keynote: Be present as much as you are productive. Your main priority is to live life and walk with God. You can't write about what you are not.

Allen really focused on having a relationship with Jesus above being great writers or great publishers. I really appreciated that about his talk.

I'm home now. Catching up and starting to write my next book, tentatively titled An Uncommon Princess. ;)

With fellow belle and Christy nominee, Lisa Wingate

Goofing with agent Chip MacGregor

Oops was this the serious picture?

With friend and ACFW ass't conference director Allison Wilson.

With the humorous Dave Long, BHP editor.

With Christy Winner Steven James.

With Christy Winner Ronie Kendig.

With Christy Winner Julie Klassen

With a future Christy Winner, I'm sure, Dani Pettrey.

Diary of a Writer: Sweet Caroline & Helping Others Pt 2

... So there I am. Zombied on a Sunday afternoon, knots in my stomach, talking to Susie Warren on the phone.

"Send it to me," she says.

"What? My manuscript?"  Gulp. It's horrible. She'll be the first to see I can't write. But I was desperate. I emailed it. Oh, praise the Lord for email, seriously!

She called me an hour later. The book was good. I just needed some direction. By later afternoon, she returned my first chapter, rewritten. No small feat to do with someone else's manuscript.

I got the gist and feel of what she was telling me and started my own rewrite that night.

By Monday I'd gotten some sleep and was feeling a bit more hopeful. Even excited. I could do this!!

With Susan May Warren Feb 2012

I never let up in my prayers and hope in the Lord. I'm a bit of an optimist, a dreamer, so I thought, "I can think it stinks but my editor might love it."

By now you're wondering why I didn't ask for an extension.

Because, I don't like missing a deadline. I wanted a reputation as being a solid author who turned her work in on time.


And there was no reason for me to ask for an extension. I had plenty of time to write the book.

Also, my editor was pregnant and a month away from maternity leave. If I asked for a week's extension, she might have had time to get to my manuscript before she had her baby, but maybe not.

On top of that, Hubby and I were heading off to NY with a worship team to do a mini conference. So I was traveling the first week of March.

Any extension request would have to be for 3-4 weeks and for sure my editor would be spending time with her new baby, not mine. :)

Besides, asking for a few extra days, even a week isn't so bad, but three or four weeks? No, I couldn't do it.

Of this I was confident, I could fix whatever was wrong with the manuscript after a substantive edit. I'd rather turn a book in on time then roll up my sleeves to perfect it after wise input and feedback.

Tuesday I took a short break to meet author friend's Davis Bunn and Mark Mynheir for coffee and Barnes and Noble. I still had a lot of rewriting to do by Thursday's deadline, but hanging with author friends would inspire me. And I figured I could stretch my deadline by one day to Friday.

When I returned home that afternoon, I got my second miracle. The first was Susie's help and invaluable input. The second was an email from my editor.

Out of the blue she wrote that they'd decided to put me on a 9 month release schedule and therefore I didn't have to turn in Sweet Caroline until May 25th.

I was ecstatic. I had three extra months. Three! Months! Forget the extended deadline and release. Forget my editor would be out on maternity leave and not read my manuscript. Forget the delay in payment. I had three months!

Wahoooo! Thank you, Jesus, thank you, Jesus!

Believe it or not, I took all of March off. I just needed some distance. But I worked hard April and May, turned the book in on time to the lovely Leslie Peterson substituting for Ami McConnell.

Sweet Caroline went on to win ACFW Book of the Year and First Place in Sweet Romance for an RWA contest.

Now here's why I think the delayed release notice was a miracle. Later that fall as I was writing Love Starts With Elle, I got an email from my editor, checking in, seeing how I was doing with Elle's story.

"It's due December 1st, right?" she wrote.

My heart stopped. No, March 1st. We were on a 9 month schedule, weren't we? I remembered reading the new deadlines in an email, didn't I. But who knows... I might have made it up in my head. LOL.

Yet Elle was set to release six months after Caroline. Which yay, I liked being back on a six month release schedule but it meant Elle had to be turned in much sooner! We compromised on Feb 1. A more generous compromise to me than to them, which I was grateful.

I'll have to blog about that journey next. Because when I hit send on Love Starts with Elle, I wept. Wept! For sure, for sure! this was the end of my writing career. Ami would know: Hack!

But six books later, I'm still here. God is sooo amazing to keep me on the journey. I've got some good insight from Him on this writing thing to share too.

Stay tuned....

Diary of a Writer: Sweet Caroline and Helping Others

My plate is full. I'm starting a new novel. Editing a My Book Therapy book. Reading a play for a friend. I love this because I know the play will be produced. I'm not an expert on plays but I know something about story.

Also, judging a contest, mentoring a friend who finaled in a contest, and reading a couple of synopsis for writer friends.

It's not a burden though it keeps me busy. Even a bit distracted but I love helping others. Truly, I've been so blessed it's a bit hard to say "No" to those requesting help.

Why do I say "Yes?" Because I remember what it was like when my heart burned to write. Burned to be published. Burned to have input from someone who knew what was what. I was desperate for a helping hand and leg up.

And the Lord sent people to me. I am forever grateful to Him. To them. So I love giving back.

Yet, I'm eager to get planning and writing this next book. Rattling thoughts are loud.

But I don't know the ending of this book yet and it's hindering my beginning and protagonist identity.

It'll come to me. It always does. God is so very faithful to supply the job He's called me to do.

Repackaged cover

 When I was writing Sweet Caroline I hit the skids. I'd gotten the publisher's catalog in the mail and saw the advertising for my new book, Diva Nashvegas.

While that was exciting, the stats on the first Nashvegas book, Lost In Nashvegas socked me in the gut.

My heart palpitated as I read the comparative units sold. Surely it was a misprint. Or, you know, numbers from the first few months.

I was discouraged. A bit embarrassed. This book was supposed to knock chick lit on it's ear as the first "redneck" chick book. Instead, I was knocked on my ear.

At that point, I felt I'd failed everyone. My publisher, my editor, my agent, myself. I was terrified to call anyone to talk about it because I thought I'd hear the cold truth. "You're not good enough."

I'd been struggling with Sweet Caroline, finding the right tone, finding a deeper layer to my voice, all the while knowing as I wrote a chick lit the genre was on it's way out. So the catalog news only added fuel to my self imposed fire.

First Cover. Won a Carol Award with this one

Deadline approached. Another author read what I had so far. Days away from submitting the book to my editor, the author wrote saying, "You need more tension. Perhaps another story line?"

Blow to the gut. But, I took it to heart and sat my butt in the chair for 15 hours on a Saturday writing and rewriting. Went to bed late, woke up at 3:00 a.m. to write before church.

Yet there was no way I was going to weave in a good sub plot. What a mess.

I went to church. Walked around like a zombie. So discouraged. So tired. My writing career was over. My editor would discover what she was bound to suspect after the low Nashvegas sales. "Rachel is a hack."

Original cover idea

I sought prayer from anyone who would listen that Sunday morning. I needed a miracle. Like, you know, God downloading a new book to me overnight. I'd wake up with it written and edited beside my bed.

Hey, anything is possible. Especially to the desperate.

Several praying friends exhorted and encouraged me that morning. I determined to go home, plant my butt in the chair, clean up what I had, and submit the best book possible on Thursday.

So tired, I could barely think. God did not download a new, grand, better book to me.

Instead, He sent me a friend. I called Susan May Warren and saw the first of two miracles....

(to be continued)

Diary of a Writer: New Season!

Last summer I found myself at a crossroad. We'd just moved into a new house. I'd set up shop in my new office and... waited.

I didn't have a new book contract. The Wedding Dress was in edits. Love Lifted Me was with Sara and edits. I had one more book to write with Sara but otherwise I was an author seeking her next project.

Inspired by Prince William and Kate's wedding, I'd put together a Royal proposal and delivered it safely to my agent's hands.

But it didn't feel like business as usual. I felt like I was in a new season with more transition coming. Our unexpected house move was more than just, "Hey, a cool new home at a stellar price."

It was as if the Lord was showing Himself, getting our attention, proving Himself in this physical change.

We sensed change for my husband though we weren't sure what. He still worked part time as a teacher and full time as a pastor.

The summer months were calm. Busy with house guests and settling into our new home.

Then the fall came and a chance to sell my royal idea. When Zondervan brought an offer to my agent, I knew it was the right one. After six years with Thomas Nelson, it was hard to say goodbye. I've loved my time with them and working with such an great team.

But I learned about more than book publishing the last few years. I embraced core lessons of my heart that I pray never go away!

The doors of this new season in our lives were still opening and I prayerfully moved forward.

I never want to do anything out of conceit or selfish ambition. Though I fail at that goal, it is my goal. I want to walk with honor. I want what the Lord wants.

But sometimes He says to us, "What do you want?"

Ever read about Cain and Able? Cain kills Able his brother and God comes looking for a reason "Why?" He has a discussion with Cain about it, then pronounces his punishment. He'd be a vagrant and wanderer on the earth.

Cain argues back. "Hey, no way, others will try to kill me."

First thought I had was, "Well, dude, you killed your brother. You're lucky God is letting you live."

But the Lord of Host, in His infinite mercy and wisdom, replies to Cain, "I'll put a mark on you so no one harms you. If they do, seven times worse will come up on them."

Wow! I've not killed anyone and I struggle with God showing any mercy toward me once in awhile. "Rats, I mess up again."

But the Lord is willing and able to reason with us as we walk faithful and obedient. John 15 Jesus assures us if we abide in Him, He'll abide in us and we can ask whatever we will. God wants us to bear fruit. He glorifies Himself when we do!

So I reasoned with Him. I'd been praying for and asking about reward. I was writing books, working hard, doing all I could to write the best books possible but the reward was small.

Book writing is an intensive, slow turn around business. There are a lot of ambiguities. There's no real formula for success except "hang in there and keep at it."

My friend Debbie Macomber once said she was a twenty-five year, overnight success.

There is no guarantee going forward that I'll have a certain amount of success. I'm not even sure what "success" always looks like, but I have a few ideas. I'm presenting them to the Lord, talking to Him about it.

I know there's more for me. The churning in my spirit keeps my mind and heart alive with that hope. But I don't try to imagine the outcome. A good friend of mine gave me that advice once and I'm learning to embrace it.

This summer I was to write a final book for Sara Evans but we've put it on hold for awhile as she pursues other things. I'm so glad for her success with her latest album.

Once Upon A Prince will be my next book in 2013 and my first title with Zondervan. This month I'll be working on royal book 2, about a princess.

Other changes abound. My husband went back to youth ministry in November and this month, he's returned to church full time and will not return to teaching this fall.

We knew God spoke "reversal of the reverses" last year and it took eighteen months for us to know what it really meant. But we've seen it happen live and in person!

What an amazing God we serve. How He loves us, OH how He loves us.

Change is hard. Crossroads confusing. Everything is not always smooth and peachy keen but we are at peace. Full of joy. Always hoping and abounding in Him.

Welcome Author Leigh Duncan

Please welcome my local RWA STAR chapter author and friend, Leigh Duncan! She is a great writer and such an encourager. I feel so encouraged after being with her.

Her newest release, Rodeo Daughter, was a Romantic Times Top Pick! Well, I'll let her tell you about it.


 Rodeo Daughter Summary:
Amanda Markette’s years on the professional rodeo circuit led to dreams of a home without wheels with a family-first kind of guy.  That man is definitely not her old boyfriend, Mitch Goodwin, rumored to become the county’s next District Attorney.  His demanding job has already cost Mitch one marriage. But Amanda’s plan to keep her distance falls apart when a bad-tempered judge permits the doting father only supervised visitation with his child…under the wary gaze of the one woman whose trust Mitch fears he’ll never win.Rodeo Daughter Reviews:“Readers better hold on to the tissue box.”

--- 4 ½ stars, RT Book Reviews June TOP PICK!

 “Rodeo Daughter is a nostalgic tale of two adolescents falling in love and later finding their way back to each other…I hung on every word.”  

--- Kay Quinton at Fresh Fiction.

 BLOG:  Where Did You Come From?It’s summer in Florida.  The heat index is climbing and the humidity, whew!  Let’s just say everything is soggy and let it go at that.  At our house, the air conditioner runs full time.  The cucumbers in my garden have died back; the first tomato harvest is over and I’m getting ready to start a new crop.  And tiny baby birds chirp from nests in the Chinese Ting that grows outside my office window. So, with all this new life bursting on the scene, is it any wonder that I’ve been asking, “Where did you come from?”  No, this isn’t a lecture on the birds and the bees.  It’s a question about the heroes and the heroines in the stories we write.

Where do they come from? 

For me, every new book starts with the characters.  And because I write romance, I usually “see” the hero or the heroine first.  I’ll be going about my business—shopping, cleaning, cooking, whatever—and one of them will pop into my head.  Sometimes, they wave and keep on going.  There’s a woman in an orange grove who’s been doing that lately.  But she doesn’t stop, so I wave back and let her go, knowing her story isn’t quite ready to be told yet.  When it’s time, she’ll come back and stay a while.  She’ll start talking or she’ll do something that catches my attention. 

That’s how it was with heroine in Rodeo Daughter, my third book for Harlequin American Romance.  Before I even started working on the book, I caught a mental glimpse of a young woman running the barrel race in a rodeo.  At the time, I was knee deep in edits for my second book (The Daddy Catch, June 2011), so I just gave her a nod and went back to work.  She didn’t leave, though.  She hung around.  She’d pop in at the oddest moments.  Each time she did, I got to know her better.  I learned that her name was Amanda Markette, that she and her father had problems they needed to resolve.  She’d given up the rodeo scene and turned her attention to family law.  Recently, she’d moved to Melbourne, FL where her latest client was a prodigal mom determined to win back custody of the daughter she’d abandoned four years earlier.      

All well and good, but what’s a romance without a hero?

Mitch Goodwin took his own sweet time making himself known.  But one day, as I watched Amanda prepare for a case, I noticed this tall, dark-haired man in a business suit cutting through the courthouse.  Right away, I knew my hero had arrived on the scene. Of course, Mitch didn’t think he needed a woman in his life.  He was a workaholic, and he pretty much thought he had it all.  In fact, he’d just received the nod from the outgoing District Attorney and was excited about his prospects of becoming the lead DA.  The only shadow on his bright horizon was the custody suit his ex-wife had filed.  She claimed he didn’t spend enough quality time with their daughter.  She was right, but with his focus set on his career, super-confident Mitch couldn’t see it. 

Clearly, Mitch had lessons he needed to learn.  That’s where my job came in.  The result was Rodeo Daughter, my third book for Harlequin American Romance, one that I hope you’ll enjoy.Bio:

Author Leigh Duncan

Leigh Duncan writes the kind of books she enjoys reading, ones where home, family and community are key to the happy endings we all deserve (The Daddy Catch, June 2011 and The Officer’s Girl, June 2010.).  Rodeo Daughter, her third book Harlequin American Romance.  Leigh is a long-time member of the Romance Writers of America.  When she isn’t busy writing or helping aspiring authors, Leigh enjoys curling up in her favorite chair with a great book. To learn more about her, visit www.leighduncan.com