Friday, May 31, 2013

Don’t Quit When Things Get Hard by Janice Cantore


Janice Cantore

Writers deal with a myriad fears. What happens if I don’t get an agent? Or a contract? What if readers love my book? What’s going to be expected of me next? Today, author Janice Cantore offers encouraging words for writers wherever they are in their journey. ~ Dawn

Don’t Quit When 
Things Get Hard

“…Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.” Eph 4:29 NLT


I just got back from a writer’s conference. I’ve been to many over the years and for some reason this trip brought back memories of a conference I attended when I had absolutely no idea what to expect. I didn’t submit any manuscripts to editors because I didn’t feel ready. (I’d had a bad experience at a previous conference) I roomed with a woman, I forget her name now, who was a little more savvy than I was and who had submitted several pieces to editors for review. 

My roommate was bristling with anticipation, waiting for the return of her manuscripts the day I met her. When she got them back, there were a lot of reactions I expected, but not the one I got. She burst into tears. After a minute she told me that an editor who was talking book contract accepted her story. All of her dreams were coming true.

Why are you crying, I asked. She said it was because she didn’t know how to handle everything she ever wanted coming true. She then packed up her things and left the conference 2 days early. I don’t know if she was published and lived happily ever after or not.

I too dreamed of a book contract and of being a published author and I was certain I would not burst into tears and freak out if it ever happened. A few years later I was certain my dream would never come true. I had become a published author with a small print on demand publisher and I was grateful. But I learned that selling a novel was way harder than writing one. With no platform and no idea how to build one people were not exactly beating down the door to buy my book.

One morning after my devotions I felt particularly defeated. I remember sitting in a chair, head in hands, praying, “Lord, if not writing what?” I was certain my writing career was over and I was ready to quit, to stop banging my head against a wall. But, God is good. A few days later my publisher called. She had an agent friend who read my POD book and wanted to talk to me, was that okay? I figured I had nothing to lose, so I said yes. To make a long story short, I signed with that agent and a month later we had a three-book contract.

All my dreams came true! Did I burst into tears and freak out? Nope, I thanked God and signed the contract, knowing full well that the hard work was just beginning. This writing life is fun, frustrating, and what I always wanted. I’ve known tremendous disappointments and soaring victories. I’m glad I didn’t quit, and to anyone out there struggling, if this is your dream, stick with it. And you can even freak out when you realize your dream, just don’t quit because things are sometimes hard.




Click to reach Amazon.

Avenged 

When Officer Carly Edwards finds three young gangbangers shot execution style, she and her husband, Sergeant Nick Anderson, head of the gang unit, fear Las Playas may be on the verge of a gang war. The Las Playas PD is put on high alert as tensions escalate between rival gangs, especially after Carly confiscates weapons from a gang leader and learns they were stolen from a military base along with explosive devices.

But something isn’t adding up, and Carly suspects there might be more going on. As she prepares to testify at a major trial, Carly’s reputation is shredded by a reporter apparently trying to discredit her professionally. Facing pressure on all fronts, Carly must rely on faith and trust God in a deeper way during one of the biggest struggles of her career.




A retired Long Beach California police officer of 22 years (16 in uniform and 6 as a non-career officer), Janice Cantore worked a variety of assignments, patrol, administration, juvenile investigations and training. During the course of her career in uniform Janice found that faith was indispensable to every aspect of the job and published articles on faith at work, one for a quarterly newspaper called “Cop and Christ”, and another for the monthly magazine “Today’s Christian Woman”.

With retirement Janice began to write longer pieces and several novels were born. Janice is excited and honored to now be a part of the Tyndale Publishing House family. Accused, the first installment in her new suspense offering, The Pacific Coast Justice Series, was released February 1, 2012 and kicked off a brand new chapter in her writing career. Abducted followed in July 2012 and Avenged, the third installment was released April 1, 2013. In addition to suspense and action, her books feature strong female leads. Janice writes suspense novels designed to keep you engrossed and leave you inspired.

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