Eat Your Vegetables by Tina Radcliffe

The writing journey is unmistakably challenging. At eleven traditional books in I can tell you I am only just beginning to understand how much I don’t know.

We live each day with more ups, downs, and rattles than a wooden roller coaster The path is often murky, the gratifications and paychecks shaky and definitely not timely.  It’s also a calling that keeps us humble though it requires us to toot our own horn to be heard. Should we toot too loudly, there is someone out there who will happily point out our shortcomings.

This calling requires introverts, people who live in their heads, to become social beings. Not only must we master our craft, but we must master the art of selling ourselves. We write the copy, and spin the copy, and sell ourselves like a bottle of Pepsi.

We routinely have our patience, our sanity and our ability to juggle six things at once tested. Often we fail. I contend that there is no balance in this profession. Even boundaries are precariously drawn and often smudged at the edges.

It’s also a lonely journey. Despite our ability to reach out and touch, the creative process is still a solitary endeavor.

Yet, we persevere because we don’t have any other choice. How can we not write?

 So I offer the few bits of wisdom I have picked up along the way. 

• Keep the faith. Keep that relationship strong and hold it close. It’s the only thing that stands between you and a world filled with destruction and chaos. 
• Write letters. I mean this. Pick up a pen and paper and send a card or a note of encouragement to those who mean something to you. Don’t forget this old-fashioned nicety.
• Tell your loved ones that you love them. Daily. Say the words.
• Don’t forget kindness as you go through your day. The world will buffer you like a cold storm, but your one smile when your eyes meet another’s can make someone’s day spin around from despair to hope.
• Your words matter. This is a calling. You don’t get to decide to hide your calling under a basket. Your job is to step into your gift.
• Do not abandon what you know to be true and right while you pursue your dreams. 
• You really cannot get up unless you fall down. 
• And finally, eat your vegetables. Chocolate is fine and dandy but good vegetables while sometimes boring will keep you strong and clear-eyed.

May the writing force be with you.

A freelance writer for over twenty years, Tina Radcliffe is an RWA Honor Roll member, a two-time RWA Golden Heart finalist, a three-time ACFW Carol Award nominee, and a 2018 ACFW Mentor of the Year recipient. Her 11th book for Harlequin Love Inspired, Her Last Chance Cowboy, released in February 2019.  In addition to novel-length fiction, Tina has sold over three dozen short stories to Woman’s World Magazine. A former library cataloger, Tina is a frequent presenter on writing topics and an online instructor. She currently resides in Arizona, where she writes fun, heartwarming romance and eats her vegetables.  Sign up for her author newsletter and market newsletter at https://www.tinaradcliffe.com/

 

 

Her Last Chance Cowboy   

She came seeking family…
Will she find love at Big Heart Ranch? 

When pregnant single mother Hannah Vincent shows up professing to be the half sister of the Maxwells of Big Heart Ranch, horse trainer Tripp Walker is wary. Wounded before, he doesn’t trust easily. If only Hannah and her feisty five-year-old daughter weren’t so impossible to resist. Now, despite his doubts, joining this little family is quickly becoming the cautious cowboy’s greatest wish.

https://amzn.to/2EyRVN6

Anticipation by Terri Weldon

While trying to decide what to talk about the word anticipation zinged into my mind. And for me, it seemed perfect. What two better things to anticipate than Christmas and writing?

During the Christmas season it is so easy to become consumed with cooking, shopping, and decorating that we forget to anticipate the birth of our Savior. I know His birth took place over 2000 years ago and we all know the Christmas story. Maybe we know it too well and maybe we need to be reminded it isn’t just a story.  The birth of Jesus is a miracle and Christmas is a time for us to experience that miracle anew. To celebrate the fact God loves us so much He sent His Son into the world. A tiny miracle that became that world’s greatest blessing.

In a different manner I believe we should feel a sense of anticipation about our writing. I don’t know about you, but when that first gem of a story idea niggles at my brain I’m full of anticipation. Midway through my first draft I may wonder what ever made me think I could write. By the time I’ve finished revising the book for the last time I may never want to think of those characters again.

Do you know what happens then? I send that story out and I begin to anticipate what will happen. I hope and I pray an editor will love it. And in the case of Mistletoe Magic, when I finally saw my first book accepted I felt a whole new wave of anticipation. For once I looked forward to editing and I felt a strong sense of anticipation hoping my editor would like the changes.

Then I anticipated the cover. Next the release date. And then, I’ll admit, I anticipated and feared friends, family, and strangers reading my book. But the entire process was one of joy. God allowed my dream of being published to come true.

Since then I’ve published two other books. I’m still filled with anticipation each time I begin writing another book and I hope I never become complacent about it. But more importantly, I never want to become complacent about the miracle of Jesus’s birth.

What about you? What has you filled with anticipation this Christmas season? What lies ahead in your writing journey?

Misty Winslow is determined to find her prince, and she meets the man of her dreams through an Internet dating service. Or is he, because the new dentist in town also sets her heart aflutter. It's love at first sight for Tyler Davenport, but before he can finish his first root canal, Misty is involved in an exclusive online romance with Wes99—Tyler's online persona. How can he tell her he's the man she's been waiting to meet, and how rational is it for him to be jealous of Wes99! Soon Tyler's pulling out all the stops to woo Misty. As Christmas approaches, Wes99 and Tyler both ask her to meet them under the mistletoe. Which man will she choose?

 

Amazon Buy Link Mistle Magic

 

Terri Weldon is a lead analyst by day and an author by night. She enjoys gardening, reading, and shopping for shoes – a habit she really needs to break. Problem is they make new, cute ones every season. One of her favorite pastimes is volunteering as the librarian at her church. It allows her to shop for books and spend someone else’s money! Plus, she has the great joy of introducing people to Christian fiction. She lives with her family in Oklahoma. Terri has two adorable Westies – or they have her, she’s never sure which. Terri is a member of Romance Writers of America and American Christian Fiction Writers. Her dream of becoming a published author came true when her novella Mistletoe Magic was published.

 

The Joy of Multi-Author Anthologies by Terri Weldon

I recently had the privilege of writing The Matchmakers anthology with Jean C. Gordon and Lisa Belcastro. I had wanted to be involved in a multi-author project for quite some time, and let me tell you it was a blast. 

The three of us first began working on the project when a small press sent out a call for multi-author anthologies. Jean C. Gordon had the idea of basing the books around a dating service for Christians. The dating service would be run by an elderly couple, Libby and Blake, introduced in Jean’s novella. Eventually the idea evolved into a honeymoon travel company set in the Berkshires, but the elderly grandmother still had plans on playing matchmaker for her three single granddaughters. 

It was a fun idea and in no time at all we each had developed a plan for a novella. Unfortunately our writing schedules didn’t allow us to submit the proposal. Still, we wanted to write the books so we decided to indie publish the anthology. 

Writing an anthology based around a single core idea with two other authors proved to be fun. Libby and Blake appeared in all three novellas so descriptions, personality, and tone had to stay consistent. Also, there were times the heroine and hero of one novella popped up in another. I remember Jean asking me questions about what my heroine’s kitchen looked like and how it was decorated as well as needing a description of my hero. 

Jean’s heroine appeared in Lisa’s story along with Libby. And I built the relationship between my hero and Libby based on events in Jean’s book. Whew! Sounds like it would be tough, but with a little teamwork everything flowed smoothly. 

We had so much fun writing The Matchmakers that we plan on doing another anthology together in time for a Valentine’s Day release. I can’t wait!

How about you? Have you ever written a multi-author anthology? Does it sound like something you might pursue in the future? Leave a comment and let me know.

Ellie Alexander is in love. And the only thing sweeter would be if Libby, Natalie, and Stephanie, her three unmarried, unattached granddaughters, could find the same happiness. Maybe with a little help from her and her beau Blake Parker . . .

A Match Made in Williamstown by Lady of Love Inspired Romance Jean C. Gordon — Libby Schuyler has avoided dating since her break-up with college-sweetheart Jack Parker. Out of nowhere, Jack shows up claiming Ellie is swindling his grandfather, Blake, through a travel agency partnership they’ve formed. Libby and Jack team up to protect their grandparents and get to the bottom of Ellie and Blake’s business and romantic relationship. While Libby and Jack fight their reignited attraction, Ellie and Blake conspire to bring the two together.

A Match Made in Sheffield by Terri Weldon— Natalie Benton bounced from one foster home to another until she landed on Ellie Alexander’s doorstep. Natalie’s vagabond childhood caused her to yearn for a secure life, which led to Natalie’s five-year plan: complete her law degree, marry the perfect man, become a partner at Montgomery, Haynes, and Preston, and produce one child. Getting arrested wasn’t in Natalie’s plan. Needing a public defender wasn’t in her plan. Falling for Grady Hunter, her public defender, definitely wasn’t in her plan. Can Grady convince Natalie there is more to life than her five-year plan? Is Ellie the only one who sees a future for Natalie and Grady?

A Match Made in Freedom by Lisa Belcastro — Stephanie Gould loves life on Martha’s Vineyard . . . until she runs into Kay and Tim, her former business partner and her ex-fiancé, who just returned from their honeymoon. Surprised by the heartache she thought was gone, Stephanie heads to the Berkshires to visit family and friends. Arriving in Stockbridge, Stephanie meets Captain Henry Lewis. Little does Stephanie know, her grandmother has already met Henry, and Ellie thinks Henry is perfect. Stephanie has no interest in dating, Henry included. If only Henry didn’t turn up everywhere Stephanie goes. When he walks up beside her at the Norman Rockwell Museum, Stephanie can’t deny her attraction, but she’ll do her best to fight it.

Buy Links

Amazon Kindle & Print: http://amzn.to/2pb4HuK 

Nook, iBooks & Kobo: https://www.books2read.com/u/3neJnB
Barnes & Noble Print: http://bit.ly/2qbmqEtMatchmakers  

Terri Weldon is a lead analyst by day and an author by night. She enjoys gardening, reading, and shopping for shoes. One of her favorite pastimes is volunteering as the librarian at her church. It allows her to shop for books and spend someone else’s money! Plus, she has the great joy of introducing people to Christian fiction. She lives with her family in Oklahoma. Terri has two adorable Westies – Crosby and Nolly Grace. She is a member of ACFW and OCFW, a local chapter of ACFW. Terri is the award winning author of The Christmas Bride Wore Boots.

Readers can connect with Terri: Website: www.TerriWeldon.com or

Blog: Seriously Write