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

Reach Out and Touch Your Writer Tribe! By Tina Radcliffe

Have you noticed that we’ve become a touchless society?

What happened to eye contact? Non-verbal communication? Sharing a laugh with your ears instead of LOLing our way through life? When was the last time you had the comforting hand touch or the warm hug of a writer friend to share any of the spectrum of emotional ups and downs of the writing life?   

Failure to thrive has been linked to lack of touch and emotional engagement. That means that while it’s fine and dandy to have a close relationship with thousands of followers on social media, to thrive, really thrive, we need to connect one-on-one. 

That just doesn’t happen via email or text or even with FaceTime.

Your writing tribe provides connection in a virtual and digital world, but it’s more important than ever to find that real-world connection. Tribes don’t make us whole or complete us. What’s inside of us makes us whole. That said, I encourage you to find an opportunity to meet with your tribe in real time.

What is a tribe? Jeff Goins provides a free book on the topic here. For the purposes of this post, I’m talking about your people. People with the same goals and visions for their writing. Like-minded people, you connect with on a spiritual and mental level. You don’t have to have the same belief system but you get each other in regard to your writing. These are not your fans or your family. I am referring to your peers. YOUR PEEPS.

An amazing thing happens when you meet with your people. A buzz of refreshing, excitement and enthusiasm happens. BTW, if this does not occur with your tribe, you should ditch that tribe.

Conference season is upon us. From now through late fall, organizations such as RWA (Romance Writers of America), ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers) and their local chapters will be offering opportunities to attend conferences that range in size and price point from modest to more expensive.

I highly recommend starting out small. Look up your local ACFW or RWA chapters. Get on their mailing list. Check monthly to find out when special programs are scheduled. Most will be open to the public for a slightly higher fee. Also, most of these organizations will allow you to attend one or two of their monthly meeting free before you have to join.

Where to find those local meetings? Here’s a resource list for you:

RWA Chapters here.
ACFW Chapters here.

Last year I created a list of conferences for the Seekerville writing blog and it’s still available in the archives.  

Poets & Writers provides a list of literary events under Find Your Community.

Conferences or workshops may not be in your budget for this year, but start thinking about ways that you can get to those real-time events.

In my early conference days, I asked for cash gifts for all holidays (Groundhog Day present-YES!) and applied them toward my conference fund.

Get creative with ways to get yourself to your tribe. I knew I’d made it the day I could book a hotel for conference and not have four other roommates. But you do what you have to do to get yourself to your tribe when you are starting out. 

Real-time is more important than just connecting physically. It’s important to connect spiritually and mentally.

Meeting face-to-face with an editor, agent, mentor or other publishing professional provides you with priceless mileage. Networking has benefits that provide ROI (return on investment) for many years. And remember that the magic can happen anywhere at a conference, in an elevator, a cab, a restaurant. However, you have to show up for that to happen. 

I don’t attend conferences every year, but when I do, me, the non-hugger looks for opportunities to embrace my peeps. This year I’ll be at RWA Denver, ACFW Nashville and Put Your Heart in a Book, in New Jersey. You can also find me at my local RWA chapter meetings, Valley of the Sun Romance Writers or my ACFW local chapter, Christian Writers of the West.

What about you? Where can I find you for a hug, some non-verbal communication or a laugh? What conferences and workshops do you recommend?

Originally from Western, N.Y., Tina Radcliffe left home for a tour of duty with the Army Security Agency stationed in Augsburg, Germany, and ended up in Tulsa, Oklahoma. From there she moved to Colorado. A freelance writer for over twenty years, Tina is an RWA Honor Roll member, a two-time RWA Golden Heart finalist, two-time ACFW Carol Award finalist, and a 2014 ACFW Carol Award winner. She currently resides in Arizona, where she writes fun, heartwarming romance. Find all her social media links on her website, where you can also sign up for her newsletter which specializes in fun and free goodies. www.tinaradcliffe.com

Additionally, Tina has a new initiative launching in June of 2018. The Writer's Inside Edition is a once a month newsletter for fiction writers of all levels that brings you curated links to: The best publishing news on the web. Contest, conference & workshop listings. Writing opportunities scoured from the web and inside sources. First notification of enrollment in her workshops and classes. Monthly writing world articles created just for the Inside Edition Writers. Critique opportunities and writing challenges. Best all, there is no charge, and it’s free from annoying promo.

Sign up here

Falling for the Cowgirl (Big Heart Ranch Book 2)

 

She won the job…

 

Can he win her heart?

 

Hiring Amanda “AJ” McAlester as his assistant at the Big Heart Ranch isn’t foreman Travis Maxwell’s first choice—but his sisters insist she’s perfect for the job. And AJ’s determined to prove she’s just as qualified as any man. But with money on the line, AJ and her innovative ideas could put him at risk of losing everything…including his heart.

 

Preorder link  http://a.co/exgvsmo