A Few Things I’m Thankful For by Terri Weldon

Since today is the last day of November I thought it would be the perfect time to reflect on what I’m thankful for.

This year I had the opportunity to meet and engage with an entirely new group of talented authors on a daily basis. These women are such encouragers. I’ve enjoyed sharing every facet of the journey with them. I’m so thankful for the opportunity to get to know these sisters better. 

As I sit in my office counting the days until I can retire, I realize I’ve got a good job. It has provided for me well, I have a great group of co-workers, and for the most part I’ve enjoyed my time working there. Plus I can retire in nine months!

In April my novella, The Christmas Bride Wore Boots, won Best Novella in the 2016 Lyra Contest. I’m still thrilled! 

I had the opportunity to contribute to an anthology, The Matchmakers, with Jean C. Gordon and Lisa Belcastro. Writing A Match Made in Sheffield was such fun. The best part was working with Jean and Lisa!

Seriously Write! Working with Annette, Angie, Dawn, and Sandy is a joy. These four women have such a strong faith. They are always willing to help out whenever and however they can. Plus, they’re always there to offer prayer when it is needed.

I have two writing buds who are also two of my best friends. Notice a theme here? Authors are amazing people! They encourage me in my writing journey, pray for me daily, and talk me off the ledge. They are so steadfast and talented. Their dedication to the craft drives me to do better and accomplish more. 

I’m thankful for my earthly sister. She means the world to me and encourages me in pursuing my writing. She truly believe in my abilities and in her mind my books are the best books ever written. She prays for me, encourages me, and harasses me when necessary (which is more often then I like to admit).

And the number one thing I’m thankful for is the saving grace of Jesus Christ. The author and finisher of me and you. I pray you know Him as your savior. And if you don’t, I encourage you to find out more about Jesus. He loves you – more than you or I will ever understand. 

What about you? What things are you thankful for today?

Pastor Jacob Thompson is in need of a director for the living nativity program and veterinarian Molly Kincaid offers to take on the job. The task involves far more than Molly bargained for, nonetheless she’d do anything to help out the man she secretly loves – even sew costumes or cast eight-year-old Wesley Simpson as an angel. Jacob’s daughter Emma longs to have a mommy of her own, but the widowed pastor has vowed to never remarry, and isn’t ready to open his heart to love again. Molly dreams of filling the void in both their lives, but fears she lacks the necessary qualities to be a pastor’s wife.  As Molly and Jacob work together on the living nativity, their feelings for one another grow. Will Molly realize she is just what Jacob and Emma need in their lives? Can Jacob be released from his grief stricken promise? Could this unlikely duo prove to be a match made in heaven?
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Terri Weldon is a lead analyst by day and an award winning author by night. Her novella The Christmas Bride Wore Boots won the best novella category in the 2016 Lyra Awards. She enjoys traveling, gardening, reading, spending time with her family, 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 the Heartland of the United States. Terri has two adorable Westies – Crosby and Nolly Grace. Terri is a member of ACFW and RWA. She is a member of the Seriously Write Team (www.seriouslywrite.blogspot.com). Readers can connect with Terri at www.terriweldon.com

 

Defeating Doubt by Dee Dee Chumley

One fall morning in 2011, I was writing at my desk and glanced out the window to see a UPS truck pulling up in front of my house. At the sight of that familiar brown truck, my heart began  to race and my palms grew moist. I knew it was delivering fifty hot-off-the-press copies of my debut novel.

A few months prior, I’d been over-the-moon excited to learn an independent press would publish my book. Editing and developing marketing plans had kept me too busy to consider any downside of the process. But with the arrival of the books, reality—like an early morning alarm—jolted me from my blissful state. That wake-up call told me I’d wandered far afoul of my comfort zone. I’d put myself out there. Regardless of countess edits and re-writes, I’d exposed my shortcomings, inadequacies, and goofs to colleagues and fellow writers and (shudder) heartless reviewers. 

As I went about my routine tasks over the next few days, prayers for inner peace warded off full-blown panic attacks and reminded me that in the grand scheme of things my paltry book was fairly inconsequential. But still, the angst continued. Then one morning, as I was making up my bed and fighting back niggling fears, those prayers also led me to a most unusual source of comfort.

As a former English teacher, I was familiar with Puritan Anne Bradstreet’s poetry and vaguely recalled one that compared her recently published chapbook to a child. What was the title? A quick Google search brought me “The Author to Her Book,” and there, like a kindred spirit was Anne, expressing the doubts, the unease, the qualms she was suffering over the publication of her book. In the poem she bemoans all of her “offspring’s” “blemishes” and “defects.”  She scolds her “ill-formed offering of [her] feeble brain” for resisting repeated efforts to make it presentable. She “blushes” at its “irksome” appearance in print and fears for its acceptance. But Anne doesn’t deny or desert her “rambling brat.” Despite her harsh criticisms, her love for it is evident. She sends it out into the world, tenderly cautioning it to avoid the “critic’s hands.” She admonishes it to keep its father’s identity a secret, but with motherly pride, she acknowledges it as “mine own.”

And so, from the grave and across four centuries, the poet spoke and calmed me. She whispered to my roiling mind I wasn’t the first author—nor would I be the last—to wrestle with insecurities. She revealed that regardless of intelligence or talent or status, every writer takes a risk the minute she allows someone to read her work.

I realized, unlike Anne’s, my own “offspring” probably wouldn't survive for four centuries. But I also acknowledged an affection for my little ragamuffin that had grown from an embryonic idea to a fully formed book. If only a few friends and relatives read it, I was proud that I’d accomplished a personal goal and pushed myself to take a risk. Proud that I had a story to tell and had told it to the best of my ability.  

With my mind more at rest, the words from another woman long buried came to me, encouraging me and buoying my spirits. Long before the movie about her came out, I’d learned of Florence Foster Jenkins’ response to her critics. Borrowing from and slightly amending the words, I took Jenkins’ sentiments as my own, and I encourage all writers to use them as a rallying cry when self-doubts or fears of rejection threaten to steal their joy and passion for writing: Some may say I cannot [write]; but no one can say I didn’t. 

Angry loner  Gracene has just stepped out of the prison gates, and already she's planning another con job: she's moving to Transformation Place.

The apartment complex offers free rent and a ministry for ex-offenders. But there's a catch. The apartments and the program are for Christians, something Gracene knows she can never be. A dark secret has convinced her she is beyond forgiveness.

Faking her faith works for a while. She finds a good job with an understanding boss, and for the first time in her twenty-eight years, she has true friends. Even romance seems a possibility. At long last her life is headed in the right direction. But when a creeper from the past slithers back into her life, can Gracene's pretend faith save her from a U-turn?

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Dee Dee Chumley has received numerous awards for her short stories, essays, and poems. In 2012 her debut novel Beyond the Farthest Star won Best Juvenile Book from the Oklahoma Writers’ Federation, Inc., and in 2017 she was a finalist in Southern Writers Magazine Short Story Contest and published in their anthology of Best Short Stories of 2017. Her most recent work, Some Form of Grace, is available on Amazon. She blogs about focusing on everyday grace at www.deedeechumley.com and would love for you to friend her on Facebook or Twitter @dee_chumley. She is a member of OWFI and Oklahoma Christian Fiction Writers.

           

Writing Verses by Terri Weldon

The desire to write has been within me for years. Still, I let a great deal of time lapse without devoting the energy to the craft I should have. I let other things occupy my time, became discouraged too easily when I received rejections, and relegated writing to the back burner of my mind. Now my mind is usually a low fire so putting it way in the back wasn’t a smart move. 

 

The desire never truly left me though and it began to gain momentum. As it did, I began to notice verses that applied to the writing life when reading my Bible.

Oh that my words were not written! oh that they were printed in a book! – Job 19:23

My heart is inditing a good matter; I speak of the things which I have made touching the king; my tongue is the pen of a ready writer. – Psalm 45:1

Thus speaketh the Lord God of Israel, saying, Write thee all the words that I have spoken unto thee in a book. – Jeremiah 30:2

This shall be written for the generation to come: and the people which shall be created shall praise the Lord. – Psalm 102:18

 I don’t know about you, and I’m sure there are many Bible scholars who would argue with me, but when I read these verses my heart thrills. Suddenly I think that I’m not wasting my time writing all these words. That God had me, you, and a host of other writers in mind when He wrote these verses.

 

After all, He authored the greatest story ever told – the Bible. Jesus used stories (parables) to teach the masses about the kingdom of heaven. So there is no reason to believe the desire or the call to write hasn’t been gifted to many of us. 

 

So the next time you sit down to write, find a verse that speaks to your heart. Then whenever you sit down to write say a prayer first. Ask God to bless your writing and pray the verse He’s given to you. 

 

The verses listed above are just a small sampling. There are many more. My favorite writing verse if the one from Jeremiah. It has graced the front of my business card for several years. 

 

What about you, do you have a favorite writing verse?

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. Terri is a member of ACFW and OCFW, a local chapter of ACFW. Her dream of becoming a published novelist came true in November 2013 when Mistletoe Magic, released from White Rose Publishing.

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

Blog: Seriously Write

 

Reflection is a Beautiful Thing

Reflection is a Beautiful Thing

By Mary Manners

 

"This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it."

~ Psalms 118:24 ~

 

Today is a new day...the first day of my Christmas vacation and a time to breathe and reflect. The house is quiet; my daughter is at college and my husband is working. So I sit here with my laptop, a steaming cup of hazelnut coffee, Christmas music softly playing in the background, and my jumbled thoughts. Ah, peace...what a beautiful thing.

 

As my thoughts begin to slowly untangle and become coherent, I realize what a blessing it is to have the time to reflect. This year has been a gathering of long, stressful work days punctuated by treks to a faraway rehabilitation center to visit my mom, who's recovering from multiple foot surgeries. In between nestled juggled trips to the grocery store, loads and loads of laundry (how do two people create so much laundry), hurried visits with friends, a few college football games and long walks with my husband, and...writing.

 

Thank God for the gift of writing, for this simple act has kept me sane in impossibly busy times. As I reflect on the everyday stresses of life I realize that one activity has remained constant through the years...penning stories. I often joke to co-workers as well as my husband that I am traveling off to my writing bubble where the world is sane, there's an abundance of time to pursue every dream, justice always triumphs, and love prevails.

 

So, as the year comes to a close and I consider where I've been as well as where I'm heading in life, I realize that I need more of my writing bubble and less of the stress. That said, as I head into the New Year my strength is renewed by the realization that the laundry can wait and surely my husband and I can survive on dinners consisting of simple sandwiches accompanied by warm bowls of soup. Mom will soon be nestled back in her close-by apartment and the weather will warm, inviting more long walks with my husband, less football, and more hours of sanity in my writing bubble.

 

I'm feeling better already...reflection is a beautiful thing.

 

~~~~~

 

Mary Manners is an award-winning romance writer who lives in the beautiful foothills of East Tennessee with her husband Tim and the cherished cats they've rescued from local animal shelters...Lucky and Gus. She loves swimming, running, flavored coffee and Smoky Mountain sunsets.

 

Mary believes everyone has a story to tell, and she loves to share hers. She writes inspirational romances of all lengths, from short stories to novels—something for everyone.

 

Learn more about Mary Manners at her website: www.MaryMannersRomance.com.

 

~~~~~

 

A Boulder Creek Christmas

Lani O'Dwyer offered her heart to Ryan Connolly years ago, and he tossed it aside without so much as a backward glance. Though the town of Boulder Creek dubs him a hero, she vows she'll never again fall victim to his charms.

Ryan Connolly captains a raucous crew of firefighters at the Boulder Creek Fire Department, yet he's unprepared for the adventure of falling in love with beautiful and headstrong Lani O'Dwyer.

But when a meddling angel at the annual Fighters for Hire charity auction brings Ryan and Lani together, even regrets from the past can't thwart Ryan's plans to make Lani his own.