Renewal by Marianne Evans

Marianne Evans

I looked at the calendar the other day and nearly dropped my freshly poured cup of coffee. Lent is almost here, the season that leads us fast and sure toward the celebration of Easter. I find it difficult to believe how fast the seasons change and the years go by. Didn’t I just put away the Christmas decorations?

This transitional time of year always amazes me, filling me with hopeful promise. Days are lengthening, temperatures will soon be warming, flowers will push through the formerly snow-hardened earth and spring will bloom in a riot of bright colors, rich scents and sunlight.

Lent. Typically it’s a season of sacrifice, of doing without. This year, I’m embracing a different kind of challenge. Sure, I could give up chocolate. I could surrender my beloved bowl of stovetop popcorn, or abstain from eating out and give the money I save to charities around my hometown of metro Detroit. All those endeavors are noble and worthy forms of self-denial and penitence.

Or, I could do what Jesus did during His time in the desert, when he was faced with incredible temptations. He embraced a spiritual discipline. He prayed. He moved deep within Himself and surrendered in earnest to the only thing that mattered—relationship with God, His Father. Prayer. It’s the most powerful (and probably  most underutilized) tool in my arsenal. I want to pray, to fortify. God’s presence, His Spirit fuels my writing ministry, imbues my family and friend relationships, leads me to stillness where I can make important and ordained decisions. Why do I hesitate to make use of that miraculous grace? That connection to Jesus? Lent, it seems to me, is a great means by which to reconnect and discover an answer.

I can’t send a message through stories without God holding my pen. I can’t commune with God in an intimate, personal way without prayer. Over the forty days to come, I’m committing myself to renewal, to peace and rest in the One who guides my path.

How about you? What’s your Lenten ideal? I’d love to hear about it, and I’ll be happy to pray for your mission as I pray for my own.

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Think about making Lent 2015 a journey of renewal.

Prayer…the most powerful tool in our arsenal.

What’s your Lenten plan?

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Ethan Miller’s family has done…what?

His profile is plastered on MingleInFaith.com. Now this career focused, happy-to-be-a-bachelor is forced to endure an episode of speed dating.

Interior designer Natalie Gibbs is on the dating circuit, eager to find ‘the one,’ but she has strict rules about the manner in which she’ll embrace a romantic relationship. She wasn’t even supposed to meet Ethan Miller, but God had other plans.

Ethan spends a month each year in Honduras, offering eye care to the underprivileged. He senses a sweetness to Natalie that prompts him to invite her along on the next mission trip.

The voyage leads them far from their home base of New York City, but straight into the hearts of the Honduran people. Slowly, Ethan’s heart is swayed toward the idea of love. But Natalie’s mission work teaches her about a love that reaches far beyond romance.

What’s God’s plan? Should their hearts combine – or does He want them to serve, and learn, from one another and an extraordinary date night?

Date Night, is part of the new Pure Amore imprint at Pelican Book Group! Pure Amore is a ‘book of the month’ subscription service featuring Christian romances centered on the concept of premarital purity and abstinence that doesn’t surrender one moment of the thrill to be found when two people fall in love. Check out Date Night and the other wonderful Pure Amore titles at: http://pure.pelicanbookgroup.com/

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Marianne Evans is a multi-award-winning author of Christian romance and fiction with over twenty titles to her credit. Her hope is to spread the faith-affirming message of God's love through the stories He prompts her to create.

Readers laud her work as 'Riveting.' 'Realistic and true to heart.' 'Compelling.' Devotion earned the prestigious Bookseller's Best Award from Greater Detroit RWA as well as the Heart of Excellence Award from Ancient City Romance Authors. She also earned wins for Best Romance of 2012 from Christian Small Publisher's Association and the Selah award for best Novella of 2013.

Happily married and the mother of two, Marianne is a life-long resident of Michigan who is active in a number of Romance Writers of America chapters, most notably the Greater Detroit Chapter where she served two terms as President. 

Connect with Marianne at:

Website ~ Blog ~ Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Amazon ~ Pinterest

You Decided to Pursue Your Writing Dreams. Now What? by Dora Hiers

So you just wasted hours reading a book, flipping pages because at any point it had to get better, right? Finally, you slammed the book closed, tempted to hurl it across the room.

Even you could have written that book better! your inner voice screamed.

Instead, you toss it on the table, dismissing the book, but the idea refuses to be squelched. Could you really? Write a book? And the more you try to let go of that thought —after all, you have a full time job, young children, piles of laundry that reach to the ceiling, and an endless to-do list demanding your attention— it persists. Starting as a tiny seed, the idea blossoms and expands until you’re reaching for your smart phone in the middle of the night to record scenes straight out of your dream. Perhaps you can even picture your name splashed across a perfectly designed book cover.

Do you see yourself here? Confession time. Waving my hand in the air. I was there.

So what do you do about it? Should you sit down at your laptop and start pounding out your story? You could, but what happens when you finish the manuscript? Will you send it directly to a publisher, and if so, which one? Many if not most publishing houses require submissions via a literary agent unless they have invited your submission, such as a result of a pitch during a writer’s conference. Does your target publisher require an agent? Do you even know your target publisher/s?

Hadn’t thought that far ahead, huh?

Before your fingers dance across that keyboard, do some hands-on research. Peruse your personal library of favorite books. Without peeking at the spine or inside the book, could you guess the publisher just by looking at the cover? Who published the majority of the books you enjoyed?

Every publisher has different submission guidelines, as well as various word count ranges and genres. Here are a few examples of publishers within the inspirational romance genre that accept unagented submissions: (in no particular order, well, OK, I did list my publisher first :) )

Pelican Book Group: At some point during the story, their protagonists must eventually “realize that faith is a cornerstone of love.” Books must contain a faith element that doesn’t come off preachy, and no profanity. No explicit love scenes, but natural sexual tension is acceptable and sensitive topics are not off limits. They accept stories ranging from 10-80k words.

Harlequin's Love Inspired: Community and family are major elements within the LI lines, and their heroes and heroines are expected to meet as early as possible in the book. Romance is all about emotional intimacy, and authors must integrate a faith element that “shows rather than tells.” Their books range between 55-60k words.

Desert Breeze Publishing: They would like to see inspirational stories with “real world flair,” acknowledging the challenges of being a Christian in today’s society. They prefer a sexual tension buildup minus the details. They accept manuscripts from 25-100+k words, but prefer 55-80k.

So you decided to pursue your writing dreams.

What will your first step be? If you're further along on your journey, we'd love to hear how you started. Was your goal to catch an agent's interest first or did you submit directly to a publisher?

Ever since you took my hand, I’m on the right way. ~Ps 16:11 The Message

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Police Officer Winter Evan and Navy SEAL Tanner Random are wrong for each other. Winter fears the water. Tanner skims through seas for a living. So four years ago, Winter convinced herself she’d be better off not worrying about his months at sea and his increased cajoling for physical intimacy.

But when she walked away, she lost a giant chunk of her heart.

Now Tanner’s back in town to care for his abandoned niece. No longer a SEAL, he’s sticking to the safety of the North Carolina mountains as a paramedic. Should Winter risk losing her heart all over again? Will God help them build what started years ago into something solid and secure? When love triumphs...

When Love Triumphs releases in November with Pelican Book Group as part of their newly launched Pure Amore line. One Pure Amore sweet romance releases each month with a paid subscription. Subscriptions start as low as $48 (that includes one book a month for an entire year), and you may choose digital, print, or a combination of formats. Check out all twelve gorgeous covers and intriguing blurbs here. 

Dora Hiers is a multi-published author of Heart Racing, God-Gracing romances. She’s a member of RWA, ACFW, and the Treasurer for ACFW-Charlotte Chapter. Connect with her here on Seriously Write, her personal blog, Twitter, Facebook or Pinterest.