Featured Genre Day - Why I Write Romance by Gail Gaymer Martin

We had a great response Monday with our Featured Genre Day, so we're doing it again. Today's author is well recognized in her chosen genre--Christian romance. Whether you write inspirational romance or not, we're hoping you're encouraged by today's Featured Genre Day post featuring Gail Gaymer Martin.

Why I Write Romance

When asked why I write romance, I answer it was the Lord’s doing. Romance was not a genre I read. I enjoyed romantic suspense with authors such as Phyllis Whitney and Mary Stewart, but romance is the genre that I’ve written since my first novel was published in 1998. How did that happen? When I attended my first writers’ conference in 1997, I met Gayle Roper who told me about an AOL writers' board. I visited the site and learned some helpful information about writing and the world of publishing, but the most significant thing that happened was an announcement from an author asking if people writing Christian romance might like to form a loop. I didn’t even know what that meant, but I contacted her. Little did I realize from author Annie Jones’ invitation I was joining a group with some of the top writers in Christian fiction—Francine Rivers, Liz Curtis Higgs, Karen Ball, Lisa Tawn Bergern, Linda Windsor, and so many others. This group of writers became mentors for me. I asked dumb questions, and they graciously gave me answers. I believe that the Lord guided my walk to this genre, and though I prefer women’s fiction and romantic suspense, I found my start in pure romance.

I chose to write Christian fiction because my faith is woven through every fiber of my being. I live with a Christian worldview that affects how I look at life and what I value. When I am struggling with problems, I turn to the Lord. When good things happen, I praise Him. I chose not to write explicit sexual content or use curses or God’s name in vain in my fiction. I want my stories to reflect who I am—a Christian—and this has connected with readers and has opened doors to a speaking ministry for women’s groups where I speak on human struggles that touch us all.

Why I believe the romance genre was God’s doing is that Christian fiction has a huge following and is the perfect genre for me. As a licensed counselor, I am able to use my expertise to present emotion-filled stories that allow me to entertain as well as to touch lives with stories that deal with life issues and struggles and with God’s truths. These stories provide readers with hope and leave them with God’s promises of love, forgiveness, grace and salvation through Jesus.

No matter what genre I write—women’s fiction or suspense—romance will always be woven into the novel because I see it as the glue that makes a story adhere to readers. Everyone enjoys a fast paced story to which they can relate because it presents real life situations, but most of all everyone loves to be loved, and that’s what romance is about.

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Hey readers, Annette here. I've appreciated Gail's heart to mentor other writers and have personally emailed questions to her, which she has graciously answered time and again. Check out her Web site for writers (see below) and her book from Writer's Digest (also mentioned below).

Gail's latest romance--Dad in Training -- released September 1st from Steeple Hill Love Inspired! Here's the cover and blurb:

How is Brent Runyan supposed to reach his troubled nephew? The workaholic businessman knows nothing about providing a real home to the orphaned boy who needs him so much. Special education teacher Molly Manning thinks the answer is threefold: love, time—and a dog. But Brent can barely let his nephew into his heart, let alone a golden retriever. With his tragic past, Brent knows what can happen when you love anything: you can lose it. Until Molly asks this dad-in-training to start with the basics by letting her stay…forever.

Gail also has a post up at Love Inspired Author's blog. Check it out here.

Multi-award-winning author, Gail Gaymer Martin writes fiction for Steeple Hill and Barbour Publishing, where she was recently honored by Heartsong readers as their 2008 Favorite Author. Gail has written forty-two contracted novels with three million books in print. She is the author of Writing the Christian Romance, a Writers Digest Books release. Gail is a co-founder of American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW). She is a keynote speaker at churches, libraries and civic organizations and also presents workshops at conferences across the US and abroad. Gail has a Masters degree and post-master’s classes from Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan and is a licensed counselor. She lives in Michigan with her husband. Visit her Web site and her Writing Fiction Right blog.

Not in Vain

Thursdays - Devotions for Writers

Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you.
Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you
know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. (1 Cor. 15:58 NIV)

Do you ever question putting forth so much effort, time, heart, and soul into writing?

Three years ago I created a blog called "From Dawn til Dusk. " Since then I’ve written and posted over 200 articles. Sometimes my posts focus on current events, inspirational stories, and author interviews. But most of the time, I include snippets of my life with a spiritual connection woven into the piece.

I’m not as prolific as many of my fellow bloggers. And I don’t generate the frenzy of comments that some popular blogs create.

The numbers on the stat counter continue to climb, but days can go by without a word written in response to what I’ve put out there for all of cyberspace to view.

It would be easy to question if it’s worth my time and effort.

But every once in awhile, a comment is left.

A comment that lets me know that someone is reading. Someone is being helped, challenged in their spiritual life, or blessed by the words I write.

I’ve also created short stories written into scripts for a radio ministry. I’ll never know how many people listen to the broadcasts across the states. The likelihood of meeting any of them is slim. So it could be tempting to wonder if my words really make a difference.

But every once in awhile, the producers receive a request for a manuscript copy that includes one of my stories.

When I read a comment on my blog, or am told about a request for a radio manuscript, my heart swells. Not with pride, but with gratitude for the knowledge that God used my words to help touch someone.

I’m blessed every time God reminds me I only need to be the vessel. He’ll take care of the real work. Whether I know it or not—He can use my written offering.

You may never know:

* The Sunday school lesson you struggled writing reached a teen.

* Your article brought respite to a harried mother.

* The devotion you prayed over touched a grieving heart.

* The novel you spent countless late night hours writing and rewriting helped a young woman find courage.

Regardless of who—or how many—read our work, God has a reason for creating us with this passion for putting thoughts, feelings and stories down on paper.

Keep writing.

And know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

Dawn

The Character Therapist Blog

It’s Writer’s Journey Wednesday, and today we’re featuring a unique blog for writers. The Character Therapist was created by writer and licensed therapist, Jeannie Campbell. We invited Jeannie to visit and explain exactly what The Character Therapist offers novelists as they continue on their journey to publication.

Character Therapy: The Basics

by Jeannie Campbell

WHAT IT IS

Character Therapist [kar-ik-ter ther-uh-pist] noun. A person trained in the use of psychological methods for diagnosing and evaluating fictional characters to help authors write more realistically.

This is what I do. So how can you—a published or aspiring writer—and your beloved characters benefit? Rather than tell you, I’ll give you a few examples of the types of questions I field each week.

* “I have the man so tied to his mother that he can't break away from her. Do I need a good reason behind this?”

* “How would compartmentalizing parts of self damage a person? How would the buried parts manifest themselves? How easy would it be to slip up? He's pretended to be someone else for so long...what if he's that new person now, and can't find himself anymore?”

* It was brought to my attention it is against the law for a therapist to date a client for two years or something to that effect, but I took artistic license and played the story out the way I wanted to. Am I staring down the barrel of some serious issues here?

* “Is it feasible for a teenager with Asperger’s Syndrome to take a driving test, fail, and then want to take the test again?”

* “If someone has Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and they are triggered, would they have ‘panic attacks’ that would send them to the hospital for a few days?”

* What makes a womanizer tick?

* If a child was young when they lost a parent, will they remember the parent? And if not, should they be reminded?

Internal motivations, effects of external conflicts, plot feasibility, character strengths and weaknesses, behavioral manifestations or limitations…a character therapist’s playground.

HOW IT WORKS

All I need to work with is a character sketch. I’ve gotten sketches that were a short paragraph to some several pages long. Some of the more fun assessments I’ve posted on my blog were the result of email “sessions” between the author and myself as we delved deeper.

I welcome specific questions, but otherwise, I look at the overall psychological picture. Quirks, pet peeves, family history, hobbies…all these things add up! I might not diagnose every one of the characters I do therapy on, but quite a few of them qualify.

Character therapy is just another tool in your writer’s toolbox to take your writing to the next level. Pick my brain so you don’t have to pick yours.

I look forward to therapizing…er…terrorizing…uh…analyzing your characters!

Jeannie Campbell is a California Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. She received her Masters of Divinity with Specialization in Psychology and Counseling at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and her BA in both psychology and journalism from the University of Mississippi. Her passion is helping those not afflicted with mental disorders to understand and have compassion on those who are. You can find her at The Character Therapist (where she posts Treatment Tuesdays and Thursday Therapeutic Thoughts) and her writing blog, Where Romance Meets Therapy.

Keep it Real

Net's Notations: All About the Reader Series
Keeping It Real

The sunshine poured over my reading nook, making even the pile of laundry awaiting me seem peaceful as I listened to the earlier load tumbling in the dryer. As long as I had sunshine, I’d be fine. Sunshine is all I needed.

Okay—it’s a little corny, isn’t it? Yes. And that’s the point. To be relatable (our theme from last week’s Net’s Notations post), we have to keep it real.

Laundry isn't sunny and sweet! And stay-at-home authors get to do their share. So, why gloss over it? Why paint it pretty? It’s a task. It’s work. Face it without refacing it!

That’s what we have to do with our writing.

Over at Net’s Book Notes today, I’m hosting Peter Lundell for his book “Prayer Power.” As I was introducing him on the blog, my words were kind of glossy. Then, immediately, in his first answer to the interview questions, he talks about being real with his readers in the approach he took with his non-fiction book. Ouch! So, I retraced my steps and fixed my mess.

We have a choice:

Fiction or non-fiction can be glossy, unrealistic, canned. But how does that honor our reader? It’s rather insulting, actually, achieving the opposite effect. Readers will throw your book against the wall—not the response you’re hoping for as you build trust with your readers.

So, how do we keep it real? Well, it doesn’t mean glorifying darkness or even complaining (like with the laundry—honestly, I’m thankful for working equipment. I don’t have to dig out a washboard and have a go in the blazing sun for a few hours of back-breaking labor). We don’t want to glorify sin, violence, etc. But, like in life, we can’t pretend they don’t exist.

For your genre, you’ll have to figure out where the lines are. You can write a whole lot more graphically in suspense than in sweet romance, for example. What you don’t want to do is insult your reader by being too sweet—too unrealistic around the truth of things.

Has there been a time in your writing when you’ve found yourself glossing over the situation or not digging deep into your own experience for the emotion and then had to go back and fix it? Tell us about it. Maybe someone can learn from your mistakes.

Whether writing fiction or non-fiction, keep it real. That’s one way we respect those who pick up our books. It’s all about the reader.