It's All Good

Hello, lovely readers! I've been a little incog lately. Life has snowballed on me in the last few months. I wish I could blame it on something other than:
a) lack of organization
b) wasting too much time
c) overcommitment
d) laziness
e) being easily distracted
f) bad weather

It's actually a combination of all those things. I'm not a multi-tasker and yet it may be time to take some juggling lessons.

So, winter's behind us, the daffodils are blooming, and I'm back. Hopefully, you'll hear more from me.

Most immediate, I have a couple of things to share with you.

The WINNER of When All My Dreams Come True by Janelle Mowery is CARA PUTMAN!!!!

This is a terrific book with so many twists and turns you have to be careful not to get whiplash. And cute cowboys, too!! Enjoy the book, Cara.

AND NOW, another bit of fantastic news. I've signed a new two-book contract with FaithWords (Hachette Book Group). And that, basically, is why I've been snowed under. While I was enjoying the thrill of being a debut author last year with book signings, interviews, and generally lapping up the attention, I let my writing slip a little. Yes, BROKEN WINGS is on schedule and will come out this June. It's available for pre-order now.

BUT, I didn't get nearly enough done on my next book so I've been in my writing closet for a couple of months, hammering away at the keyboard. If you are counting, that's three books that I'm either promoting, fixin' to promote (yay!), and writing. Plus brainstorming for new ideas in my spare time. This is the life I dreamed about, and I must say, it's both different and more wonderful than I ever imagined. You have all been so supportive, and that's been one of the cool things about being a writer - connecting with all of you.

Okay, off track a little there (see item "e" above). Now that I've signed the contract, I can share with you that the next book (Summer, 2012) is called STARDUST. Here's the short version of the story:
STARDUST is the story of an East Texas widow who sets her dreams on running the Stardust Tourist Court, but when her dead husband's mistress arrives with a child in tow and polio strikes, she finds her original dreams are crippled.

I've had so much fun researching for this book (THREE trips to East Texas) and trying to pull it all together. I'm still doing some fine tuning before I turn it into my editor ONE WEEK from today. Yikes! What a fun and glorious life I lead.

Tell me, how do you juggle the many facets of writing/marketing/home if you're a writer?
If you're not a writer, do you struggle with kids/hubby/work/home, and how do you give them all the proper attention they deserve?

Complete disclosure here: This is my breakfast table a couple of weeks ago. It's not much better today.

Hope to see more of you now!

"My First Sale" Article

A lot of people have asked me about my writing journey. Here you can read it all in the current issue of the ACFW Afictionado Ezine. Tiffany Amber Stockton did the interview and made me sound way more together than I am. ACFW is a wonderful organization where almost 2000 members learn together, cheer each other on, and promote one another. I'm truly blessed to be a part.

CHASING LILACS

Chasing Lilacs

Ta-Da! The new title of my debut book. Someone asked me why I'd gone from a weed (see previous post about my beloved Dandelion) to a flower. Actually, I didn't make the decision on my own. My wonderful publishers with marketing and sales expertise that I don't possess, wanted a title that suggested the essence of the story. This is perfect.

And as some of you have asked me to tell you about my publishing journey, I will share a couple of things here. After the initial angst of getting the physical contract and pinching myself that my dream was soon to come true, I had a number of things to do right away.

• Submit book covers ideas that I liked. Alas, the dandelion ones have been snuffed, but I'm all over that. Completely. I haven't thought about it once. Honest. This was a fun exercise that took up some anxious moments while I was waiting on my first round of edits.
• Have a professional photo made for the back cover of the book. THANKS, Sarah, for a great job.
• Substantive edit. These came on the eve of my going to Dallas to the CBE. I read over them briefly and let some of my editor's comments filter through my head all weekend. Many positive comments (for which I am grateful). Quite a few things to fix and muddles to clear up. I spent about ten days doing this, and two days before turning the edits in, I panicked! Up-until-the-wee-hours panic. Since my story is set in 1958, I had weather scenarios around holidays. Perfectly feasible weather incidents (like heat waves, blue northers, and blizzards). WHAT IF someone remember the Christmas of 1958 and distinctly remembered that the blizzard that December came on the 29th of the month and not the 25th?? I researched the temperature (highs and lows), the moisture, and noted whether it was rain or snow for every single day from July 2 until the following April. Many cups of coffee and a couple dozen tweaks later, I was satisfied that I had gotten it right. Lesson learned: Check the weather if your story is time sensitive.
• Title change requested. This was another one of those marathon searches. Two trips to Barnes and Noble to look at every title on the General Fiction, Literature, and Inspirational Novels shelves. I wrote pages and pages of titles, combining words in some rather clever ways, thinking of every subtle angle that my story contains. I hung out for hours of Amazon searching for similar titles. I really wanted a title that had not been done before. I submitted a few to my editor. Chasing Lilacs was chosen unanimously by my editor and the marketing board. This pleases me for a couple of reasons. It does fit the story, but now I also feel that I am part of a team that is trying to make my book the best possible. Gratitude clings to me like a favorite sweater.
• My edits were accepted - contented sigh here - and I await the copy edits. They won't be done until June, so now I have more than two months to return to my unfinished book that has waited patiently at the edges of my consciousness. I can't wait to see what happens with my new characters.

I probably won't tell you every detail that happens along the way, but when the cover is ready and other exciting news comes along, you'll be the first to know.

In the meantime, there are other folks' books to read, writing lessons to learn, and lilacs to enjoy. The buds on my backyard bushes are just beginning to open. Soon they will be in full bloom and I'll be chasing the scent of lilacs in my own backyard. Lovely.

THE SWEET SORROW OF PARTING

I use to frequent antique stores, where invariably a kindly shop owner would ask if there was a specific item I was looking for. A gentle shake of the head would send them scurrying behind their counters and leave me to peruse the wares at my leisure. The thing was, I often didn’t have anything in particular in mind, but when it appeared, my heart would amp up a notch and I would know—this is it! Perfect.

That’s how it was with you. I had a sense that I was looking for something, rolling the possibilities over in my head. I didn’t go in strenuous pursuit, but there was a void waiting to be filled. When you came, it startled me at first, and I pretended you weren’t there. But already, you’d flirted with me and whispered, “I’m the one.”

Afraid of taking your hand, I held back, but you ignored me and set up house in a room in my heart where you waited patiently for me. You weren’t pushy, yet you stoked the fire in me and wrapped your tendrils around my fibers. When I acknowledged the inevitable, it was time to introduce you to my circle—just a few in the beginning, then an every-widening expanse. At every turn, kind eyes lit with approval, welcoming us.

Those early days were magical—words flew from my fingers as I wrote with you beside me. My muse. My encourager. And at night I would dream about you. About the future.
I admit, there were days when I paid you no mind. Not just days, but sometimes weeks on end when life intervened and I strayed away from you. Yet every time I returned, you were there, waiting with a golden glow that said, “Glad you made it.”

Me too. As a matter of fact, you made me so proud, I wanted to show you off to the world. We ran off to Amarillo and were met with a “Howdy Y’all” and a round of applause. Another time, in Oklahoma City, you perched beside me, calming me with your presence. When our name was called, we floated in tandem to shake a few hands and have our picture made.

So caught up with you I was in those days that when murmurings came warning me not to get too attached, I disregarded them. Yet, sometimes in the dark of night I would convince myself that should we part, I would survive. But that would be sometime in the future, not now.

We journeyed to Dallas and raised a few eyebrows, but in the midst of so many scribes, we were only a ripple. Still, they engraved your name . . . and mine on a plaque. Texans are generous like that.

When a West Coaster called and inquired about you, I was stunned. You, of course, said nothing, but gave me a playful wink. We’d been called for a higher honor. We danced with joy and waited, wondering if we could touch the stars or travel to heights unknown. The next summons came from the other direction, from the land of country music. Fitting really, since we were but two country critters at the core.

And again, the murmuring crept into casual conversations. Be careful. You don’t want your heart to be broken. We lifted our heads and nodded, then together we sighed in contentment when our names were joined on a dotted line.

The blow came when neither of us was looking—almost in the same way we had begun. We didn’t expect it, then there it was. But now, only one of us would continue on.

I don’t feel as brave now, and I will miss you, my friend. You’ve been a faithful companion, the best there is. My heart is sorrowful as I say good-bye to you, my Dandelion Day. I’ll try my best not to let you down.

Always,
Carla, who is awaiting the new title of her soon-to-be-published book, the one formerly known as A Dandelion Day.

NEW RESOURCE FOR WRITERS SEEKING PUBLICATION

Novelist and non-fiction author of parenting books, Mary DeMuth, has started a new web place, So You Want To Be Published . . . to help unpublished authors chart their course and press on with their writing goals. She has a heart for mentoring and a deep conviction for writing God’s truth. I think you’ll like the resources and wisdom she shares. To launch the site, she’s having a contest and will give away three copies of her Non-Fiction Writing Proposal package.
Side note: If you ever have the opportunity to hear Mary speak, jump on it. She’s the real deal, and you will come away encouraged and challenged to be a better writer. So, do something nice for yourself and hop over to Mary’s right now. I just did.