What's Happening in My (Writing) Life

8/25/2010	I sent Kelly a detailed synopsis of Overshadowed, the manuscript I hope will fit the needs for the third book in the series. I'm working on some plotting now of the fourth book, which will be in some ways a continuation of Overshadowed. Kathleen and I are hoping and praying.
8/18/2010	Barbour wants to change the title, Prancing on Pebbles, to Lost in Dreams. They think it has more teen appeal. The important thing is they love the new title, and so do I! I also received a copy of the Lost in Dreams cover today. I didn't think they could possibly outdo the cover for Found in Translation, but I think they did.
8/6/2010	Kelly at Barbour has requested that the third book in the series be about Jo--and go to an additional book if possible. Although that means ditching 30,000 words of an Aleesha-based book, I'm thrilled to be this close to having two additonal contracts. I'm doing my best never to give Kelly a reason to think I'm hard to get along with.
8/6/2010	I contracted with Misty Taggart at Trailers to the Stars to create a trailer for Found in Translation. That's now on her schedule for early October.
7/7/2010	Kelly at Barbour verified that Found in Translation will release in January of 2011. It can already be found at Amazon, BN.com, and Chrisianbooks.com--without the cover or all the specifics.
6/28/2010	I sent synopses of what I'd like the rest of the Altered Hearts series to contain to Kelly at Barbour. She assures me she'll get back with me soon about that.
6/16/2010	Kelly at Barbour sent me the final version of the book cover for Found in Translation. It's wonderful! Just a tad different from the tentative version. Main difference I see is the series name was changed from Mission: Altered Hearts to just Altered Hearts. Kelly also wants ideas for the next couple of books in the series.Finally, she also sent the book copy (back cover copy, for example) for Prancing on Pebbles for me to look over and recommend changes to. I'll do that tonight or tomorrow.
6/8/2010	I've created a blog on WordPress to host the teen girl tribe of influencers I hope to build. Chip MacGregor and Jim Rubart suggested the tribe idea at their fiction marketing seminar. I'll put it on my homepage menu in a few more days.
6/4/2010	I received the second half of the advance for Prancing on Pebbles. By the way, Proven Faithful is now Out of Order. As a title, not as a manuscript.
6/3/2010	I received the Barbour-edited version of Pebbles. The problems don't look nearly as extensive as those to Found in Translation were.
5/19/2010	Kelly at Barbour sent me the tentative book cover for Found in Translation. It just needs to be approved by the marketing and ad folks. It looks SO good. I hope they don't change it.
5/5/2010	I've been working on the plotting of both Proven Faithful (tentative title for book 3 in series) and Do I Ever! That's the one about the divorced couple pretending to still be married for the sake of their best friends. It was originally For Better or Worse...Again.
4/15/2010	I sent my agent the manuscript and proposal for Wherefore Art Thou Ramon? And my wonderful editor at Barbour suggested that the next book in my series there might be about Aleesha. I'm not worried about trying to make her "black enough," but I'll need help from African-American friends to keep her from sounding "too white"! *LOL*
3/24/2010	Vacationing in Memphis after a successful Fiction Marketing Seminar in Nashville. I'm sprucing up my website as part of the plan. I have ditched "Christian Fiction with Warmth & Whimsy" at Chip MacGregor and Jim Rubert's suggestion. I'm not saying "Christian fiction rippling with laughter, tears, and YES! moments" will definitely be IT, but I think that has a lot more YA appeal.
3/10/2010	I've sent Prancing on Pebbles to Barbour! *happy dance* I hope to work on Ramon some now, plus get some ideas in mind for a sequel to Pebbles. I also need to review Rosa No-Name to see whether I think I should suggest that as a prequel to Found as I'd originally intended. Coming up next week: Chip Macgregor's Book Marketing Seminar.
3/4/2010	The Family Christian Store near Virginia Center Commons allowed me to leave some business cards advertizing my upcoming books. They'll put them in customer bags. I think of this store as my home bookstore.
2/22/2010	Found in the Translation has officially been retitled Found in Translation without the the. I'm not sure I'll ever get used to the change, but the new title seems to be more appealing to readers, and their opinion counts more than mine. *G*
2/16/2010	I've sent the Barbour-specified revisions for Found in the Translation back. Now I can concentrate on Prancing on Pebbles again. Going to a local Christian writing conference this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
2/6/2010	I'm almost done making Barbour-specified revisions to Found in the Translation and hope to send it back by the middle of this month. Progress on Prancing on Pebbles is great. I've left the rough draft behind in the dust. I'm praying that I can send Barbour a sufficiently polished version by the end of this month and get some feedback.
1/16/2010	I "interviewed" Kristi about her experiences in Mexico and put the answers in a document. When we finished, I handed the file over to her and told her to turn that into the Foreword the folks at Barbour had requested her to do. She did a great job, I think. I did a tad of touchup and sent the final version to Barbour.
1/13/2009	Once Kristi arrived from Orlando, we didn't waste any time getting the portrait made for the book cover.
10/29/2009	Had a great visit at Barbour Publishing last Friday. Those folks are SO nice. We also enjoyed a visit to Ohio's Amish country while there.
9/29/2009	Looking forward to Novelists Retreat at Ridgecrest. Will use writing time there on Prancing on Pebbles. Also looking forward to a nice visit with the folks at Barbour. They sound like great people to work with.
9/28/2009	I received and deposited my first-ever book advance! Also, my copies of the contracts. Thank you, Barbour...
9/17/2009	Received signed contracts from Kristi and mailed to Barbour for delivery on 9/19.
9/14/2009	I've received the contract from Barbour for signing and have emailed it to my daughter, Kristi, who will write the Foreword. Hopefully, she'll print, sign, and overnight to us on 9/15.
9/11/2009	Barbour has offered me a contract for Found in the Translation and a second book in that series, tentatively titled Prancing on Pebbles. My agent, Mr. Terry Burns of Hartline Literary Agency, is currently negotiating the details.