I spent this morning putting the finishing touches on an article about POD publishing to appear in Christian Fiction Online Magazine in March at http://christianfictiononlinemagazine.com/. I enjoyed working on this article, and it allowed me to realize how far I've come on my writing journey during the past year. Anyone with questions about POD publishing should be sure to read the article. Two successful POD authors recount their reasons for choosing POD instead of traditional publishing. They are both talented authors and gifted speakers, so don't miss what they have to say. I'm working on a full-length novel and having fun with revisions and word play. During Thanksgiving break, I was able to make some headway on the book, and I hope to send out proposals soon. My first three chapters are ready to go, but I have to write the synopsis. Stay tuned to see what happens! Reflecting upon past publishing experiences, I look at writing from years before and cringe. This site allows one to see where I started and how far I've come along the writing road. It's been bumpy, like an emotional roller coaster ride, but it's one I wouldn't have missed for the world. I'm honing my craft and having fun doing it.

Blessings,
In His service,
Barb

Love Finds You in Snowball Arkansas Book Review

Book Review by Barbara Robinson of

Love Finds You in Snowball Arkansas by Sandra D. Bricker is 261 pages of page-turning figurative language with a delicately interwoven Christian message of what real love truly is. The main character Lucy illustrates how we can sometimes miss what’s right before our eyes, if we’re too busy looking elsewhere. From Little Rock to Snowball, Arkansas, Lucy delivers laughs, making readers think about their own fun-filled courtship days. Readers will visualize and laugh their way through the novel, as it keeps them guessing who’ll end up with who until the end when God’s grand design controls the scheme of things and Lucy must face her ultimate choice, Matt or Justin. Will she come to her senses before it’s too late? Check out the reviews of this delightful book on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. You can still order in time for Christmas and provide the readers in your life with a wonderful winter read!


Barbara Robinson
Author
http://barbarajrobinson.blogspot.com/

Ten Devotionals

I recently realized I've had ten devotionals accepted for publication this year. I attribute this success to taking the Aprentice class with the Christian Writers Guild. I'd never written devotionals before. Until I realized I had accomplished something over the past year, I was feeling down about my writing. God allowed me to see I am accomplishing something. I've decided to take the second Christian Writers Guild class, the Journeyman Level, and Eva Marie Everson who was my mentor for the first one, will also serve as my mentor for this one. For Long Ridge, I had Karen O'Connor, an author of 60 books and over hundreds of articles for both children and adults.Eva Marie was very inspiring and encouraging. She's also a well-respected published author. I'm learning from the best, and I'm excited about continuing to improve my craft.

God's Love is Grander

God's Love is Grander is the title of the devotional recently published at Mustard Seed Ministries, www.mustardseedministries.org. If you're interested in reading it, click on the devotional button at the top of the site. Scroll down past the current devotional, and you'll see the archived links. Mine is the first one archived. I have another archived from months ago.

I'm reading two books at the same time: Love Finds you in Snowball Arkansas. See the beautiful book cover. I will soon post a review of the book, once I've completed reading it. I'm also reading one of the books from my reading list: Fiction Writing DeMystified by Thomas B. Sawyer. I'm on the last chapter of it and will be focusing on completing the romance novel next.

When I left work yesterday, the members of a Christian Athlete Club were gathered in a circle around the flag pole praying, as I've often seen them doing. A member handed me a bracelet that had 3:16 on it. I'd stopped to tell them that I thought they were doing wonderful and discovered that one boy had inspired the beginning, which had grown from only four people. It dawned on me as I was driving home from work that I'd used John 3:16 as scripture for my published devotional at Mustard Seed Ministries. The club had chosen the same scripture for the bracelets they were distributing. What a powerful message!

Love Finds You in Snowball Arkansas

I'm reading this new novel by Sandra D. Bricker. It's published by Summerside Press, Inc. The book is available through Amazon. I'll post again about it when I've finished reading it. I've only just started. I finsihed Jerry B. Jenkin's Riven and started reading a fiction writing book. As you can tell by my reading list, I've read lots of books this year, fiction and books about writing fiction.

I had a phone call from my oldest son, Scotty, who left a message on my cell Monday. When I returned the call, he said he'd been stuck in traffic on his way to work and was thinking about me, so he phoned. This warmed my heart, since I often think of my mom and sister, as well as my four children, when I'm driving to work. I usually listen to an Alan Jackson tape, Precious Memories. My husband gave it to me for Christmas a few years ago, and it's a miracle I haven't worn it out. I also have one of the Startler Brothers. I love the Blackwood brothers, too.

Recently, I was blessed to visit Dollywood while the National Southern Gospel Harvest was in session, and I got to hear the Kingdom Heirs and watch their show. They are a wonderful group, and I love their new song, "Good News From the Graveyard". I want to order their CD. Maybe I'll get it for Christmas. You can put Kingdom Heirs in the search engine and find it! Sunflower got to visit Doggywood while we were at Dollywood, and we had pictures made of her with us. She's my golden Cocker Spaniel, my baby. We usually take her with us when we travel, and she's been to the Grand Canyon and Las Vegas, all up and down the East and West coast. You might say that she's a well-traveled dog, who travels better in the motor home than the car. She gets car sick in the car, but never does in the motor home. If you scroll way down, you'll see a picture of her looking at us out of the camper window, when we were in Spencer Cove in Tennesse.

I've completed one class through the Christian Writers Guild, and I'm trying to decide if I should take the next one, or work on the actual writing of my book, instead of completing more lessons. I've come a long way on it, and I'm anxious to complete it. I've been reading other books as a writer and learning, soaking up the writing books on fiction as well. I worked on one chapter of my WIP yesterday, revising and polishing it, after it was critiqued by a colleague in the American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) group, of which I'm a member. I recently received word from Mustard Seed Ministries that another devotional was being used by them, the one I wrote about the Grand Canyon. It appeared at www.mustardseedministries.org between November 3 to November 9 and was placed in the archives along with others I've done for them.If you go to the site and click on devotionals, you'll see mine as the first archived one.

Have a blessed day!

Barb

Working on my WIP Again

I took some time off from my own writing to read Riven by Jerry B. Jenkins and other books. This week, I started working on my WIP once again. I'm trying something new with it, and I realize how far I've come in the past year. Eva Marie Everson was my writing mentor with the Christian Writers Guild,and she was so inspiring and encouraging. Last Saturday I was in Tennesse and North Carolina. I've always wanted to visit Tennesse in the fall of the year and this was my first opportunity. The trip was so peaceful and relaxing. The gorgeous fall colors displayed God's creativity. We rode the sky lift in Gatlinburg, and the mountains were so beautiful cloaked in red, orange, and yellow autumn colors. We played Hillybilly Golf and rode backwards up a mountain to get to the course. Sunflower even visited Dollywood with us. She stayed in Doggywood while we were in the theme park, and we had pictures made of her with us. Then, we stayed in Wow! What A Cabin, Aunt Bug's cabin rentals. Talk about an awe-inspiring mountain view. We had the best from the deck and from the living room window. This was my first time renting a cabin in Tennesse, but we'd always wanted to. Finally, we did it! I came back feeling renewed and refreshed and ready to write. So, I started reworking my WIP, and I'm making progress.

Then, I had a phone call and found out my youngest son was in an accident on Wednesday. An SUV shoved the vehicle he was riding in into a tow truck and put the trunk in the back seat. Thank God he wasn't killed. He is battling back and neck problems, but he's alive and still here with us. He has a wife and two young sons who are looking forward to Christmas with him, and I'm looking forward to seeing him in December. We live over 700 miles apart and only get to see each other a couple of times each year, usually during the summer and at Christmas. The same is true of my other three children. My daughter who lived in Vegas moved back home, so now they're all together, and I get to see them all when I go visit. Thank God for bringing her back to her family.

This is the son I wrote an article about last November and had hoped to see it published, but it hasn't made it. I've reworked it. I need to resubmit, but I haven't. At least, he read it and knows how I feel about him. Thank God for that.

I'm hearing of so many people who're getting into bad accidents lately. Please slow down and drive carefully with the holidays coming. There's more traffic on the roads.