NEW BOOK COVERS & OTHER GOOD STUFF

Remember these? 

Well, they're getting a new look!

And COMFORT is joining BLUE in paperback! (all this, in late September)

So, naturally, I'm celebrating!  Which means a contest, of course!  I'll give the paperback pair to one winner each month from October through December.   You or your friends may enter at any time!

Here's how you enter.

1.  Follow me. (Click on "Join This Site"  at right and follow instructions.  (If you already follow me, proceed to # 2.)

2.  Tell me you want the Paperback Pair.

3.  Sit back and wait for the announcement.  

No, wait!  Don't just sit back and wait!  Send your friends over here! 

So you might be asking, Does "Join this Site" mean I have to read it?  Of course not!  But it'll help me look good and in this business it's all about perceptions, right? Or deceptions maybe...

I will try to hook you into reading.  And that's no lie.  At least, come back to see if you won!

BOOK GIVEAWAY! (Deadline Approaching)

A storm rocks the boat carrying Puritans to America. But young Susannah Hutchinson huddles into the safety of her mother's arms.

The family expects to find freedom of religion in this new land. What they find instead, is a classic religious battle between grace and law. The reader feels the tension early on in the pages of this picture book. It is communicated through Micahel Dooling's muted photo-realistic paintings and Jeannine Atkins skillful use of symbolism.

As everyone gathered, the minister said, "The Lord sends storms to punish the wicked among us."

"This minister speaks too much of storms," Mother said. "In the New World we hope to spend more time giving thanks for the blessings of blue skies. We are not going there to be frightened again."

As the story emerges we discover that Susannah's mother is a strong Christian woman who uses her gifts of midwifery, encouragement, and teaching in the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

But the puritanical community is not ready for a strong, confident woman who experiences God as a loving Being. And so the conflict ensues. Young Susannah loses the safety of her mother's arms.

Read the book to discover what happens. There is much more than can be contained in a 32 page picture book, of course. An Afterword provides additonal info.

Anne Hutchinson's Way is a picture book for all ages. It does just what I love - brings a little known piece of history into the light where contemporary readers can experience its relevance.

And it is relevant!

It seems I have a vague recollection of Anne Hutchinson from my elementary history classes. But mostly, I've forgotten about her. Thankfully, Jeannine Atkins brought this strong confident role model to my attention.

On April 14 (That's Wednesday) Jeannine is giving away a copy of Anne Hutchinson's Way as well as her latest book - Borrowed Names.  Leave a comment here if you'd like to enter the contest! Only 3 more days to enter!

RESEARCH IN FRANCE: Dr. Eric Groce Reports

Last week, Eric Groce flew to France. (Some people get the best gigs!) Here he is with his "two French Grandmothers". Marthe and Odette are characters in Eric's work-in-progress - historical fiction about French villagers who assisted members of the 82nd Airborne after the D-Day invasion. Marthe (standing) the main character, was 12 years-old at the time.

This is Eric's 7th trip to France. This time he's working on a new WWII story about children of the resistance. I asked him to give us a brief update:

#1 unexpected challenge----I got to Memorial de Caen---a large museum and library to do research and make digital images from the archives and the librarian informed me the archives were closed until March! (sad face)…so I began to find historic spots around the city related to my person of interest and log them in my GPS and make notes about them. Not what I had planned, but the best I could do under the circumstances.

#2 new person ---The next day I interviewed a gentleman named Monsieur Andre Heintz. He was a teacher at the Ecole St. Joseph in Caen during the war years and was heavily involved in the Resistance. He is 90 years old and as fit as a fiddle! Truly a remarkable gentleman.

#3 Anything else? --- Even though the weather in this part of France is almost always cold, windy, and wet, the welcome I always receive from my friends in Normandy always warms my heart---not to mention the fantastic food.

Hmmm - French food? Eric seriously gets my Lil' Green Research Award. (It's all about professional jealousy!) Thank you Eric for sharing! I suppose the closed museum means you'll be going back in March?And to my dear readers, you can have a free 20 minute DVD reenactment of Marthe and Odette's heartwarming story - IF you enter and win the contest. See sidebar!

Please sign up today - and if you win - do share it with a classroom or library near you. A loan is fine. You don't have to give it away.

Here's a sneak preview!

Papa said, "We should never forget." from David Druckenmiller on Vimeo.

ON THE MORROW: (Becky Levine & I are giving away this book)

On the subject of Characters, here's a tiny sample from Becky Levine's fantabulous new book, THE WRITING & CRITIQUE GROUP SURVIVAL GUIDE
(from p. 71)

ANALYZING THE WEAKNESSES

Here are some of the common problems that can cause a character weakness:

• A character isn't complex enough
• Characters don't show enough reaction
• A character behaves inconsistently
• A character doesn't grow

And then, Becky elaborates. On her first point, (A character isn't complex enough) she says, among other things,

As a writer you need to make sure your hero isn't all good and your villians aren't all bad. Even your secondary characters must have conflict within them to keep your reader hooked.

As a critiquer, it's your job to help your partners develop all the depth their characters need.

There's more on this point and on all the points.

And much more on:

• characters
• plot
• dialogue
• setting
• various genres (loads on genres)
• etc. etc. etc.

She shares writing samples to back up every point. She critiques the samples. She shows you how to critique the writing samples.

At first glance this is a book about critique groups. But I think you can see how it's also a book that teaches you to write. This book is a MUST HAVE for writers! If you haven't entered the contest (and thanks to all those who did!) you have approxinately 24 hours to do so!

Here's how:

1. Enter a comment that clearly communicates your desire!

That's it, basically. Tell me you want the book. I'll add your name to the hat. And by noon on Groundhogs Day (okay, that's noon Pacific Time in honor of Becky and any California groundhogs) I'll draw the name.

And I'll announce it ASAP, which is to say, approximately 3:15 EST. Good luck!

I'm throwing you a life line here. So grab ahold. Take a deep breath. You're not going to die after all!

Just when you thought you were going under. Just when you wondered if it's even possible for anyone to write a novel, memoir, non fiction book, picture book, or anything remotely publishable; Becky Levine pulls out the safety equipment.

Levine, herself is living proof that you don't have to die trying to get published. This very week she and Writer's Digest Books are releasing an amazing writing book with an ambitious title!

THE WRITING & CRITIQUE GROUP SURVIVAL GUIDE: HOW TO GIVE AND RECEIVE FEEDBACK, SELF EDIT, AND MAKE REVISIONS

That's a lot to ask from any book. But somehow Levine manages it. I'm reading her Survival Guide now - although not as closely as I would like to because I happen to be drowning in revisions. Or, I would be drowning, if I didn't have this book to remind me what makes a scene work, or that all my characters need to be multi-dimensional, and of the importance of dialogue in relation to plot.

Here are a few other things I'm discovering as I read:

Organization (Levine has a left-brain that actually works!)

Highly readable writing style

Info about types of critique groups and how to decide which type is right for you

Critique group protocol - apparently you can't just show up and spout off - you actually have responsibilities, both as critiquer and critiquee

Information about various genres and how to critique for each

Sample analyses of writing passages in multiple genres

Worksheets

And, obviously much more! (304 pages)

The Survival Guide doesn't claim to be a writing course but - um, in my opinion, it sort of is one.

In honor of the Survival Guide's release, Becky Levine is offering a book giveaway. To enter, all you have to do is comment on one of my posts with the words - "HELP!" or "I NEED THAT BOOK!" or "MOVE THAT BUS!" (To to be quite honest, any little thing that gets the point across will do.)

You have until Feb. 2nd (Put Ground Hog's Day in the comment, if you like.) I'll put the entries in some sort of container, jostle them around, and pull one up without peeking.

But don't wait until then to check back here, because Ms. Levine herself will be stopping by later in the week to answer a few questions. And with permission from her, over the next few weeks, I might even toss out a delicious crumb or two from the Survival Guide.

CHECK OUT NATHAN CLEMENT & WIN FREE BOOKS

Christmas is coming. You'll need some cool gifts. Why not win some? Here's how.

A. Visit my new website. Enjoy Nathan Clement's handiwork there. Here's a preview.

B. Then click on over to Nathan's blog and leave a comment, telling him what you think of his mad design skills! (Comment on any of his posts! It doesn't matter which one; he'll let me know.)

C. Voila! You're finished. Just for doing that, I'll enter your name in a contest to win 2 books:

1. A copy of Nathan's stunning picture book, Drive, an unexpected perspective of a day in the life of a truck driver. Drive received starred reviews from both Publisher's Weekly and Kirkus!

2. A copy of my book Healing Water, which is as hopeful as the title sounds so do not let the subject of leprosy deter you.And if that's not enough book winning for you, enter the other contest described below.

2 WAYS TO WIN FREE BOOKS!

To celebrate the launch of her new website, Joyce Moyer Hostetter is giving away books!

A. First way to win free books.

1. Post the following sentence on your blog or facebook status - Check out Joyce Moyer Hostetter's classy new website at www.joycemoyerhostetter.com/
2. Comment on Joyce's blog or livejournal to inform her of the link you created.
3. Particpants' names will go into a "hat" and a winner will be selected on October 4th.
4. Prize is a signed set of Joyce's 4 books! (Book info is on the website)

B. Second way to win free books.

1. Visit Joyce Moyer Hostetter's new website www.joycemoyerhostetter.com/ and enjoy the design created by Nathan Clement of Stickman Studio.
2. Visit Nathan's blog and tell him what you like about the design.
3. Participants' names will go into a "hat" and will be drawn on October 4.
4. Prize is a signed copy of Nathan's picture book DRIVE and one of Joyce's HEALING WATER.

On October 5, Joyce will announce the winners of both contests on her blog, livejournal, and facebook.

Spread the word! Christmas is just around the corner and this could be as many as 4 gifts all wrapped up!

Well actually, Joyce might let you do the wrapping.

BOOK GIVEAWAY: And the winners are...

Lesson learned. If I want to give away a book, the best method for doing so, is not by asking folks to give to a charity. (At least not during hard times.) Back on April 25, I suggested my readers make a contribution to the March of Dimes and let me know so I could enter them into a contest for a copy of Comfort.

I got no takers.

To be fair, Augusta Scattergood, commented that she always supports the March of Dimes but she'd be reading my book anyway so I should give it to someone else.

And over at LiveJournal? No entries there, either. However, even before I'd posted the contest, Kelly R. Fineman had told me that she too, always gives to the March of Dimes. (She also decided to make a 2nd contribution since MOD is having trouble raising funds this year.)

And so I'm giving my books to these March of Dimes loyalists!

Augusta, I'll send a copy to you or to the school or library of your choice. Just let me know. (My email addy is in the sidebar.)

And Kelly, Comfort is coming your way just as soon as you contact me.

Thanks to both of you for supporting a worthy cause. Especially one with such a great history.