Final Day of Dragons, Devotions, and Donita K Paul - "Keep the Pages Turning..."

This is the final day with Donita K. Paul as she encourages authors to give our audiences writing that keeps readers turning the pages! 

Donita has done just that, with her very popular Dragonkeeper Chronicles. 

Stay tuned at the end for her brand new release in the Chiril Chronicles, coming in October, 2011  (you can preorder below)

AND there is still time to enter her wonderful giveaway of THREE books! (ends August 22) 

"Usually, when people get to the end of a chapter, they close the book and go to sleep. I deliberately write my books so when the reader gets to the end of a chapter, he or she must turn one more page. When people tell me I've kept them up all night, I feel like I've succeeded!"  
                                                                               -  Sidney Sheldon (was an Academy Award-winning American writer. His TV works spanned a 20-year period during which he created The Patty Duke Show (1963–66), I Dream of Jeannie (1965–70) and Hart to Hart (1979–84), but he became most famous after he turned 50 and began writing best-selling novels such as Master of the Game (1982), The Other Side of Midnight (1973) and Rage of Angels (1980). He is the sixth best selling writer of all time.)

Yes, yes, yes! This is a sadistic truth common to successful authors. There is not better compliment than for a reader to say she was kept up all night by cliffhangers. Of course, you must also know that writers spend many sleepless nights getting their characters in situations creating great tension and the physical need to see the conflict resolved. That’s writerese for “keep ‘em turning the pages.

 COMING OCTOBER of 2011 in the Chiril Chronicles - Book 3

Ellie is a simple country girl living with her large family. Hungry for adventure, she eagerly accepts an invitation to attend the royal wedding in Chiril’s bustling capital. En route, Ellie is separated from her traveling party. She finds herself lost in an enchanted city made by giants. Unable to leave, her only companions are the wild children, who roam the streets, and Bealomondore, the handsome artist and recently distinguished war hero. Ellie and Bealomondore must solve the mystery of the city and it’s children in order to break the enchantment and escape the invisible walls which imprison them. Throughout their quest, they learn about obedience, redemption, and love.

Buy now on Amazon, Barnes and Noble or CBD

All this week (until August 22) leave a comment and your e-mail address for a chance to win one of three great books by Donita! You may comment each day if you wish about the devotion, but your name goes in once.

1.  The Vanishing Sculptor (a fantasy novel, see the cover for it above)

2.  Dragon and Turtle Go on Safari (children's picture book)

3.  To See His Way (Heartsong Presents historical romance)

 

Day 4 of Dragons, Devotions, and Donita K Paul - "It's Never Done..."

Day 4 with the talented Donita K. Paul and her all-week devotions on writing. The contest for three giveaways is still going on, too! 

All this week, leave a comment and your e-mail address for a chance to win one of three great books by Donita! You may comment each day if you wish about the devotion, but your name goes in once.

1.  The Vanishing Sculptor (a fantasy novel)

2.  Dragon and Turtle Go on Safari (children's picture book)

3.  "To See His Way (Heartsong Presents historical romance)

 Devotion for Day Four 

"The story goes on and leaves the writer behind, for no story is ever done."

                                                                                  - John Steinbeck  (was an American writer. He is widely known for the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Grapes of Wrath (1939) and East of Eden (1952) and the novella Of Mice and Men (1937). He was an author of twenty-seven books, including sixteen novels, six non-fiction books and five collections of short stories; Steinbeck received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962.)

A story is never done? That’s right. And this doesn’t include the forever polishing that some writers are prone to do. My editor has had to take the manuscript away from me. I can always think of one more thing to do. In fact, years after the book is published, I’ll think of something that would have made the story even cooler!

But when a book lands in the hands of a devoted reader, and if the author has done her job correctly, the reader finishes the story. How? The author describes a barn; the reader provides his image of the barn out of his own experience. The author depicts a character with a certain personality; the reader draws upon people he knows to flesh out the fictional person. Every reader adds to the substance of the tale. And each reader provides variables the author could never have projected. 

If the author has created a fluid story, one that is worth investing time in, the reader will continue the development of plot, setting, character, and conflict. The books we, as readers, remember the best, the ones we treasure, contain stories we relate to, ones we actually “own.”

Dragons, Devotions, and Donita K Paul! Day 1

You are in for a real treat! I am so blessed to have Donita K. Paul as a special blogger all this week. I knew Donita back when we were authors together for Heartsong Presents, and it's wonderful to see how God has expanded her gifted writing talents in the area of fantasy.

Every day she will share a special writing devotion with you as well as information about her new releases, including her first-ever picture book, The Dragon and the Turtle, just for children! Donita has always had a special heart for children's picture books, so this is a true answer to prayer for her. AND she will introduce her new book coming in October - Dragons of the Watch.

Devotion for Day One

"Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds you plant."
                                                                                             - Robert Louis Stevenson (a Scottish novelist, poet, essayist, and travel writer. His best-known books include Treasure Island, Kidnapped, and Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.)

This is a good maxim to remember at all times, but especially if you are an author. We don’t reap a harvest every day. In fact, that moment when you hold a new book in your hands for the first time is very rare. But we plant seeds a lot! Every time we knock out a dynamite sentence, or piece together a perfect paragraph, or conquer a transition, we have sown in the literary field. Okay, that’s a bit over the top. But really, when you are an author, you can’t label the hours you are working. You may spend 2 hours at the computer, and accomplish little. Fifteen minutes in the doctor’s waiting room may flesh out a character, provide dialog for arguing siblings, or firsthand knowledge of CPR. Thinking of the right word while washing dishes is part of your “work.” There are little seeds of writing all over the place, so learn to celebrate the small things. They arrive in abundance whereas the harvest can be a long time coming.

Stay tuned for a new devotion every day as well as news about Donita's books and jewelry line! On Day Two -Donita has a special announcement to make!

**THERE is still time!!** To enter my book giveaway for my very first ever Heartsong Presents novel, Mountaintop! 
(Jenny was the winner. Thanks!)

Congratulations!

Congratulations to Carla who won Martha's newest book!!

My next guest in June will be Lynn Coleman! Be sure to subscribe to the blog for great writing inspiration and popular Christian fiction authors to come like Loree Lough, Laura Hilton, Laurie Alice Eakes, Margaret Daley, among others.

Guest Martha Rogers on What is YOUR Excuse?

I am so pleased to have guest Martha Rogers here with an extraordinary story of her path to publishing as well as introducing her newest release slated for June!! And leave a comment for a chance to win!!

What Does Age Have to Do With Anything?

We make so many excuses for not submitting our writing. I don’t have enough time. I have too many other obligations. I’m too young. I’m too old. I’ve got too many rejections. I don’t have an agent. Any sound familiar? If I had used the excuse of age, I would never have been published. My agent believed in me and kept submitting my manuscripts. When I wanted to quit, friends encouraged me to keep on.

When God calls us to a task, He expects us to finish it. If we’re obedient to that call, He will give us what we need to complete it because He who began the work in us will carry through until it’s completed. Galatians 6:9 tells us not to grow weary when we’re doing God’s work because we’ll reap a harvest when God sets the time.

So many younger authors were getting contracts and having success that I wondered if He’d forgotten how old I was getting. Well, God doesn’t forget. He doesn’t sleep. He never quits work. He’s always there willing to help us reach our goals when we call on Him for help. The Lord does expect us to do our part. That part is to put ourselves in that chair and write.

My first contract came at age 73. God’s timing was perfect. It always is. I’ll be 75 in two months and by that time I will have five novels and one novella published with another five novels contracted. When God opened the door for me, He kicked it wide open. Prayer, perseverance and patience reaped the harvest at the time God ordained.

Do whatever it takes to write. If you’re serious, God will help you find the time. At other times He may tell you to wait a season and take care of other things first. Listen to His voice and calling. Write as much as you can when you can. Be patient, and pray for His guidance in all that you do. Jeremiah tells you to call on Him, and He will answer and tell you great things you do not know. Jeremiah also tells us that God has great plans for us, plans to give us hope and a future. So press on to what God has called you to do whether it is to wait for a season to begin or whether it is to work hard now, for pressing on will lead you where you need to go.

So what excuses have you used to keep from submitting?

Martha Rogers is the author of Becoming Lucy; Morning for Dove; Finding Becky; Caroline’s Choice; Not on the Menu, a part of a novella collection with DiAnn Mills, Janice Thompson, and Kathleen Y’Barbo; and River Walk Christmas, a novella collection with Beth Goddard, Lynette Sowell, and Kathleen Y’Barbo. A former schoolteacher and English instructor, she has a master’s degree in education and lives with her husband in Houston, Texas.

Website

Summer Dream

As the daughter of a small-town minister in Connecticut, Rachel Winston fears that the only way she’ll ever find a husband is to visit her aunt in Boston for the social season. But when Nathan Reed arrives in town, she can’t help but wonder if he could be the one. Although attracted to Rachel, Nathan has no desire to become involved with a Christian after experiences with his own family. What’s more, until he resolves his anger with God and his family, he has no chance of courting her. When Nathan is caught in a devastating blizzard and lies near death in the Winston home, Rachel and her mother give him a lesson in love and forgiveness that leads him back to his home in the South. Will he make peace with his family and return before Rachel chooses a path that takes her away from him?

Summer Dream will be available in June on CBD, Amazon, and Barnes&Noble on line or pre-order now. Check with your local Christian book store for availability.

To win a copy of this new title available in June, please leave a comment with your e-mail address. Thanks for stopping by and be sure to subscribe for all the latest writing news and future guests to come like Loree Lough, Lynn Coleman, Laurie Alice Eakes to name a few!