Thank You, Blog Readers

I can hardly believe it has been four years since I began blogging. There have been times I had no idea what to share, and days when I couldn't wait to get to the keyboard. I have learned so much about myself as a writer. I have also made some amazing friends and connections through the blogging community.

If you've been with me since the beginning, thank you. You've seen me grow and gain more confidence - the part you played in helping me develop has been greatly appreciated. If you are new to my blog - welcome. I hope to have some exciting news and opportunities to share with you as we journey through our shared interests.

As a thank you to ALL of my readers, I will soon be hosting a giveaway. My official anniversary is October 19th, and I'm working on some ideas that I will share next week. Until then - thank you, and HAPPY WRITING!

Out of the Storm

 

Available now as a FREE download, Out of the Storm is a wonderfully written novella.  As always, this author has provided us with lovable characters who reflect a deep relationship with God. I was so engrossed in the story, I completed the whole tale in less than an hour!

 

Having grown up in a lighthouse, loneliness is all Isabelle Thornton has ever known--and all, she assumes, she ever will know. But when her light keeper father rescues a young man from the lake, her sheltered world is turned upside down.

 

This was bestselling author Jody Hedlund's first novella, and a great preview of her newest Beacons of Hope series which takes place in 1800's amid the romance, history, and danger surrounding the Great Lakes lighthouses of Michigan. The first book of the series, Love Unexpected will be released December 2, 2014.

 

Interested in why novellas and short stories have increased in popularity? Wonder why they are such great creations for the authors who write them? Check out Hedlund's newest blog post: The Growing Popularity of Novellas

 

What short stories and novellas have you read lately? Any title or authors you recommend?

Authors Anonymous

I recently came across this movie, but had not heard of it before. Anyone seen it? Do you recommend?

 

After a dysfunctional group of unpublished writers with the motto all for one accept Hannah Rinaldi (Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting) into their fold, the last thing they expect is her overnight success - but that's exactly what they get. While her career takes off, her eccentric and envious colleagues (Chris Klein, Teri Polo, Dylan Walsh, Dennis Farina and Jonathan Bennett) struggle to find their own paths to publishing fame and fortune. Tensions rise, rivalries form, and hearts are broken. Rejection turns to desperation. Good thing they're only armed with pens...

IWSG Submission Deadline

This week is the deadline for submission to the IWSG anthology! Guidelines can be found below, but for more information, please visit: http://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com/

This week marks the one year anniversary since the IWSG site and Facebook group opened. The IWSG Team is putting together an eBook that will benefit all writers - The IWSG Guide to Publishing and Beyond. We invite all IWSG members, Facebook members, and followers to contribute, whether you are a writer on the journey or a published author.

Here are the details:

The purpose of the book is to assist other writers on the journey, so we are looking for tips and instructions. It can be inspirational in nature as long as you provide a solid benefit.

The three topics will be writing, publishing, and marketing. Please let us know what category your submission falls under.

Each contribution needs to be between 200 and 1000 words. Give us your best tip or procedure. The essay can include bullet points, top ten lists, and recommendations. (Websites, software, books, etc.) We’re trying to keep it simple, so no images.

Please email it directly to the IWSG email or to Alex J. Cavanaugh. Be sure to include: title, topic (writing, publishing, or marketing), a one line bio (with your name, book(s), and blog), and state that you give us permission to use it.

Please use fresh material – no recycled blog posts. (We will only edit for misspellings and grammar mistakes.)  All submissions need to be sent or posted by October 2, 2014.

We will compile them into an eBook and aim for an early December release. The book will be FREE and available for all eReaders.

Thank you for making the IWSG such a huge success!!

Banned Books Week: Celebrating the Freedom to Read!

September 21-27, 2014 is "Banned Books Week: Celebrating the Freedom to Read". This is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read. Held during the last week of September, it highlights the value of free and open access to information. Banned Books Week brings together the entire book community –- librarians, booksellers, publishers, journalists, teachers, and readers of all types –- in shared support of the freedom to seek and to express ideas, even those some consider unorthodox or unpopular.

Banned Books Week was launched in 1982 in response to a sudden surge in the number of challenges to books in schools, bookstores and libraries. More than 11,300 books have been challenged since 1982 according to the American Library Association. There were 307 challenges reported to the Office of Intellectual Freedom in 2013, and many more go unreported. The 10 most challenged titles of 2013 were:

1. Captain Underpants (series), by Dav Pilkey
   Reasons: Offensive language, unsuited for age group, violence
2. The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison
   Reasons: Offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group, violence
3. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie
   Reasons: Drugs/alcohol/smoking, offensive language, racism, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group
4. Fifty Shades of Grey, by E.L. James
   Reasons: Nudity, offensive language, religious viewpoint, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group
5. The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins
   Reasons: Religious viewpoint, unsuited to age group
6. A Bad Boy Can Be Good for A Girl, by Tanya Lee Stone
   Reasons: Drugs/alcohol/smoking, nudity, offensive language, sexually explicit
7. Looking for Alaska, by John Green
   Reasons: Drugs/alcohol/smoking, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group
8. The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky
   Reasons: drugs/alcohol/smoking, homosexuality, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group
9. Bless Me Ultima, by Rudolfo Anaya
   Reasons: Occult/Satanism, offensive language, religious viewpoint, sexually explicit
10. Bone (series), by Jeff Smith
    Reasons: Political viewpoint, racism, violence

For more about books challenged as well as information about classic novels that have been challenged and/or banned, please see this list of  frequently challenged books.

Chicken Soup Connections

I just enjoyed a luncheon with the Chicken Soup for the Soul publisher - Amy Newmark. I had the pleasure of meeting 20 other talented authors, and learning about some of the exciting projects the company is now working to complete.

Did you know they have their own line of soups which can be purchased at many HEB and Wal-Mart locations?

Right: Poet Laurie Kolp, Publisher Amy Newmark, and Sylvia Ney at Hotel Za Za in Houston, Texas.

Below: Publisher Amy Newmark and 20 contributing authors. Some of them have only been in one volume, and some have appeared in more than one dozen Chicken Soup books since the company first began.

Have you ever contributed to, or been published in one of the Chicken Soup for the Soul books? Which one(s)?

Do you enjoy reading them? Why, or why not?

What projects are you working to complete, or what books have you enjoyed lately?

You Can Reboot Your Life

Chicken Soup for the Soul: Reboot Your Life arrives on stands today! This volume shares stories about how you can find a new path to happiness, and I am proud to have a story included.

Claire Cook, of CSS,  was sitting with a group of parents at her daughter’s swim practice when she realized she needed to change her life. “I was in serious danger of living out my days without ever once going for it. Without even trying to achieve my lifelong dream of writing a novel.”

So Claire started writing a book in her minivan, on a lined pad, while her daughter swam. Claire published her first novel at age 45, followed by the bestseller Must Love Dogs. At 50, she walked the red carpet at the Hollywood premiere of the movie based on her book! Now she’s a bestselling author of twelve books.

“Not many days go by that I don’t … remind myself that this is the career I almost didn’t have,” she writes in Chicken Soup for the Soul: Reboot Your Life. “Anything can happen. It is never, ever too late.”

Are you stuck in a rut? Looking for purpose and meaning in your life? Ready for a new job, a new hobby or new relationships? You’ll feel empowered to take chances, follow your dreams and reboot your own life as you read the 101 inspiring stories by people, just like you, who did just that in Chicken Soup for the Soul: Reboot Your Life (Chicken Soup for the Soul Publishing, LLC; Amy Newmark and Claire Cook; Sept. 16, 2014, 978-1611599404, $14.95).

You will be inspired to pursue your true passion as you read stories like the one from ultra-marathoner Dean Karnazes. He didn’t like where his life was headed and literally ran out of his 30th birthday party and didn’t stop for 30 miles. Shortly after that pivotal moment, Dean quit his corporate job and his partying lifestyle. He wanted to make his living by running. And he did. “Now, some two decades later,” Dean writes. “I’ve realized more happiness and greater fulfillment than I ever dreamed imaginable.”

Within these pages, you’ll find the tools and the advice you need to solve your problems, use positive thinking, find your purpose, follow your dreams and start over. The 101 role models in this collection of revealing personal stories will help you change your life, and become the person you are meant to be. 

ABOUT CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE SOUL Chicken Soup for the Soul publishes the famous Chicken Soup for the Soul book series. In 2007, USA Today named Chicken Soup for the Soul one of the five most memorable books in the last quarter- century. With over 100 million books sold to date in the U.S. and Canada alone, more than 250 titles, and translations into more than 40 languages, “chicken soup for the soul” is one of the world's best-known phrases. Today, 21 years after it first began sharing happiness, inspiration and wellness through its books, Chicken Soup for the Soul continues to delight readers and fans with new titles, but has also evolved beyond the bookstore, providing wholesome and balanced pet food, a line of delicious, nutritious food that makes it easier to bring people together around the table for healthy meals, movies, television, licensed gifts, and digital offerings, all of which are inspired by stories. Chicken Soup for the Soul is “changing the world one story at a time.®” For more information visit www.chickensoup.com.