Still Thankful, Still Learning

Happy Monday!  I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving holiday with your family and friends.  Thanksgiving doesn't need to stop, though.  It should be an everyday attitude.  A thankful heart leads to positivity.  Positivity leads to productivity. Productivity leads to goals being met. Goals being met, leads to dreams come true.  If we are thankful to the Lord God, seeking His Will for our lives, He may give us new goals and new dreams, but He will help us to fulfill the purposes He created us for.

Leading up to Thanksgiving, my husband and I took a trip for his work to North Carolina.  We took a few extra days to visit family and friends.  A couple of those days were spent at a cabin in the mountains, where I had several hours of alone time.  Can anyone guess what I did?  I edited my first three chapters of my novel Hope for Charity.  Then I sent them off to two beta readers.  I then started researching how to write an Author Bio and began that.  Its harder to do, than I thought it would be. What is best for Literary Agents,  Publishers and Readers to know about me?  A good question, but no easy answer.

One of the things I read, when researching Author Bio's, was that it is good for Writer's to have won contests, so they can add their wins in the Bio...ummm...so off I go researching Writer contests.  Next thing I know, I am writing a short story, due this Friday.  Wow, am I crazy?  My plate is soooo full already, but the story came to my mind, so why not write it down? Will I win the contest?  I think I have a chance, but I am sure the competition will be fierce.  There is also another contest, where I can submit 6 of my poems.  So, if you have any favorites from the poems I have posted, I would love to know.  It might help me choose my 6 to submit. 

I am also in the process of designing my website.  I am very excited about this.  It should make finding me on all my social media sites easier and I can do some other things, I have been wanting to do, too, like start a quarterly newsletter.  I'll let you know, when its up and running.

Thanksgiving was a great time to visit and play with the family.  I actually had three Thanksgiving dinners, "Fishgiving" with my family on the Gulf Coast (can you guess what we ate?), Thanksgiving with my husband's family. Then, we had Thanksgiving dinner with all our children, their spouses and their children. Guess who has some more extra weight to lose..., if we didn't have so many great cooks, in the family, I wouldn't be facing this problem. 😄

Well, time to get to work. May God Bless you and your family. Thanks for stopping by!


In Christ,


Sandy

The Christy Award 2018-Follow-Up and Thanksgiving Message

Happy Monday Morning! I'm glad you could make it.  It seems that for some reason the last 2 week's blog posts were seen by very few of you.  So, here are the links, if you missed seeing them. 

October 29,2018   November 5, 2018

Warning: The balanced life post was a tad (majorly) too long, so you may want to read that one in bite size pieces.  (I am working on improving my wordiness.)

Last week, I talked about @TheChristyAward2018 gala that was to take place on Nov. 7th, well it has come and gone.  I focused on the Historical Romance category and last year's winner of "Book of the Year".  

The 2018 winners, for those categories are...

Drum roll please:

The winner of #TheChristyAward2018, in the genre of Historical Romance is:

The Lacemaker

by Laura Frantz 

(Revell/Baker Publishing Group)

Congratulations #laurafrantz (@laurafrantz) and #Revell/BakerPublishingGroup (@Revell/BakerPublishingGroup)!!👏👏👏  Your accomplishment is worth celebrating!  🎉🎉🎉

The other ladies nominated also need to be recognized for their outstanding work:

#ToWageHerHeart by #TameraAlexander  👏👏👏 and

#ADangerousLegacy by #ElizabethCamden 👏👏👏


Writing a Novel, Editing a Novel, Getting that Novel recognized, published, marketed and known around the world is NO SMALL FEAT!  I am at the beginning of learning this process.  I have nothing but admiration for all of these women and men who accomplish this.  In fact, since I have begun to realize the massive amount of work it takes to see this dream realized, I have developed a little bit of a pet peeve, when I hear someone talk about how expensive books can be.  It can take literally years to make that book happen.  I don't think I will ever complain about the price of a book again! But I digressed, so back to the topic at hand....

The Christy Award 2018 "Book of the Year" Winner!

Drum roll please:

True to You

by Becky Wade 

(Bethany House/Baker Publishing Group)

Congratulations, @BeckyWade and @BethanyHouse/BakerPublishingGroup!  What an awesome accomplishment!  You must be proud to have won The Christy Award 2018 "Book of the Year".  You were chosen among so many STELLAR Authors, you must feel so honored! 🎈🎉🎈🎉👏👏👏

Knowing that these Authors are Christian Authors, I cannot neglect to say that the Lord God deserves ALL the Glory.  He is the One who blesses us with our gifts, talents, accomplishments, opportunities and triumphs.  We can celebrate the people, as long as we remember to recognize the One who made it all possible, The Lord Jesus.  Thank you, Lord, for blessing our world with these talented Writer's.

 If you are interested in the winners for the other genres, follow this link.

Before I move on, I would like to take a moment to say THANK YOU VETERANS!!! I am very thankful for you and your many sacrifices for the cause of FREEDOM!!!

Speaking of thankfulness...

Thanksgiving- In 1863 President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed Thanksgiving as a National Holiday.  The day it is on has changed a few times for various reasons over the years, but a day for Thanksgiving is still nationally recognized.  I find it interesting that we were in the middle of the Civil War, when President Lincoln made this proclamation.  When we are in the midst of difficult situations, even as difficult as a war, God is still good and He deserves to be thanked for all He does for us.  Everyone in this world, whether they believe or not, experience some sort of blessings every day of their lives.  We all too often complain about the bad, but forget to be thankful for the good.  Thanksgiving Day is not Turkey Day, we may eat Turkey, but if that is all that day means to you, then I highly recommend you count your blessings and give credit to the One who deserves it, The Lord God Almighty.

Abraham Lincoln's Thanksgiving Proclamation

On October 3, 1863, in the third fall of the Civil War, President Lincoln issued a proclamation:

I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, …, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him …, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to his tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility and Union.

President Abraham Lincoln's Thanksgiving Proclamation, published on July 15, 1863.

Library of Congress image

President Lincoln's words are applicable even today, these many years later.  I pray we will all take them to heart, this Thanksgiving and always.

May God bless you and your family this Thanksgiving.  

In Christ,

Sandy

P.S.

Next Monday, I plan to take the week off in celebration of the Thanksgiving holiday.  So, no new blog next week, but if you really miss me, go catch up on some old posts you may have missed.

"Excellence in Christian Fiction"-The Christy Awards 2018

Good Monday morning!  I hope you are all well and ready for the week ahead.  I want to jump right into our subject today, The Christy Awards 2018.  The Awards Gala is coming up in just a couple days.

November 7, 2018 at 7 pm
Lipscomb University, Nashville

Some of you may not know what I'm talking about.  Here is a quote from The Christy Award website:    

"Since 1999, The Christy Awards have honored Christian novels of excellence, imagination, and creativity.

The Christy Award™ is designed to nurture and encourage creativity and quality in the writing and publishing of fiction written from a Christian worldview and showcase the diversity of genres.

The Award is named for Catherine Marshall’s enduring bestselling novel, Christy, published in 1967 and inspiring a continuing book series and a CBS television series starring Kellie Martin. The novel was released in 2017 in a 50th anniversary legacy edition by Gilead Publishing in partnership with Kregel Publications."

As you see, winning #theChristyAwards is a major honor.  Even being nominated for this award is an honor.  The nominated Authors have been chosen for a specific published novel.  This is not an award encompassing an Authors whole career.

Because I am a Historical Romance Writer, I want to focus on the Historical Romance books nominated.  Check out the website, if you have a different genre that is more to your taste. You may want to see which ones in your favorite genre have been nominated.  I personally will want read the three chosen in my category and also the one that wins Book of the Year.  Here is the website to see all the nominations.

The nominations for  Historical Romance Fiction are:

Out of these three Authors, @tameraalexander is the one I "know" best.  She has been a long time favorite of mine.  I definitely recommend her books.  That being said, I am sure that @elizabethcamden and @laurafrantz are both deserving of the honor of their nominations as well. Having had the chance to meet so many Authors at the #acfw2018 conference, seeing how they help each other and cheer each other on, I am sure that these three ladies will be happy for whomever receives this award.

Meet the Authors:

#ElizabethCamden

From her website: 

Short Biography-

"Elizabeth Camden is a research librarian at a small college in central Florida. Her novels have won the coveted RITA and Christy Awards. She has published several articles for academic publications and is the author of four nonfiction history books. Her ongoing fascination with history and love of literature have led her to write inspirational fiction. Elizabeth lives with her husband near Orlando, Florida."

Her nominated novel:

A Dangerous Legacy by Elizabeth Camden (Bethany House/Baker Publishing Group) 

You can find out more about her book and how to purchase it here.

#laurafrantz

From her website: 

"Laura Frantz is a Christy Award finalist and the ECPA bestselling author of several books, including The Frontiersman’s Daughter, Courting Morrow Little, The Colonel’s Lady, The Mistress of Tall Acre, A Moonbow Night, and The Ballantyne Legacy series. She lives and writes in a log cabin in the heart of Kentucky."

Her nominated novel:

The Lacemaker by Laura Frantz (Revell/Baker Publishing Group)

You can find out more about her book and how to purchase it here.

#tameraalexander

From her website: 

"Tamera Alexander is a USA Today bestselling author and one of today's most popular writers of inspirational historical romance. She lives in Nashville, Tennessee with her husband, not far from the Southern mansions that serve as the backdrop for many of her critically-acclaimed novels."

Her nominated novel:

To Wager her Heart by Tamera Alexander (Zondervan)

You can find out more about her book and how to purchase it here:

So, there you have it, the nominations for The Christy Awards 2018 in the category of Historical Romance.  The winners should be announced November 7, 2018.  I plan to let you know who won in the Historical Romance category and who won the award for Christy Book of the Year next Monday.

One more Author that should be mentioned, is last year's Christy Book of the Year winner: Charles Martin.  Congratulations to him for his win last year!  I am looking forward to reading his book, also.

#charlesmartin

http://charlesmartinbooks.com/about

Long Way Gone by Charles Martin (Thomas Nelson) 

You can find out more about his book and how to purchase it here.

Congratulations to all @TheChristyAwards2018 nominees.  👏👏👏  To be part of such an amazing group of Authors, is quite an honor.  I pray the Lord God will use each of you, your work, your testimonies, to bring Him much glory.  

Old Business:

Last week, I failed to mention the winner of our contest to see who would win #JodieWolfe 's ebook To Win Her Heart. Congratulations to Kathryn on your win! I plan to contact you soon, to get your information to Jodie so she can get you your new ebook.  🎉🎉🎉

I hope you all come back next week and maybe bring a friend. 😀 May God bless you and your family.

In Christ,

Sandy