It's amazing to me how long an author can work on a story, get to know her characters, spend quiet but exhilarating moments with them until a story has been crafted . . . but still not know that story the way they come to know it when others join with the story and make it their own.

I don't know if there's a more artistic way to say it, but this new process of taking something that was private and making it something that belongs to the world has been both terrifying and one of the best experiences of my life. (Terrifying in that I've received threats promising to egg my house if the story did not end up the way the reader hoped!)

This book was released a month ago, but it needed a few tweaks. I can now say, with relative confidence, that it is free of typos, that the cover art is what we envisioned, and that I am ready to continue in the wonderful and amazing process of discovering the readers for whom God intended this story be written.

Check it out. You don't need to worry that it's one of "those" self-published books. You're dealing with a perfectionist who found a perfectionist editor, who spent plenty of time researching the art of publishing and with much time on her knees in preparation. If you like Christian historical romance, and if you like interesting protagonists that tend to fall in love with flawed, but equally interesting men, and if you like that love story to point to a deeper love story that every one of us is in the process of either avoiding or building with our Savior, then this book is for you. If you like twists and turns and not exactly knowing what might happen on the next page, this book is for you. If you like all of this with a reminder of the beauty of the Gospel, it's for you.

So check it out. And spread the word. And let me know what you think.

Find it here!

Advanced Quick Tips for Writers

If you know that glorious moment when you write THE END on the final page of your novel, you know that after the high wears off, you have more work to do.

Writing the rough draft is an act of complete creativity. All of your soul should be poured into those 70,000 - 100,000 words you've typed into your computer. Now it's time to take a surgical knife to your soul.

This isn't as scary as it sounds. You're not trimming the parts that will someday make you an example of genius in literature. You're cutting the stuff that distracts people from really experiencing your unique voice.

The greatest writer in the world will still have these problems in a rough draft. Even though I've noticed I have less to edit as the years go by, I still have plenty. And if I'm not convinced it's there, my editor is always happy to point it out! :)

These are four tips with examples that will give you a polished, professional edge with your manuscript:

1. DON'T BE PASSIVE
2. LOOK FOR "WAS"
3. NO CLICHES!
4. GIVE A POSITIVE SPIN

Look at the examples in the illustration for more info. Remember, you aren't cutting your genius moments. But you do want to edit out the parts that whisper of amateur. And you want to cut anything that doesn't change or define the plot or characters.

Happy writing!

Where We Belong is available now in print!

Where We Belong is available in print or Kindle
amazon.com

I'll let you in on a little secret, Where We Belong is available TODAY in print! (Official release is September 1, 2015.) You can order your copy today for 12.99 or preorder your Kindle version for 4.99.

Enjoy!