Good Morning! by Joyce Hart

Good morning to all our faithful blog followers. I looked at the calendar and what do you know, it’s my day to write the blog.

I was thinking about all the things I’m thankful for this past year. I’m thankful for my family and for the good times we’ve had together. I’m thankful for the success of my spinal surgery, I’m able to walk pretty well and I have virtually no pain. I’m thankful for the Hartline Literary Agents; we have the best agents in the industry. They work so hard and do such a good job for our clients. I’m thankful for our church, the pastoral staff and all my friends. As I sat in the congregation last Sunday, I was surrounded by really good friends. What a blessing. I’m also thankful that we haven’t had snow yet this year in Pennsylvania!!

I’m sure some of you have had a lot to be thankful for, but some have had hard trials in this year. I hope that you were able to trust God though it all. I know for sure Sandi Rog is going through the hardest trial of her life probably, and I appreciate all your prayers and support for the Rog family. Thanks to those of you who bought her book.

Jim is teaching a class in Sunday School about Heaven and the afterlife. He’s using Randy Alcorn’s book, Heaven. It is so fascinating and encouraging. I sat next to a friend whose granddaughter was murdered by her boyfriend a couple years ago. A grandmother trying to make some sense out of this terrible tragedy and needing hope about what the afterlife is really like. We, in the church, don’t preach a whole lot about heaven. We know we want to go there and we know we’ll be with the Lord for all eternity but what is it really like? What will we do in Heaven? Just sing praises for all of eternity? Not according to Randy’s book. We’ll be busy and have jobs, it won’t be boring. Of course, best of all we’ll be with our Heavenly Father.

Please pray for Diana Flegal today. Her beloved dad is on his death bed. He will soon be in the presence of Jesus and know the glories of Heaven. He’ll be rejoicing, but the family will be missing him terribly.

As we move into December I pray that in spite of all of the hustle and bustle of the season you will have time to enjoy your families and friends. I hope that decorating the house, buying gifts, baking cookies and church programs will be fun and not a dreaded chore.

Philippians 4:6 & 7 LB says “Don’t worry about anything, instead, pray about everything; tell God your needs and thank him for his answers. If you do this you till experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will keep your thoughts and your hearts quiet and at rest as you trust in Christ Jesus”.

May God bless and keep you in His care,

Joyce

Register today to attend this live webinar from Writers Digest by Joyce Hart.

How to Get Published in the Inspirational and Christian Markets Live Webinar

By Guest Speaker: Joyce Hart	Item No. #W1474
Format: Live Webinar Registration
Price: $79.00

!
Session date: Thursday, December 2, 2010
Starting time: 1:00 pm Eastern
Duration: 75 minutes
Each registration comes with access to the archived version of the program and the materials for 1 year. If you are not able to attend the live webinar but sign up beforehand, you still receive the critique as well the archived recording. For more information CLICK HERE

Momentum by Diana's client and Guest blogger Aaron Gansky

Momentum Part 1

Momentum, in context of writing, really covers two different ideas, one pertaining to the discipline of the craft, and the other to the craft itself. Next week, I’ll look at the role that momentum should play in fiction. This week, however, I wanted to look at how momentum affects the discipline of the craft.

Every time I mention the “discipline” of the craft, someone somewhere cringes. It used to be a term I threw around rather lightly, but I’ve since learned that several artists have a strong disliking for the word. By far, the most comments I’ve received since embarking on my weekly blog, was on “the habit of art” as Flannery O’Connor put it. I reinterpreted it loosely as the discipline of the craft. Many artists feel that “discipline” or “habit” or “writing when you don’t feel like it” is detrimental to the art itself, that it robs it of passion. While I hear their earnest dissent, I stand resolutely in favor of discipline. By far, the number one thing that ends a writing career before it begins is the lack of discipline. No publisher has ever paid for an incomplete novel. Go ahead, check the books.

So then, our first task as writers must be to complete a project. Once done, then we can revise and check to make sure that passion we feel for the project is clear on every page. But here’s the catch—the longer you spend not writing, the more your passion wanes. Stephen King backs me up on this. In his book On Writing, he discusses the importance of writing daily. When you do so, he asserts, you remain immersed in the world and it takes a much shorter amount of time to delve into that world each day, and to keep the passion for that world, those characters, and that story alive and well. If you think of the writing of a novel as a relationship, what kind of relationship would you have if you didn’t daily spend time with your significant other? Would your novel divorce you on the grounds of abandonment? I reckon many of ours would. I have several failed novels. I often think about going back and finishing them, but every time I do, I worry. I’ve been away from them so long, it’s like I don’t even know them anymore. I would have to start from scratch.

Make it your goal to spend time in your novel every day. Take a day off if you have to, but never more than two in a row. Monitor how long it takes you to get back into the swing of writing after a few days off—it’s infinitely harder. What you’ll find with consistency is that your passion will increase, as will your word count, as will the quality of your writing. So, stop reading this, and get on your skateboard, and take the plunge down the hill. Get that momentum working for you. Your novel will thank you.

Thank you Aaron for posting with us today. You can stop by Aaron's blog, for the second part of this series. http://adgansky.wordpress.com/

Stay warm dear reader.

From my heart to yous,
Diana

Register today to attend this live webinar from Writers Digest by Joyce Hart.

How to Get Published in the Inspirational and Christian Markets Live Webinar

By Guest Speaker: Joyce Hart	Item No. #W1474
Format: Live Webinar Registration
Price: $79.00

!
Session date: Thursday, December 2, 2010
Starting time: 1:00 pm Eastern
Duration: 75 minutes
Each registration comes with access to the archived version of the program and the materials for 1 year. If you are not able to attend the live webinar but sign up beforehand, you still receive the critique as well the archived recording. For more information CLICK HERE

Thanksgiving thoughts - by Terry Burns

Shortly before her death at the ripe old age of 96 my mother, Ruth Burns, said of her life: “I’ve never been hurt, never been abused, have had pretty good health, and walked with Jesus all of my life, I just don’t see how anyone could ask for more.”

What a great testimony on a wonderful woman and what a great way to cut through to what is really important in life. During the election coverage someone, I forget who, was talking about the fact that there are two kinds of people in this world, givers and havers. The givers are concerned with what they can share with others and the havers are involved with collecting as much as they can. The one making the point said that not many years ago there was no such thing as self storage units and now it seems they are on every corner. Clearly most of us have become havers.

Mother was a giver, always concerned more with others than herself. She grew up in times when they didn’t have much, but they didn’t want much, so they always felt their needs were met. Saundra’s family was the same and we were raised that way. We don’t have much by worldly standards but consider ourselves immensely blessed. When we find we no longer need something, or when we were dealing with Mother’s possessions after she passed, we sold very little. Instead item by item it went to people who needed it. We love knowing that she was still having an impact on people’s lives and we were as well. And so many people have a little something they can remember her by.

This is the time of the year when everybody writes notes about how we should be thankful, that it is the real reason of the holiday, not just eating turkey and watching football. But are we just parroting the words? When we count our blessings the big ones are not what we have but how we have been allowed to share our lives and our faith with others. Mother didn’t just talk about it, she lived it, and we are trying so hard to live up to that example.

We are indeed blessed in so many ways, and like her, I just don’t see how anyone could ask for more.

Hartline Authors Make CBA Bestseller List!

We are pleased to announce that two of our authors have earned places on the CBA bestseller list this month.



Suzanne Fisher is #11 with THE WAITING, Bk 2 In the Lancaster County Secrets series, published by Revell. Joyce represents Suzanne.










Lynette Eason is #13 with TOO CLOSE TO HOME, a romantic
suspense novel from Revell. Tamela is proud to represent Lynette.









Hartline is honored to be a part of so many authors' ministries, bringing excellent Christian books to the reading public. To God be the glory when our authors earn the loyalty and respect of readers everywhere.

Congratulations, Suzanne and Lynette!

Register today to attend this live webinar from Writers Digest by Joyce Hart.

How to Get Published in the Inspirational and Christian Markets Live Webinar

By Guest Speaker: Joyce Hart	Item No. #W1474
Format: Live Webinar Registration
Price: $79.00

!
Session date: Thursday, December 2, 2010
Starting time: 1:00 pm Eastern
Duration: 75 minutes
Each registration comes with access to the archived version of the program and the materials for 1 year. If you are not able to attend the live webinar but sign up beforehand, you still receive the critique as well the archived recording. For more information CLICK HERE

Correcting the Bible - by Terry Burns

I have a Bible with really big margins, perfect for making notes transferred from Bible to Bible over the years as I have studied it and listened to sermons and Sunday School teachers. Yes, at 68 I still go to Sunday school, teaching a little when I can. When I wear a Bible out it can take me weeks to move into the new one, transferring all these notes.

On a recent visit my grandson saw me studying and making notes and asked me if I was correcting it. The way he said it made me think he was expecting me to mark the errors that I saw and maybe mark a big grade in red letters at the top. I laughed, of course, then told him no, that it was the Word of God and was perfect. I said the notes were for me, that even though the Bible is without error, my understanding of it can be faulty. When someone told me something or I found something that helped me better understand, I wanted a note to help me remember it and I wanted that note right where it could be of the most use to me.

Oh, over the years I've had people complain when they saw me writing in it, people who consider it too sacred to desecrate in that manner. I understand where they are coming from, but I don't worship the Bible, I worship the one whose words it contains. Besides, which shows a higher regard for it, someone who has a pristine, unblemished Bible held in high regard, or someone who considers it the ultimate textbook and guide for life using it and working in it and taking any means or method of finding greater understanding?

I tried to explain this to my grandson, that making such notes didn't show a lack of respect for the Bible, but an intense desire to more and more make it a VERY PERSONAL book.

I hope he got it.

This big Bible is my main repository even if I am using other resources in my study. But it isn't my favorite. I have s small Bible given to me by my mother on the day I was baptized over 50 years ago. It is a full Bible, but is scarcely larger than most New Testaments. Needless to say the print is very small, very hard for these old eyes, but I have always carried it, and usually have it with me as I still carry it each day in my briefcase. It is an old friend and has seen me through a lot.

So if you see me over there writing in the margins (when I can find room) don't bother to chastise me about it. I'm not doing it out of a lack of respect, but out of a strong desire to get closer to the Word.

Asking for prayer for Sandi Rog, one of Joyce's clients

Asking for prayer for Sandi Rog, one of my clients.

As some of you might know from being on Facebook, Sandi Rog has been diagnosed with cancer. Her publisher has a generous offer that I want to pass along to you.

Sandi’s first novel THE MASTER’S WALL was just released a couple weeks ago by DeWard Publishing. Here is Daniel’s letter:

“Hey all,

This is Daniel DeGarmo with DeWard Publishing Company.
I'm sure all of you are aware of Sandi Rog's latest battle (with cancer - Type T-cell Lymphoma) that just began last week.
As you can imagine, she's devastated, especially considering the timing of all this as her first novel just released last Monday.

Well, considering we are a small publishing company and can pretty much do whatever we want, my business partner and I have agreed to donate an additional $1 per book to a Fund that I'll be setting up this week.
Just so no one thinks we are being shady about the whole deal, this is above and beyond the royalties that Sandi (and her agent) is already incurring with every book sold.


The purpose of this fund is to help out Sandi's family (husband and children) while she is laid up fighting for her life.

What I need from you is simply spread the word. For every copy of "The Master's Wall" that is sold (including Kindle) we will donate $1 to this Fund.
I'll also be setting it up so that it can receive regular donations if anyone is interested in just helping out financially.

I hope to have more information to share in the next day or so but at least for now I would ask that you would do whatever you can do direct people to buy Sandi's book.

Sandi has been copied on this email.....Sandi..Please forward this message on to anyone you think would help us out in getting the word out.
The same goes for you if you've received this email.

I want to close by lifting the following prayer up on Sandi's behalf:

Father, I lift my sister before you as her body has been stricken with disease.
You know, O God, that she has used her gifts to glorify You and spread your wonderful message of grace and love.
It is my humble plea that you would bring her healing and complete recovery. I know You can do this, You are the Great Physician.
Please bring Your Spirit into her home as her husband and children continue to live life without her there. They need You.
May all that is done bring You glory as our God and Father.
In Jesus' name - AMEN!

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask.

Dan”

Sandi is home from the hospital, but is exhausted from the chemo. She would appreciate hearing words of encouragement, so give her a holler on Facebook. Thank you for your prayers for a fellow author.

In His service,
Joyce

Writing at the Ranch by Terry Burns

Saundra and I just returned from spending most of the week at the "Writing at the Ranch" Christian Writer's Conference at the Ghost Ranch outside of Abique New Mexico. It was a wonderful experience. No cell service and limited email service so it is more of a retreat. It seemed an inconvenience at first but then I came to understand that it was a blessing.

For me the zenith of the event was visiting with Bruce Wilkerson and hearing him give an awesome presentation. It was based on his book "For This You Were Made." Opened up our minds to new avenues in our lives. This is a picture of him signing a book for my wife Saundra.




During the course of the week attendees were teamed up with mentors and worked each day on a short piece for inclusion in an anthology that will be published following the conference. I had three writers in my group and the quality of their work was exceptional so I am sure the others will be as well. There will be material in it from some well published authors as well as be the initial publishing credit for some very talented new people. Great project.

During the event I decided to retire one of the programs I have been offering but as a result of meeting with a number of people have launched a new one to take its place. It is titled "It isn't my job to sell your manuscript," but quickly goes on to say it will be much more successful if it is 'OUR' job. I go into my 'team approach' concept for representing authors. I wrote the basic course outline as Saundra drove on the way home and it has already been booked into two conferences. Life is fun.

The quality of the pitches that were made to me were very good as was all of the content of the various programs and workshops.

I was pressed into service to read some of my cowboy poetry at the Friday night event and it was pretty well received. By that I mean nobody pelted the stage with anything.

If you are looking to get a conference on your calendar for next year I strongly recommend this one both as conference and as a retreat. There is a limit to the number they can take so you might want to get it on your schedule. You can find out more at http://classeminars.org/Events/Writers-Conference/

The Importance of Writing and Speaking Guest Interview with Diana's Client Elaine W. Miller

Author Elaine W. Miller was recently interviewed by Shona of Step Up, a writing and speaking service blog.

The following interview is a slightly edited version.

Shona: Elaine, tell us your story, and why you started teaching workshops on writers becoming speakers.

Elaine: Years ago I pondered the question, “Are you a writer who speaks or a speaker who writes?” I believe we need to be both because as writers, we will be asked to speak. Writers have tales to tell or we wouldn’t write. No one else knows our stories, and we need to share them on the written page as well as on a stage.

Being a writer or a speaker was not on my life’s “to do” list. But God had other plans. Over 25 years ago, to my surprise and horror, I received my first speaking invitation. I had never spoken in public and rarely voiced my opinion in private. But there I was behind a podium with 660 eyes looking at me. I spoke and, to my surprise, I didn’t die nor did anyone else. In fact, it went well, and doors opened to other invitations to speak.

In 2005 my first book, Splashes of Serenity: Bathtime Reflections for Drained Moms was published. When you become an author, some people consider you an authority. I remember my first radio interview. I was introduced as “an authority on parenting.” I gasped and replied, “I am not an authority on anything, but I know Someone Who is, and He’s written a Book. The Bible is the only authority.” Becoming an author opens wide the speaking doors. Now you have a voice on radio, television, the newspapers, and at speaking events.

Colossians 3:23-24 says, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart…. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” When I wanted to write a book, I attended Montrose Christian Writer's Conference so I could learn the publishing business and how to write with excellence. After my book was published and requests for speaking increased, I decided to attend Carol Kent’s Speak Up With Confidence speaker’s training. Carol’s teaching took my speaking to another level. She taught me to speak with all my heart because it is the Lord Christ I am serving.

I started teaching workshops on writers becoming speakers, because I have a passion to lead people to Christ and to lead Christians into a deeper relationship with Him. Writers have opportunities to impact the world for Christ through their books and from behind a microphone. I teach to encourage writers to tell their stories. We have a platform that can change a person’s life. We need to run to those speaking opportunities and not run away from them.

Shona: What are the benefits to someone who both writes and speaks when it comes to their audiences?

Elaine: What a relief to get away from the glare of my computer and look into the eyes of real people—the ones whom God brought to hear the Good News. Speaking encourages me to keep writing when I meet people face to face, pray with them, and hear them say, “God used your book [or your talk] to change me.”

Of course, there is also the benefit of selling books. When people meet you, they see your heart, and they want to buy your books. I don’t think any writer goes through the hours of labor to birth a book so no one will read it. We want our books to be read—to matter—to make a difference in lives. Speaking gets our books into the hands of people who otherwise might not read them.

Shona: What are the benefits when it comes to working with publishing houses and print media?

Elaine: Every time I pitch a book to a publisher, I am asked “Do you speak on the subject of your book? How many times a year do you speak? How large is your audience?” Plus, those are standard questions we answer in our book proposals. The bottom line is: speakers sell books, and publishers are looking for authors who sell books. If you speak, you increase the possibility of seeing your book in a reader’s hands.

Shona: Do you have any advice for a writer who is struggling with the thought of having to develop their speaking skills?

Elaine: Oh, yes! I struggled with speaking. I read that 80 percent of the population fears speaking, so you are not alone.

Go to the Lord. Daily surrender your life to God and commit to being obedient to speak and to write for Him.

Surround yourself with a prayer team who will faithfully pray for you and your ministry.

Please know that not everyone is an energetic and entertaining communicator, but that doesn’t mean God won’t use you. I attended a retreat where the speaker was not dynamic, but she was sincere. She spoke from her heart, and her heart was filled with Jesus. All weekend I heard testimony of how God used her words to minister to the needs of the audience.

It is good to remember that we are not divas—we are servants. A servant leads people to Christ with her Christ-filled heart. Speak from your heart and allow God to do the rest.

Last, please attend a speaker’s conference where you will receive the training and the confidence to speak with excellence. There are many to choose from and they are worth the cost.

Shona: Are there any closing thoughts you'd like to share?

Elaine: We can write great books, prepare amazing talks, be articulate Bible scholars; but unless our audiences see love in our lives, unless they see Jesus in us, we are only resounding gongs. No one wants to be a resounding gong. The key to effective speaking and writing is Jesus living in us and filling our minds and our hearts until God’s love overflows from our tongues, our pens, and our lives into the hearts of people.

Prayer is another key. Pray, pray, pray, and pray some more. God knows the hearts of your audience. He knows what happened to them this week. He knows their doubts and their fears. Ask Him to reveal that to you and guide you to speak what the audience needs to hear.

Concentrate on ministering—not on performing—and speaking will become a joy to you. I know it has to me. If anyone would like to contact me, I would love hearing from you.

~~~

Elaine W. Miller is an author and speaker who loves sharing the hope of Christ with her audience. A member of the Advanced Writers and Speakers Association, she is author of two books: Splashes of Serenity: Bathtime Reflections for Drained Moms and Bathtime Reflections for Drained Wives. She has been a featured guest on radio and TV and on faculty of the Montrose Christian Writer's Conference and the Upstate New York Christian Writers' Gathering. Elaine live in Rome, NY with her husband, Dan. They are blessed with three adult children and seven lively grandchildren. To learn more about Elaine, please see her website, www.SplashesofSerenity.com or her blog. She would love to connect with you on Facebook or Twitter @ Elaine W. Miller.

Thank you Elaine and Shona for allowing us to re post this encouraging interview.

Happy Fall you all.

From my heart to yours,

Diana

Targeted Submissions? by Terry Burns

Many years ago I was the host at the Panhandle Professional Writers conference for NY agent Donald Maass. Nice guy. That meant I was with him for the whole conference. I also had an appointment with him late in the conference. By the time of the appointment I knew I wasn't a good fit for him as a client. I also knew that pitching an agent or an editor without doing the research and knowing that they are at the very least a solid possibility is not only a waste of time, but it is burning a bridge that later with the right pitch might have been a good possibility. I also learned not to try and go after the houses that required an agented submission even if I got a chance to do so, because the odds again were so high of burning a bridge that might later be useful. I stayed with small and mid-list houses that were set up to work with authors.

Getting to spend that time with him reshaped my approach to submissions. I quit just going through the market guide submitting to anybody who remotely listed the genre, but started doing the legwork to try and prove the market was there. Then I found out the reasons I came up with that told me the market was there controlled the way the pitch was structured, were the things the editor or agent needed to hear. I started getting published, and helped some of my friends get published. I owe Donald big time even though he never offered to represent me.

Then I was recruited to be an agent myself. I work with a base of editorial contacts and when I look at submissions I try to find things I know they are looking for. Targeting. Most agents come from a publishing background, being editors or marketing, or some function in the industry. The fact that I came from the writing side gave me some ground to make up in some areas, but gave me some strong insight in other areas. I still think a lot like a writer and don't like to tie a project up if I can't see a good place to go with it.

If I like projects I keep a substantial database on them even if I didn't have a place for them, and if I run across a market will sometimes get back to them to see if a project is still available. If it is we take a fresh look at it. If not I congratulate them, getting published is after all what we're trying to accomplish.

Targeting is the whole ballgame. For me, just submitting to a house I think is appropriate isn't enough. I have to know what editor I'm submitting to and why I think they are the right person to pitch. I not only want an editor that will be favorable to a project, but I want one that will love it and go fight for it in committee. I want an editor that wants it out there as much as my client and I do. My clients help me find those connections that can give a submission that little something extra, a team effort. They meet editors out and about too.

It's a very personal process.

Happy Veterans Day

Thank you to all the brave Men and Women that have served in our Military, allowing us the Great Freedoms we live with on a daily basis.






America's veterans embody the ideals upon which America was founded more than 229 years ago. -Steve Buyer


"Freedom is never free." -Author Unknown

"How important it is for us to recognize and celebrate our heroes and she-roes!" -Maya Angelou

"When our perils are past, shall our gratitude sleep?" -George Canning

"This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave." -Elmer Davis

"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them." -John Fitzgerald Kennedy


"We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude." -Cynthia Ozick

With Gratitude,

Hartline Literary Agency

Diana Flegal: Agent of Change on Writer's Coach Radio!

This week on Writer's Coach Radio! here me talk with host Eddie Jones about my take on what I look for at Conferences, my views on writing and breaking into the publishing industry.

Hope I spoke a word of encouragement to you.

If you want to learn more about Writer's Coach Radio or see about filling a guest slot on the show, please go to the link provided here.



Writer's Coach Radio and our coaching services.

Thanks to Eddie Jones for allowing me to share with him here.

Stay warm and may your heart be full of Thankfulness,

Diana

The Power of Christian Fiction by Terry Burns

In Mark 4:9-12 it says, "And he said unto them, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. And when he was alone, they that were about him with the twelve asked him of the parable. And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the Kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables: That seeing they may see, and not perceive, and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins forgiven them."

Jesus taught in parables to reach those who were not versed in the word, those who might not be saved. He did it because the parables spoke to people in terms they could understand. Today this concept is why people write Christian fiction. To wrap Biblical principles in a good story that will maintain the attention of the reader and will put the principles in terms the reader will identify with.

It doesn't mean all Christian fiction will contain a strong message or even a salvation message. The degree of faith content can range along a scale of a very strong message to very little faith content at all. What is important is that it engages the reader, pulls him into the story and keeps him there so he wants to read more of the same.

It is the process of planting seeds, and a very small seed can grow to be a mighty plant. I've been involved in the planting of seeds for a long time. I seldom get to be in on the harvest, those in the ministry get much more of that, though I cherish the few times I have been privileged to be in on the harvest. Yet those who do harvest are dependent on those who plant the seeds and nurture them along the way until the harvest is nigh. This is the business of the Christian fiction writer, to plant and nourish . . .

. . . and above all else, tell a good story that will leave them wanting more.

Hartline Authors shortlisted in INSPY Awards!

We are excited to announce that two of our authors have been shortlisted in the inaugural INSPY Awards, the bloggers’ award for excellence in faith-driven literature.

In the Romance/Romantic Suspense category:

Blood Ransom by Lisa Harris, Zondervan, 1^st April, 2010

Lisa Harris is represented by Joyce. Lisa is the author of 12 books and 6 novellas. Her web site: www.lisaharriswrites.com Follow her blog from her web site, From the Heart of Africa, for interesting stories about lions, tigers, elephants, zebras, beautiful birds, their ministry, Lisa’s writing, her kids lives, all kinds of interesting stories. She offers contests & giveaways from time to time. It’s an interesting and fun blog. Lisa and her family are home on furlough for the next few months.

In the Amish Fiction category:

An Honest Love by Kathleen Fuller, Thomas Nelson, 16^th March, 2010

Kathleen Fuller is represented by Tamela. Kathleen is the author of 11 novels, two tween/young adult books, and four novellas. Read excerpts from Kathleen’s books, learn about new and upcoming titles, see her book covers, visit links, and much more at http://www.kathleenfuller.com.

As told to us in a press release from Lisa’s publisher, Zondervan, “On Dec. 13, the first annual INSPY winners will be announced. The INSPY (derived from the word “inspirational”) awards focus on books that are of an exceptional literary quality and have a faith-based element. The Advisory Board, avid bloggers and book lovers, created the INSPY Awards and are responsible for narrowing down the nominations into shortlists. The Board also reviews judge applications and choose whom they feel best understands the vision of the INSPYs. To learn more, visit www.inspys.com.”

Congratulations, Ladies! All of us at Hartline are so proud of you!

Are traditional books on their way out? by Terry Burns

Probably. But if so, when?

Scribes sitting in dark rooms transcribing books and writings finally went away, but it took how long? The Gutenberg press was invented about 1441 and the Chinese had a printing press as early as 593, so it took thousands of years for the handwritten version to go away.

The paperback book was supposed to kill the hardback. I mean. The price alone is enough to do it, right? No, they continue to sell and will continue to as long as libraries and textbooks exist and as long as people who have nice personal collections prefer them. The paperback turned out to be a new but separate market.

But then came audio books and surely no one would want either version of the printed word if all they have to do is sit and listen to them. Truck drivers, vision impaired people and on the road salesmen embraced this technology eagerly, but wow, again it was a separate market and did not affect the other two.

We’ve seen DVD’s come and who would read a book when they can have a movie of it right in their own house. Actually I know people that want to read the book a movie is based on either before or after they see it. Different markets.

Now it is digital, and e-readers, the ability to have hundreds of books with you all the time. After the investment in the reader the books are cheaper but in many cases going up to rival the mass-market paperback price. I said a number of years ago that the e-book would not take off until a reader base was trained to read them and comfortable with them. I thought it would be when textbooks got so expensive that the electronic media would be the obvious solution. I’m starting to see some school systems doing just that, but it turns out that readers started getting comfortable with the devices without that happening. I have a book sitting on my iphone right now that I’m reading. They are different markets and while they may have impacted the other markets some each market continues to be strong.

We haven’t seen the last of it. The hallmark of our generation is exploding technology. More and better innovations and each will find it’s place. But every time this subject comes up there are those who say they still prefer to go off with a cup of coffee or chocolate and enjoy a printed book. I read constantly material being submitted to me on my computer. In fact, I wish I had more time to read for pleasure than I do. But the fact remains that if I am reading for pleasure I like to curl up with a book though for convenience I will read them electronically.

Will they go the way of the handwritten scrolls? Maybe someday. Will it take a couple of thousand years as they did? I don’t know, but it it does I expect the Lord will have come back for us before that time so the question is academic. I am pretty sure it isn’t going to happen in my lifetime although as writers it does behoove us to keep up with the new, developing media and to try and take steps to try and get product into it. Regardless what that media is they will always need to have people to produce the stories to fill it.

Jane Kirkpatrick wins WILLA Award for Original Softcover Fiction the second time

The WILLA Literary Awards are given by the organization, Women Writing the West.  I was privileged to attend the award banquet with Jane at the WWW Conference which was held at the beautiful Rancho de los Caballeros near Wickenberg, Arizona.  The winning title is A Flickering Light published by Waterbrook Multnomah Publishing Group.

Jane is inter-nationally recognized for her lively presentations and well-researched stories that encourage and inspire.  Her works have appeared in more than 50 publications including  Decision, Private Pilot and Daily Guideposts.  Many of her sixteen novels and three nonfiction titles are based on the lives of real people or incidents set authentically in the American West.  Her first novel, A Sweetness to the Soul, won the coveted Wrangler Award from the Western Heritage Center.  Her works have been finalists for the Christy, Spur, Oregon Book Award, WILLA Literary Award and Reader’s Choice awards.  Several of her titles have been Book of the Month and Literary Guild selections. 

A Tendering in the Storm won the 2007 WILLA Literary Award for Best Original Paperback and A Flickering Light, a story based on her grandmother’s life as a turn of the century photographer, was named to Library Journal’s Best Books of 2009.

My congratulations to Jane for winning this prestigious award.

Jane’s web site is www.jkbooks.com  Sign up for her Story Sparks Newsletter on her web site.  You can also follow her blogs from her web site.  One of her blogs is her dog’s tales, www.bodaciousbothedog.blogspot.com.