The Hunger Games by Linda S. Glaz

I remember watching The Running Man with Arnold Schwarzenegger about a reality show where folks had to fight “bad” super heroes to the death. I also remember thinking, this could never happen. We’d never become a society where that was allowed.

Then came the Hunger Games. (When I first asked my youngest daughter if she’d read it, she thought it was a diet book). Don’t ever tell her I told.

Anyway, my husband and I, my daughter and her husband went to see the movie Saturday night. Again, I made the comment about the direction of our society. And I admitted I didn’t think we’d ever get to this point.

Her comment? Society has already been at this point, Mom. The coliseums. People watching. People dying. People laughing as other humans fought to the death. She brought it to my attention that we don’t have to wait to reach that point; as a grand society, man has already been there.

Okay, so I can’t tease her anymore about that “diet book.” She had her finger on the pulse of the inhumanity while I was still laughing over her naiveté. She wasn’t, after all, the naïve one.

I was.

Why Author Business Cards Are Different by Jennifer Hudson Taylor

The Rest of the World
The purpose of business cards is to promote your business--the company you work for. There is usually a small graphic for your logo and a tagline that will explain what kind of products and/or services your company provides, and your professional title will give people an idea of how you fit into that business.

If you are an author, forget the info above.

Be willing to change your mindset.

Switch gears now.

The Author World
If you are an author, you ARE the business. The author is the company. Therefore, you are going to promote yourself. Your logo is your photo.

Your products are the books you write.

Your service is the genre you write. Therefore, you need a tagline that promotes what you write--your genre or subgenre.

CBA Authors
Because the Bible calls us to be humble servants, Christian authors worry that they are exalting themselves when they promote themselves and/or their work. We worry what others will think. We worry if God will be pleased or displeased.

How can people hear about the message in our books--the stories and help that God has given us to share with others, if we don't step out in faith and promote ourselves and our work?

You can be humble and still promote yourself. Give God the glory for all your work. Never forget who is helping you along the way. Remember who opens those doors for you. Be patient and kind to others, even when you're tired and you don't feel like it. This is being called to humbleness. It is beyond putting our name and face out there to promote our books--the very gift that God has given us.

So don't be afraid to use your photo on your promotional materials. People want to connect with you. They want to know who you are and that includes what you look like. It gives them a mental image to go by and it makes them feel like they know you better. Don't worry that you aren't supermodel material. If you want to be real to people, you can't be flawless. If you want to be humble, be yourself.

What to include on an Author's Business Card
1. Email Address
Your business card doesn't need to have a postal mailing address. Save it for the sell sheets and the book proposals. Provide your email address so they can contact you and connect with you after the conference. Most people prefer email.

2. Your Photo
This helps people remember that interesting conversation they had with you so that it doesn't blur into the thousands of other conversations they might have had at the conference. Also, nothing is worse than looking for a 20-something person who no longer exists because someone hasn't updated their photo in 20+ years.

3. Website or Blog Url
Give people the ability to find out more about you if they are interested later. That way you're not trying to give out too much information to people who don't want it. Writing conferences can be overwhelming so try not to overload others with more than they can handle.

4. A Tagline
This will serve as a quick reminder of what you write without going into a detailed summary blurb. Besides, you might have written many different books, but what category do they all or most fall into? Use that if you don't have a creative tagline.

5. Your Name and/or Pen Name
If you write under a pen name, feel free to promote it, but use your real name. An editor or agent doesn't want to go around calling you Bob if your real name is Ben. Even if you don't mind, it will make them feel awkward when they discover their mistake. Help them out. They have to remember a lot of people with many different names and faces. Anything you can do to stand out from the crowd without annoying them will be a huge help and a great benefit to you.

6. Genre or Subgenre
If it isn't clear in your tagline, mention the genre or subgenre you write in. Be brief. If you write in more than one genre, simply list them. Don't worry about long explanations. Save it for your proposals.

7. Phone Number
List at least one phone number in case an agent or editor does want to call you for some reason--or maybe another author. Don't worry about listing all your numbers between your home, cell and work. Use the one that is less likely to change and where you will most likely be reached.

Some people will try to be creative with their business cards. If you can do it tastefully without making it look too busy--go for it. If you already have a customized website and/or blog, I recommend using a graphic or background that will match your online presentation since that is how most people will look you up--online.

Meet Terry's client Bonnie Calhoun

Meet Bonnie Calhoun, shown with me here at the American Christian Fiction Writer's conference right after she won the coveted "Mentor of the Year Award."

Bonnie is one busy lady. As the Owner/Director of the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance Bonnie has helped use the 220+ blogs of the Alliance to promote many titles on the Christian bestseller list. She owns and publishes the Christian Fiction Online magazine, which is devoted to readers and writers of Christian fiction. She is the Northeast Zone Director for American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW). At ACFW she was named the ‘Mentor of the Year’ for 2011, and she is the current President of (CAN) Christian Authors Network. Bonnie is also the Appointment Coordinator for both the Colorado Christian Writers Conference and the Greater Philadelphia Christian Writers Conference. In her spare time she is an avid social media junkie, and teaches Facebook, Twitter, Blogging and HTML as recreational occupations.

But the reason we seem to be seeing her everywhere right now is because of the release of her new mystery from Abingdon Press, "Cooking the Books." A delightful, fast-paced mystery with compelling characters and a twisting and turning storyline this is a book that has to be on your must read list. The book was just featured on the cover of Publisher's Weekly Magazine, the bible for the publishing industry and the source that many bookstore acquisition people and librarians use to order books. She not only got the cover, but the back and both inside cover pages as well. Amazing.

It seems like every day I am seeing another interview of her or another review showing up on her book. I've been involved in this business for a long time, and I've never seen anybody come out of the starting blocks like this. Everybody is talking about this book and you don't want to be left out. 

She has another deal set with Abingdon for a book in their "Quilts of Love" series entitled "Pieces of the Heart" set to release next August.

I predict that you're going to be seeing a lot more of this lady, even though she maintains a work schedule that will kill most of us . . .she's just getting started.

Would You Read On? hosted by Diana Flegal

Today, another brave author has offered up the first page of his/her book.

Please read and comment below. Would you read on or not?


First Page:

One rap, more of a punch than a knock, banged the outside door, then silence. RJ sprang from the bed. His feet hit the floor in time with Beau's warning bark. He had his jeans on and his flannel shirt buttoned when he opened the farmhouse portal. The worn granite step glowed in the halo of the outside lamp, but no one stood in the spotlight.

The blue merle pressed against his master's leg, his deep growl vibrating his entire body.

"What is it, Boy?" he whispered, then cleared his throat.

RJ opened the storm door and stepped out. The stone's chill seeped into the soles of his bare feet. The fog horn moaned in the damp night air. The dog plunged into the darkness. RJ followed, eyes straining into the gauze of fog wrapping around his world. "Who's there?" he called.

The muffled whack of the storm door catching the breeze answered. "Probably a bat," he said. "Come on, Beau." The dog whined and ran back to the steps. RJ pivoted and halted in mid-stride.

An arrow skewered the weathered blue door. Beau ran his nose along the projectile, growling once again. RJ's eyes touched the arrow, his hands clenched at his sides. The barbed tip and polished fiberglass screamed hunter. A professional but not a perfect shot, it sat off-center near the base of the door. A white sheet of paper uncurled from the shaft just behind the razored prongs.

"Back, Beau," he commanded, but the dog's questing nose nudged the paper and it dropped to the step.

RJ jerked his sleeves over his hands and picked up the limp roll. He flicked off the wet piece of tape and unfurled it.

Hey, Home Wrecker

Would You read on?

Last weeks courageous author was Carole Brown. You may learn more about Carole and her writing by visiting her on her blog, Sunnybank Meanderings.

Plateful of Characterization by Andy Scheer

If you are what you eat, what about your novel's characters?

Author James Joyce said, “A writer should know how much change a character has in his pockets.” Supposing that pocket change came from paying for a meal, do you know what your character ate for lunch yesterday?

That meal choice may be a good way to send clues about the character's personality.

This past month I looked at the opening chapters of a novel in which one of the POV characters, a never-married man in his early thirties, always ate the same lunch. Each noon he'd walk to the same restaurant. He never looked at the menu. And he always ordered a roast beef on rye, with horseradish on the side, and a cup of green tea—followed by a slice of blackberry pie.

Without saying anything else, the author offered strong, sensory-evocative clues to his personality.

And based on how the female restaurant manager teased Mr. Roastbeef-on-Rye for his choices, I suspect that if a relationship developed between the two, the author would signal his attitude through his lunch choice.

Baloney, you may say. But there's actually research that links sandwich preferences to personalities. Two years ago a study sponsored by Hellmann's and Best Foods conducted personality tests on 3,000 people, then correlated those findings with the people's preference of eight different sandwiches.

The study found a strong correlation between personalities and sandwich preferences, resulting in horoscope-like conclusions such as these:

Egg Salad: Egg salad enthusiasts are often the center of attention. They are entertaining and crave adventure. The best words to describe those who prefer egg salad sandwich: charming and energetic. Egg salad sandwich lovers are the "universal romantic" and they are often compatible with all sandwich lovers

Bacon, Lettuce & Tomato: BLT lovers are conscientious perfectionists. They are devoted in all areas of their lives: work, home and relationships. The best words to describe those who prefer the BLT sandwich: honest and full of integrity. BLT sandwich lovers are most compatible with those who prefer seafood salad sandwich.

Not to be outdone, this past fall a UK bread maker sponsored a similar study, examined the personalities of 2,000 Brits and determined eight “key sandwich personalities.”

“Personality traits tend to go hand-in-hand with personal habits and routines,” said researcher Dr. Elizabeth Jones. “This allows us to match the type of bread and filling a person chooses to have at lunch with a personality group. Down to earth people go for white bread, foodies prefer sandwich wraps, and people who think realistically pick wholemeal.”

Do you find sandwich studies too limiting? Then conduct your own research—at an upcoming writers conference. Next month at the Colorado Christian Writers Conference (May  16 to 19), the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference (May 20 to 24), or the Write-to-Publish conference (May 30 to June 2), look around your table at meal times. See if you can match what you observe about people's personalities with their eating habits and what they've choose from the cafeteria line. (Write-to-Publish, with food-court options at the Wheaton College dining commons, may offer the most insights.)

Just hope the other conferees haven't read these studies; they may be watching what you eat.

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT by Joyce Hart

Zondervan is running a special deal on my book "Stories Behind The Traditions and Songs of Easter." You can get a special ebook edition at online sellers for just $3.99 between now and Easter Sunday.

Ace Collins

FLOWERS BLOOMING TOO EARLY THIS YEAR by Linda S. Glaz

Yup! Eighty degree weather in Michigan in March will do that to ‘em. My cousin has a huge orchard in northern Michigan, and I understand they are almost 5-6 weeks ahead of schedule. People down here near Detroit are whooping and hollering and loving the heat wave.

Sort of like a new author who gets an unexpected full read…before she’s ready.

Late last week, we had a frost advisory, further north, a frost warning. Then the next night we all got the warning. Then, alas, the third night, a freeze warning. Now, for those of you who don’t have a clue what that might do to an orchard, think of it this way; the trees’ juices start flowing early, they bud early, the freeze hits, and unless you’ve fired your orchard with thousands of dollars of gas heat(gone are the days of smudge pots), the buds fall off—the crop’s gone.

Our young writer has rewritten her first couple chapters over and over, had a few folks tell her it’s “pretty doggone good, sweetie”—usually mom or friend. Her creative juices are flowing and her work’s started to bud. Started being the key word. She gets a request based on those first chapters that have been tweaked to death, and along comes a request for a full read, better known as a frost warning. The freeze comes after the editor/agent reads it and realizes it’s no more ready to publish than the Titanic was to float. Hence, the frosty response.

The farmer stares at the trees and realizes there’s not a thing he can do other than pray to make it to next year’s crop of apples, cherries, or peaches.

By sending out work not ready, the author burns all her bridges with every agent/editor in the industry until all she can do is stare at the manuscript and pray she’ll be wiser next time.

Don’t be in a hurry. Chances are you aren’t going to fall into the “deal of a lifetime” by hurrying your work to market.

Wait ‘til you KNOW you have a peach of story before you send.