Challenges

I know this isn't what you want to see on a cold January day!

I thought about making this word my C word for the A2Z blog hop article this week, but I went with this word instead. Challenge is a better topic for this ROW80 Update anyway. If you're anything like me, you feel challenges at every side. I would say that right now I'm in a busy season, but the truth is, I'm ALWAYS in a busy season. I like it that way. It keeps me moving and I find I'm much more effective and efficient when

Hoping for SOMETHING!

I actually don't believe in luck or crossing fingers or any of that stuff, but the picture sure exemplifies hope. "Cross your fingers and hope real hard!" That's what I was always told, but I couldn't tell you who first said it to me.

So I'm hoping. First, I'm hoping to do better at reporting. I'm so bummed that I forgot to share an update last Sunday.

Second, I'm hoping for ... well ... you know.

There’s a time to dream and a time to act. As a writer, being part-dreamer just comes with the territory. I visualized getting “the call” the other day. I’ve delayed attempts to connect with an agent for the most part. (I don’t really count the few queries that I sent out before I had a clue of what I was doing.) Now I have a clue, thanks to the many

Where Do the YIKES Come From?

Marcie with her latest reads. She even has Erica Vetch's new debut novel, A Bride's Portrait of  
Dodge City, Kansas included in her "to read" stack.

Everyday, people pick up books for entertainment, escape, and inspiration. Finding Christ-honoring books is no longer the challenge that it used to be. Christian Fiction boasts some of the best of today's literature. With a variety of genres from which to choose, readers can immerse themselves in stories of love, history, and contemporary fiction. Along the way, the suspense category of Christian Fiction has
flourished with mysteries, thrillers, and romance.


Mysteries are often defined as "Cozy Mysteries" either because they don't give too much tension, which isn't always the case, or because their typical heroine is a little old British widow. The word cozy in this case refers to the tea cozy that the British use to keep the water in the teapot warm and the furniture protected. A story is considered a mystery when the main character, often highlighted in a series of stories, isn't really in danger. Think Miss Marple. The who-dun-it is a puzzle, a conundrum, with a challenge to the reader to unravel the knots before the detective.



If mysteries are on the mild side of the suspense spectrum, thrillers inhabit the opposite edge. The genre defines itself, although some of the books are simply cached as "Suspense." These are the books that keep readers on the edges of their seats, where the intensity rarely stops and when it does, the reader has a physical reaction of relief. In this type, the main character is always at risk. The cerebral puzzle rarely enters, utilizing instead the wits and power that the hero has to avoid certain destruction. Within the Christian realm, there are many types of thrillers including psychological, medical, and military.



The romantic suspense spans both extremes. There are true cozies and thrillers that include romance, but the romantic suspense lies more in the center of the span. It can include either the elements of a mystery or those of a thriller, but the romance plays a defining part of the novel. A hero and heroine must have personal stories, outside of the plot line, that drive their actions and draw them to each other.

Romance is definitely the heart of the suspense grouping, lying smack dab in the middle of the two extremes. Thrillers are the brawn and mysteries are the brain. The best news for Christian Fiction Readers is that there are ample amounts of all of the different types readily available at Christian Book Distributors, Barnes and Noble, and Amazon.

{For my students, the above is an illustration of a five-paragraph framework using an example format.}

It's not my regular type of posting, but when expository writing is necessary, it's important to know how it works. Picture the whole thing as an hour glass.

In this case, the first paragraph provides an introduction with each sentence progressing down a funnel of broad category to narrow category. Finally, the last sentence is the thesis statement. It mentions three separate sub-topics (examples for this format) which provide the subject for the next three paragraphs, in order.

For this format, the examples of the topic are merely described, but the covers that match the types are pictured beside each and are linked to reviews about each book. The final paragraph concludes the essay, starting with narrow categories, the ones discussed, and ending with broader ones.

Besides grocery lists, what type of writing have you done in the last week?

Great READING!

Usually I read over the weekends. With last weeks suggestions I had plenty of fodder for my reviews, but the time got past me.

No, that's not entirely true.

I've been grazing on amazing insight from Award Winning Author, Susan May Warren. I LOVE her books! Not a book this time, but pages of chats and invaluable notes from her My Book Therapy sessions. I investigated suspense, sifted through characterizations and settings, and even dallied with a little romance.

With sparkling eyes and dimpled cheeks, I told my

What Were Your Summer Good Reads?

This weekend, I had the pleasure of doing beta-reading duty for one of my critique buddies Patricia PacJac Carroll.

Can I just say that the pioneer historical is the best thing I've read all summer, and I've read some amazing books!

You'll hear about it more, but since she's only just starting her publishing journey, it will be awhile. I'm hoping to pick her brain next week, about her path.
Since I haven't read a book I could review this week, I wanted to clarify my recommendations. I've read 13 Christian Fiction books this summer and found something

Peace

I've been inhaling blogs on the craft of writing lately. It's truly generous of these experts to share their secrets with aspiring authors and I'm grateful to Jody Hedlund, Katie Ganshert, Elizabeth Spann Craig, Rachel Hauck, Susan May Warren and others for their offerings!

One of the things I've learned in the realm of suspense is the balance between tension and peace. A good

Favorite Blog Postings

I had such a good time wading along the blog shore this week. So many different topics and so much amazing information.  Now, I would have had ten favorites except I highlighted two of them in an article earlier this week inspired by Jody Hedlund and Elizabeth Craig Spann entitled Literary Contortions.

I'm so indebted to these talented folks for their wisdom, insight, and the inspiration they are generous enough to share.  Please hit the highlighted words for links to the specific articles. When you visit, make sure you follow or comment to support the authors and share the love! :)

Book review - My Foolish Heart by Susan May Warren

I don't read romance very often. See I have this terrible problem with Christian romances - they make me cry. I know, I know! A tenderhearted story is one of the draws to Christian romance, but I could do without it! Seriously!

I wrote a song several years ago that starts out "I long for heaven and no more tears." This crying thing isn't just a little issue with me.  I'm not joking when I tell people that a good McDonald's commercial can leave me teary-eyed. I never saw Titanic, or the Notebook, and don't plan to.

Characterization Success!

I've been having trouble with character. Isolationism, timidity, meekness, cowardice, etc. No, not me, my protagonist. See she needs to be withdrawn from her community as part of her journey, but she's not timid or meek, and she's even pretty reckless, but I hadn't really thought about her in such deep terms.

Undercover Pursuit by Susan May Warren

Undercover Pursuit by Susan May Warren had me intrigued from the first page. I examined it along with several other books I recently downloaded, just looking through the first few pages for their hooks, the ways that they connected with the reader. Wow, did U.P. ever connect! From the get-go, I had trouble putting it down.