More in-depth descriptions of these books can be found on the ACFW Fiction Finder website. Tidewater Inn by Colleen Coble — Welcome to Hope Beach Where the sea breeze is fresh, sun sparkles on sand . . . and trouble appears with the force of a hurricane. Inheriting a beautiful old hotel on the seaward shore of Hope Island could …
Book Review: Polar Bear Plunge
Title: Polar Bear Plunge Author: Linda S. Glaz Publisher: White Rose Publishing Date: November 2011 ASIN: B006G40ZZE Genre: Romance Reviewed by: Lisa J Lickel Angry with God over the death of her active-duty military husband, nurse Aleni Callan finds herself even angrier when war hero, Brice Taylor, arrives in the emergency room with a concussion and hypothermia after participating in …
Woolworth or Tiffany’s?
by Janelle James Simplicity is beautiful. When I was a little girl, my mother and I walked by a Tiffany’s display window. We stopped and stared in appreciation. My mother placed her hand on my back and lowered her voice. “Janelle, think of a dime store display window that is so cluttered you can’t even take it all in. Now …
Learning By Teaching
by Rachel Hauck At the ACFW conference in Houston ’03, I watched the bubbly and newly published Susan May Warren dash off to teach a writing workshop one afternoon. I remember thinking, “How does she know what to teach? She’s only been published a year.” As a newly contracted author four months from my first print publication with an e-book …
Platform, Presence and the ACFW Journal
by Cheryl Wyatt Building platform and name recognition are as crucial to publishing as quotation marks to a killer line of dialogue. You may have an engaging hook and stellar book, but if you’re not on readers’ radars, low sales can impede future contracts. Even if you write as worship, marketing matters. If you’re pre-published, now is a good time …
Three Steps to Creating an Occupation for Your Characters
by Cara C. Putman As writers, one of our tasks is finding the right career for your characters. Not only do your characters populate your story, they fill roles and hold jobs. Finding the right career can be a key piece to getting the character to fit. Sometimes when I pick up a novel, it feels like the character’s job …
The Secret to Effective Hooks: Write Like a Journalist
by Sandra Bishop MacGregor Literary More than any other element of a pitch, a solid hook offers more opportunity for you to grab – and possibly keep — an agent or editor’s attention. Yes, hooks are hard to nail, but not impossible. Try drawing from a couple simple techniques you learned in high school journalism: Start with the Five W’s …
Book Review: Nick of Time
Title: Nick of Time A Bug Man Novel Author: Tim Downs Publisher: Thomas Nelson Date: May 2011 ISBN: 978-1595543103 Genre: Suspense Reviewed by: Darlo Gemeinhardt It’s maggots, murder, and marriage in the latest Bug Man novel, Nick of Time, by Tim Downs. What girl in her right mind would marry forensic entomologist Nick Polchak, a man whose world consists of …
Book Review: Treasuring Emma
Title: Treasuring Emma Author: Kathleen Fuller Publisher: Thomas Nelson Date: August 2011 ISBN: 978-1-59554-775-0 Genre: Inspirational/Amish Reviewed by: Laura V. Hilton Emma Shetler has just lost her mamm to a long battle with cancer. The funeral is happening, yet Emma, kicked out of everywhere, is left with nothing to do but mourn, while her sister, Clara King, runs the funeral. …
Fit & Fabulous Writing
By Kathy Harris Did you charge out of the starting blocks with the first three chapters of a great new story idea… but now you’re having trouble crossing the finish line? Does your first draft sag in the middle? Maybe your plot needs a bit of firming up. You might benefit from a new writing routine. Fitness coaches tell us …