Mom Loves to Read - by Angel Moore

I fell in love with romance in the fourth grade. Robin Hood and Maid Marian’s happiness captured my young heart. I still remember the green library book with thick pages and the sweet teacher who assigned the book report.

But my mother was the biggest influence over my love of reading. Every morning before she left the house, she’d sit on the side of the bed and read her Bible. She graciously gave me that Bible several years ago. I can’t look at it without thinking of her love of Jesus and His Word.

Mom also loved to read romance. Clean books with sweet heroines falling in love with rich men who rescued them from mundane lives and gave them an amazing happily-ever-after life.

I’d read Nancy Drew and Scholastic books while Mom read her romances. I loved it when I got old enough to read her books. From the time I was about twelve, I carried a novel to school with me every day. I’d finish my class work and then read. I loved to dive into a story about a Greek millionaire or a nurse on holiday in Holland who’d fall in love with a rich doctor. If the doctor held a fancy title and owned a mansion, all the better.

This love of reading still lasts. Mom brings a bag of books to me on every visit. Now that she’s retired, reading time is readily available. And she loves it.

Reading is a gift Mom shared with me. It makes us closer. I hope you’re sharing your love of inspirational fiction with your children and grandchildren. We all need a good story to help us escape sometimes – or a book that teaches us to dream.

The thing I love about writing inspirational fiction is that I can share my love of Jesus as I write stories of faith and hope.

Want to share your love of reading? Share the posts from this blog – and Facebook pages and posts from your favorite Love Inspired authors – on your social media.

Thanks for reading our blog today. Leave a comment below. All the Love Inspired authors love to hear from our readers.

Stop by my Facebook page for a giveaway at www.facebook.com/AngelMooreBooks. I’ll be giving away two copies of my latest Love Inspired Historical release, The Rightful Heir, over the weekend.

God bless you,

Angel Moore

Stories of Faith and Hope

Find all my latest news, plus links to my books and social media, at www.angelmoorebooks.com.

A Gospel Singer’s Daughter Marries a Preacher – by Angel Moore

In the spirit of true romance, I’ll tell you that I still remember my exact thought the first time I laid eyes on my husband.

My dad hired him to play the steel guitar on a Gospel album he was producing.

Bob was wearing a light blue windbreaker, hip-hugger jeans, and a chicken-yellow shirt. Around his neck was a wooden cross on a leather cord. I’ll never forget his black hair and Beatle bangs.

He’s the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.

That was my reaction. And from that day on, he was sealed in my heart as the cutest thing ever. Oh, did I mention that I was eight years old? He has no memory of this moment.

Years later he came to work full time for my dad and became a close family friend. He was there to comfort me when a high school crush broke my heart, and he helped me understand things in Scripture that were new to me. He prayed for our family when we were in need. He was a true friend.

God was preparing him to be a minister, and I was learning to trust this man with my heart. Neither of us were aware of what God was doing at the time.

He eventually moved on from the job with my dad and one day, when he showed up for a visit, my mom suggested that he take me to dinner. (I love my mom.) That was our first date. On our second date, after knowing each other for years – and knowing in my heart that he was the only man for me – I proposed.

It took some convincing, but he said, “Yes.”

I found my lifelong love in the kitchen of my childhood home. My dad brought him home, and years later my mother set us up on our first date.

Thirty-eight years of marriage and counting, and we’re still the best of friends. He makes me laugh. He’s a loyal man who loves God and me. I couldn’t have asked for more. I’ll always believe God planted that childhood memory of our meeting in my heart. I wouldn’t know why until years later, but I’m so glad He did.

I’ve even got a son who looks just like him. I call them my two-for-one-special from God.

My husband taught me everything I know about happily ever after. I am blessed.

Thanks for stopping by to read my true love story.

God bless you,

Angel Moore
Stories of Faith & Hope

Check out The Rightful Heir, my newest Love Inspired Historical book.

Find the latest news, plus links to my books and social media, at www.angelmoorebooks.com.

Allie Pleiter on "Book People"

Ah, the joy of book people.

I’ve been in Nashville Tennessee this week attending the American Christian Fiction Writers conference, which means I’ve spent the last two days around book people.

I love book people.  I am a book person, and nothing makes me happier than to sit around and talk books with other book people.  Sure, I’m a writer, but I go all fan-girl on the author of my latest literary crave just like every other reader.  I suspect I made a fool of myself gushing to Kristy Cambron over The Ringmaster’s Wife, a splendid book that’s been my audiobook companion on the long drive to Nashville. 

My DestiKNITions blog sends me on yarn- and not-so-yarn-related adventures when I travel, and Nashville was no different.  Which is how Lenora Worth, Lynette Eason, and I found ourselves making a quick little excursion yesterday morning to a donut shop and a bookstore.  When we all walked into the bookstore, we all instinctively stopped, inhaled that marvelous scent that all bookstores have, and smiled.  Home.  Books.  Our kind.

It’s fun to watch Lynette win an award.  I love to teach The Chunky Method and help writers discover their productivity.  It’s great to get a chance to promote my latest Love Inspired novel and my new indie series.  All these things are good.

But spending three days in the company of book people and books?   That’s the best of all.

What about you?  Where do you meet your fellow book people?

Carol Award Finalist: Debra Clopton

Today at the Craftie Ladies we complete our salute to our authors who rise to the top and prove that Christian fiction rocks! 

Please join me in welcoming Debra Clopton.

Her novella, 

AN EVER AFTER SUMMER. 

is a finalist for the American Christian Fiction Writers' Carol Award.

What inspired you to write your finaling book?

Actually my agent Natasha Kern wanted me to try my hand at a historical and asked me if I thought I could squeeze a novella into my schedule. I was busy but no way could I pass up an opportunity to collaborate with Mary Connealy, Margaret Brownley and Robin Lee Hatcher so I agreed and was so glad I did. It was a joy from beginning to end. My story was to be set in Summer and all of them were about mail order brides. When I set down to brainstorm ideas I started looking at popular names from the 1870’s and, like happens to me a lot, when I saw the name Melvina and then the name Eldora the magic happened-I instantly saw Melvina Eldora Smith in my mind and the wonderful opening line popped into my head:

A born killer, Melvina Eldora Smith killed three people by the age of one: her mother at birth, her father of a broken heart and her poor, poor uncle Mutt outside a bar with a runaway buggy…

I instantly had to find out who this girl was! I felt for her and saw an unloved child grown up into a spunky young woman who’d unjustly had a lot of horrible things blamed on her all of her life by her bitter aunt. And of course I wanted to see her with a happy ending! 

How does your faith play into your stories?

I live my faith each day in a natural way, it is just a part of me. Like everyone, I struggle sometimes and am always striving to be a better person, to make a difference. It’s an ongoing process. I let my faith play into my stories in the same way, letting my characters walk naturally with their faith too. There is ebb and flow and each story’s faith element is dictated by the book and the character as I’m writing it. I let God lead on that discovery and I pray about it constantly as I write.

What is your favorite part of writing?

I love the creative process-that moment when I’m writing and then something unexpectedly ties together perfectly and beautifully-I call it a God moment-completely orchestrated by Him. I just love that! And with this story started with the opening line coming to me so perfectly and in an instant.

What are you working on now?

I’m working on Counting on a Cowboy book 2 in my new Four of Hearts Romance series coming out from Harper Collins Christian in 2015. Book 1 Betting On Hope comes out Feb 2015. I’m thrilled about the books and hoping my readers love them too. They are about 3 brothers, cowboys, running their family ranch the Four of Hearts Ranch in Wishing Springs, Texas. These are longer books than my Mule Hollow series but have the same feel and a great supporting cast of characters I think my readers will love. I tried very hard to give Wishing Springs that Mule Hollow feeling, but with a twist. 

 

Tell us about your Carol Award finaling book.

Like I said above it’s a sweet story that will have you rooting for this wonderful girl, Melvina Eldora Smith (Ellie). She’s nineteen, lost everyone who ever loved her at birth and decides to become a mail order bride when she reads an ad by a man looking for a mother for his baby-who has also lost her mother at birth. Ellie has a lot of love to give and needs love desperately-as does Mathew the hero. I so enjoyed Ellie’s spirit-she is just so full of expectations and hope. It was my first historical and my version of a Cinderella story. I’m loving that it’s up for this award because it was such a joy to write. It can be bought alone as an ebook or as a collection called a Bride For All Seasons. The 4 novellas in the collection are tied together by a meddling mail order bride magazine editor who takes the letters he receives and edits them, tweaks them to “help” the people find love. The only problem is when the brides reach their destinations things are not as they seemed and it makes for very comical situations!

 Sounds like a fun read.

Thanks for joining us today, Debra. We look forward to cheering you on at the Carols!

Lifelong learning...and Novelists Inc.

When I finished graduate school years ago, I figured my education days were over, barring the ongoing, continuing education hours required for a registered dietitian.  And then...I became a writer. I became so excited about this new world that I approached it as if I were embarking on a self-guided graduate program--went to every conference I could find, bought endless tapes of writing workshops, accumulated stacks of writing books...on and on and on.

And now--thirty books later--that love of trying to learn more about writing has never changed.  Late last night, our daughter Emily (and aspiring author, who provides some support services for the business end of my writing) and I returned from the Novelists Inc conference in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.  What an experience that was!  We drove in sleet and slushy light snow the entire way to Chicago, where we caught our plane, then arrived at a beautiful Marriott Grand Dunes, where the food was wonderful and we walked barefoot on a sunny, sandy beach for an hour every day.

But the best part was just how wonderful the conference was.  I've been a Ninc member for years but had never attended.  Have I ever missed the boat!  The conference is focused on the needs of the published author, and the workshops ran all day and then from 8-10pm in the evening.  When I told my husband about the busy schedule, he said dryly, "Well, that sure sounds like fun!"  I think he would have opted for days exploring the beautiful area, but I was thrilled to have every minute count and have already registered for next year.  I love the RWA and ACFW (American Christian Fiction Authors) conferences too, but the Ninc is now a welcome addition!

I'd love to hear about where your own passions lie.  Certain hobbies? Sports?  A career you love?  Have you every attended a truly special conference that really made a difference for you?  I'd love to hear about it!

Anyone commenting here, who is a USA resident will be entered in drawing for a free book of their choice from my backlist--which can be found at my website, www.roxannerustand.com.  There will be three winners, to be chosen on Friday!

All the best,
Roxanne Rustand

Ask Elnora--About ACFW??? Lenora Worth

Hello, my lovely friends. September is a good month. My daughter was born in September and fall comes in September. It kind of slinks in on those last rays of summer sun and plays around, a leaf falling here, a burst of crisp clean air there. You feel a hint of change in the air.  September is the beginning of the end of the year, the winding down of all the rebirth and growth we get to enjoy and then the world goes quiet and turns into brilliant colors that allow the good earth and the natural world to take a rest and go dormant. But there is another reason I love September and that is the American Christian Fiction Writers Annual Conference!

This year, it will be held September 13 -- 15 in Indianapolis, Indiana. It is the best conference for anyone who is interested in writing. Yes, I know it's technically a conference for Christian writers but good writing is good writing and you can learn how to be a good writer at this conference. But it's very different from some big conferences. At ACFW, we begin each day with a worship service and praise singing and lots of prayers. It's a loving, open, giving place where people's lives really do change. There are so many people in this world who have stories to tell and they hurt to put their words to paper. This is the place for such people.

I know that not everyone who attends will go home and write a book. For some, it will be a lifetime struggle and for others, it will be a dream realized. Writing is a hard business. We start with a blank page and we try to fill it and hundreds of pages with words that are woven together into a story. It's not an easy task, no matter what anyone has told us. But at ACFW, we use The Word to help us figure out our words. It's a good place to start.

If you haven't been to ACFW, if you haven't heard of ACFW, if you have a story in your heart and a dream in your head, then today is your lucky day. Elnora is encouraging you to check out this conference. If not this year, work toward going next year. (The hotel fills up and I'm telling you this rather late, but I just want everyone to be aware.) If you can't go to the conference, try joining ACFW and work you way from there. September is about letting go but it's also about blossoming into something wonderful come spring. It's Elnora's job to spread hope to those out there who might not be sure. Be sure and be assured, ACFW means business--the Lord's business and the writing business. Oh, and you can wear fabulous shoes, too, of course :)))

The CAROL

For the last few months, every Thursday, we featured an inspirational finalist's book for the RITA.  In the secular writing world, that's an Emmy.  Here on the Craftie Ladies' site, we had Missy Tippens in the running, and we were all rooting for her.  "Go, Missy" was our chant.

For a night, she was a princess.

The Christian writing world has an award for outstanding writing, too.  It's called the CAROL.  The CAROL is the American Christian Fiction Writers' award for best Christian fiction publishing by traditional publishing houses.

It's a "Hey, you nailed it!"

The CAROL is name after the editor who 'discovered' Janette Oke.

The Craftie Ladies have three members in the running:

Dana Mentink for Lost Legacy
Margaret Daley for Saving Hope
Lynette Eason for When a Heart Stops

We are so proud of you ladies!

Contests by Merrillee Whren

Isn't it fun to win a contest? Winning a prize is thrilling. This past week we've been talking about awards and contests. I have just returned from the American Fiction Writers Conference held in St. Louis this year. Lyn Cote, one of the Craftie Ladies, won a Carol Award for her short historical romance, Her Healing Ways.



Two other Love Inspired authors also won Carol Awards this year. Irene Hannon's book, A Father for Zach, won in the short contemporary category, and Sharon Dunn's book, Night Prey, won in the short romantic suspense category.

Since we're talking about contests, I'm going to give away copies of all three books in my Kellerville series to someone who comments on today's post. I recently learned that the first two books in the series have won first and second place in the Published Beacon Contest.






Tell us about any contests you have won.

Ask Elnora--About the ACFW conference??Lenora Worth

Hello, beautiful people. I am at the American Christian Fiction Writers Conference in St. Louis. Big Daddy drove me and sweet Betsy St. Amant up here. Wasn't that nice of him? I'll tell you about our escapades as the day goes on. I hope to post happenings here all day long. Not that Elnora would gossip, but just think of me as Entertainment Tonight or Access Hollywood, except today is Access ACFW! Did you know our own Margaret Daley is Madame President of ACFW??? Yes. Elnora is so proud of her. And I'm even more proud of her upcoming book from Summerside "From This Day Forward." I'm reading it right now. I also have my friend Cheryl Hodde's upcoming book on my nightstand. "The Wedding Kiss" looks like a winner to me! The cover is exquisite and I know the writing will be the same. Watch for these books. They should be on the shelves soon. Of course, Elnora loves seeing what kind of shoes everyone is wearing. I only packed five pairs! And two purses. Okay, Betsy and I both have extra shoe bags. What can I say? I get bored wearing the same pair of shoes! I'll try to post some shots to facebook. But the next best thing to shoes at this conference is ... books!!! Lots and lots of books in the bookstore. I brought an extra bag just for books, but Big Daddy thinks it's my "business bag." I shall fill it with books and more books. Where I will put them, I have no idea! So ... I only have my iphone here so things might get sketchy. But I will try to post as often as I can. Friday is my busy day. Breakfast with our editors Melissa Endlich and Elizabeth Mazer. Then a panel discussion about "seat-of-the-pants" writing with Karen Ball and several other writers. We're winging that one! Then a lovely dinner with all the LI writers! Lots of hugs and chatter at that, no doubt. Saturday I get to visit with my wonderful editor Pam Hopkins. This is her first time at ACFW. I'm so glad she's here. While I'm busy here, if there are any questions you want to ask, let us know. If I don't know the answer, I will hunt someone down and find out! What would you like to know about LI writers, Christian fiction and what goes on at this wonderful conference? As a reader or as a writer?? Or both??? Now's the time to ask. We'll all be checking in and we'll be glad to answer your questions. Okay, my feet hurt already!

When Did You Read Your First Christian Romance?

If you read Author Linda Goodnight's blog on Tuesday, you know something about the Carol Award and the past and present finalists. This Saturday night the awards will be announced. Since I write historicals, I wanted to give you some really important history FOR READER of Christian romane. Here goes:

I am very honored to be a Carol Award finalist. I have had the pleasure of interviewing the lady who is the namesake of this award, Carol Johnson, formerly VP at Bethany House Publishers and now a literary agent. (That's her photo above.) Carol (while at Bethany) was the person who was instrumental in getting Author Janette Oke's first book into print in 1979.

Janette Oke's books led the way in the birth of modern Christian fiction. Carol Johnson was also the woman who was a big part of establishing the prestigious Christy Award. The Christy is another award, focusing on the best in Christian fiction. Have you read Christy by Catherine Marshall? That of course is the namesake of this award. For more about the Christy's, drop by http://www.christyawards.com/about.html

Two years ago, American Christian Fiction Writers http://www.acfw.com decided to honor Carol by changing the name of their Book of the Year award to the Carol. From what I've just written, I think you will agree that Carol Johnson is a woman who deserves recognition for her achievements and what they have given all of us who enjoy Christian fiction. Love Inspired books wouldn't have come about without Carol's efforts to open the door for Christian fiction. So thank you, Carol!

BTW, I will give away a copy of my Carol finalist book, Her Healing Ways to someone who leaves a comment today. 2nd BTW, Renee Ryan, another LIH author is guesting on my blog today. For another chance to win her current LIH, drop by and leave a comment there too. http://www.LynCote.net

The questions to comment on are--what was the first Christian novel or romance you read and how did you find it? And have you read Christy or one of Janette Oke's classic romances?