My Summer Vacation(s)

Hi everyone - Winnie Griggs here.  July was a crazy busy month for me, but in a good way.  At the beginning of the month we took a six day family vacation to Hawaii.  It was my first time there but I hope it's not my last!  The scenery was breathtaking, the beaches were beautiful and the food was wonderful.  We visited Pearl Harbor, went to a luau, toured volcano formations, visited secluded waterfalls and saw amazing foliage.

One of my favorite things that we did though, was take a helicopter tour with the doors off.  It was so exhilarating and the views were fantastic.

After a week back at home I took off again, this time for New York with my three daughters.  I'd been there before but it was the girls first trip and we determined to fit as much into the three full days they'd be there as we could.  And I must say we made a pretty good run at it.

Once they headed home it was time for me to turn my focus to the Romance Writers of America annual conference, which had me spending another six and a half days in New York.

And there you have it - my busy, fun, exhausting, exhilarating July!  So how about you - did you have the opportunity to do much travelling this summer?  What is your favorite or dream destination?

Living Generously-Barbara Phinney's perspective

Years ago, a man new to our church said to me, "By not giving generously, a person misses out on God's blessings."
I mulled over his comment for years and now that we are doing generous living devotional at our church, I'm beginning to see that what this man said was so true. 

It started after Hurricane Sandy hit the northeast United States. I want to do something to help. All I could think of at the time was to lower my romantic comedy, All For A Good Cause, to the lowest price Amazon would allow, in an effort to cheer up a few of those people with this fun story about charities that get out of hand.
(Yes, you may roll your eyes. I did. Such an effort was hardly sacrificial.)
Then, this week past, my church sent out an e-mail saying that a woman in nearby town has made the proper arrangements to send supplies down to New York and New Jersey. This was my chance to be really sacrificial.
Let me back up for a moment. Last week, our bank gave us a yearly review of our accounts to see if they could save us some money. It turned out that they couldn't save us anything, just update our account. Oh well. C'est la vie.
So, back to the present, last Friday, my husband and I settled on an amount we would spend, about $125, to buy toiletries, baby supplies, winter boots, and such to contribute to the supplies going to the United States.
And might I add, that I get a little pleasure out of this, too. I get to shop! Of course it was limited by my husband's limited patience, but I still had fun!
After we got home, it was like Christmas for me, sorting through the presents, packing them up, putting them in boxes and laundry baskets to take to our church.

I also decided to pray that the Lord would help me not look for a blessing, not to expect one, but to give this simply because I wanted to be obedient.
After I was finished, I returned to my writing, knowing that I should not check the sales of my independently published books because I had specifically asked for no blessing.
The phone rang. It was our bank. The woman who had given us our banking review apologized for giving us incorrect information. The account we just switched to offered a signing bonus of 15,000 points, equivalent to $125 in cash! 
The blessing had come from the least likely place and taught me a valuable lesson. Don't go looking for blessings, don't ask for them, just give generously, and know that your Father will give back to you, in His own way, thanking you for taking the first step.

Has God surprised you lately? What blessings did you receive that you can encourage us with today?

The States We're Visiting in January

A Love Inspired Romance landed in Montana today, probably at a book store, grocery store, or box store near you. Hmmmm, what's not to love about Montana Match. Set in present day, Montana, Author Merrillee Whren has this to say:

Montana is the fourth largest state in the US, but it is the third least populated state. The state has seven American Indian reservations. I chose Montana for the setting of Montana Match because I lived there when I was a child, and my goal is to set at least one of my novels in every state where I have lived. I also have twin girls in the story who are part Crow Indian. One of my best friends in fourth grade was a girl named Rose who was a Crow Indian. She inspired the little girls in the story.

We have two Montana books bumping up against each other at the stores this month! Christine Johnson wanted to make sure we really understand Montana, so in her book All Roads Lead Home, she goes back in time to 1922. Here's her offering:

Since All Roads Lead Home is a road trip story, it covers states from Michigan to Montana. I chose to end the trip in northwest Montana because I love the way the Rocky Mountains rise out of the plains like a snow-dusted wall. Glacier National Park, which was founded in 1910, hugs the border with Canada and is part of the first International Peace Park with Waterton National Park in Alberta. At the time of All Roads Lead Home (1922), you could drive west to the park and drive north along the eastern edge, but much of the travel inside the park was on horseback. Backcountry chalets provided overnight accomodations along the trails. People especially loved to see the glaciers, for which the park is named, but those glaciers are rapidly melting away. In 1922, trains ran across the southern boundary of the park through Marias Pass, but a car could not drive across the park. The Going-to-the-Sun Road across the park was completed in 1933. I've driven it many times...always with white knuckles!

We wave goodbye to Montana and head clear across the U.S. (Really, we can go no farther) to New York. Jean C. Gordon's comtemporary romance Small Town Sweethearts is an eye opening for those of you who can only imagine Manhattan. Really, New York is so much more. Go ahead, Jean, tell us how much more:

For the many people who think New York State is New York City: Upstate NY, where Small-Town Sweethearts is set, is quite different from the Downstate New York City area. Upstate we have dairy farms, mountains, lakes, orchards, and lots of villages and hamlets with fewer than 5,000 people that aren’t near any major cities. Wyoming County in Western New York, where I grew up, is the number one diary county in the state and has about the same number of milk cows as people (40,000).

If you're still in the mood for states, you can drop down to Mississippe and read Terri Reed's January release. In Mississippi, there's a taste of suspense.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN--Debra Clopton

Hi Y'all, Debra Clopton here running a bit late! Seems like that has been my life lately running that is. I love my life! But I've been on the road most of this entire month and am glad to be home for a little while. This is a shot of me and Chuck in New York seeing some of the sites. Since I do write romance we decided to take the carriage tour of the city our first night there. It was fun. This is a shot of us that our sweet driver took outside The Plaza Hotel. After we left New York we were home for a couple of days, then loaded up our youth group at church and went to Cowboy Church youth camp for four days! It was a blast but totally different than the trip to New York! We had a blast there too. When we got home we were there for a day and a half then we went to the airport and caught different planes, to different destinations, Chuck to work and me to see my son, daughter in law and sweet grand baby for two weeks. Wonderful busy month that I loved. But I'm happy to be home working on my new book for the next few weeks. (Of course I'll go back and see grand baby again at the drop of the pin!) That's the wonderful thing about my work...I can take my laptop anywhere and work. And the experiences that I have I'm able to use in my work at some point and time. Anyway, this blog surprised me this morning--it seems like I just did it and actually it was when I was catching the plane for New York! Anyway, I'm working on my book full tilt ahead, about my bull riding cowboy who's been on the road constantly in his quest to gain points for the National Finals Rodeo Championships. I guess this month I can truly say I know how he feels being on the road. You love what you are doing and where you are but you still long for home and comfort you feel when you get there. (Her Homecoming Cowboy will be out August 2012) Watch for the 1st book in my Homecoming Series, September 2011 HER RODEO COWBOY.

Until next time live laugh and seek God with all your hearts!

Debra Clopton

Ask Elnora--About New York City???Lenora Worth

Elnora is home from her grand adventure in New York City. I hope to show a few pictures once I get settled (and unpack all those bags!!!)New York is such an incredible place. Even with a bruised head and a cut near my eye, I still managed to walk all over Manhattan. And shop, of course. Elnora so appreciates all the kind words I've received regarding my little mishap. I'm fine now. Still bruised and battered but the cut is healing nicely. So, what did I love about the RWA conference and New York?

Well, I enjoyed doing a workshop with our own Winnie Griggs and our LI editor Emily Rodmell. We talked about "Can you do that in an inspiratonal?" And we all agreed there are many things writers can do to create great PG-rated stories. Elnora believes in showing real people in real circumstances doing real life things. We know our readers expect that dose of reality mixed with a bit of drama and emotional intensity. We had a pretty good crowd and we enjoyed chatting with the audience. Many thanks to lovely Margaret Daley for being our moderator.

Of course, e-books were all the buzz. Our publishers are trying to wade through how to handle that particular situation, so there was some lively discussion regarding that. Elnora believes it will all come out in the wash, as my sweet mama used to say.

I attended workshops on how to refuel your muse--or rather how to find your muse again. Shopping always seems to work for me! I'm sure I attended other great workshops, but ... I did get a bump on my head so it's hard to remember. I have notes somewhere. The bottom line--read, read, read, write, write, write and learn, learn, learn.

We also enjoyed the hundreds of faithful readers who attended the Literary Booksigning! Big Daddy took a picture of the line out the door and into the parking garage! But nothing can beat that gurney ride through Times Square. I have all sorts of book ideas from that and from walking around the city. The weather was perfect for Elnora's hair--not too much humidity.

Of course, we danced the night away at the Harlequin Black and White Ball. Big Daddy was able to attend as the invited guest of our dear friend Laura Marie Altom, who was honored with her 25th book pin from Harlequin. We had lots of chocolate from the dessert tables. Yummy. So, what do you love about New York? And what questions do you have about the writing process?

Darlings, I’m typing this in hopes it reaches you. Elnora has had an exciting week in NY. I’ll write more next week. This is the short version..
Drove through Lincoln Tunnel. Got caught in a festival. Found hotel. Lovely. Found room. Lovely.
Had a great sightseeing day with Big Daddy. Walked all over town. Came back to get ready for dinner with my editor and slipped on wet spot in bathroom and hit my little head on the big vanity. Ouch.
Nice EMTs come. Bomb scare in Times Square. No way to get me out of building. Roads blocked. Finally they bandage my bleeding temple and wheel me on a gurney through Times Square. Lovely views of the city from the ambulance. Nice hospital. EMT looks like Danny Glover. All is well. No stitches. No concussion. I have a nice shiner and they glued me back together.
More next week…..
Elnora loves NY!!!!