Intentional Celebrating- A She Reads Guest Post

We interrupt this blog for breaking news of adorableness:

Yesterday, Sharon celebrated a new addition to

her family. A sweet puppy named Boo. We wanted to share his puppy cuteness with you - So adorable, he makes Monday happy! Yay!

Now back to your regularly scheduled blogging.

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The other day a friend emailed meaparagraph from a blog post she'd read. She thought I might like theconcept the author,Mandy Hubbard, was proposing. I've included it below so you can read it too: Someone once told me "Satisfaction is a dirty word." I always thought that was stupid. If you can't enjoy what you have, what's the point? But then I got into publishing, and then I understood. I understood what it was like to feel like it was never enough. I understood why

people became workaholics. I understood how hard it is to be satisified in this industry... So I bought a big glass vase, and whenever I have something to celebrate-- a new book deal, a foreign sale, etc--I pop champagne and I write on the bottom of the cork what I was celebrating, and drop it in the vase. Seeing that-- seeing that I've had things to celebrate in my career-- reminds me of my accomplishments.

The interesting thing about this is that my friend sent this paragraph to me moments after I had decided to start keeping a list of my writing victories. I took this as a confirmation that I was on the right track. I had reasoned that I needed to be intentional about celebrating my accomplishments instead of letting them get swept under the rug of striving. So I began my list, marking down the good things that had happened to me as a result of my writing. No moment was too insignificant. As more victories occurred tome, I added them. A theme began to emerge: losses and setbacks aside, I was onto something. This writing thing was worth pursuing.

However we choose to mark our victories, whether by saving champagne corks or buying ourselves flowers and snapping a picture to put in a simple photo album with the reason noted underneath, eating a piece of Godiva chocolate and jotting down the reason on the wrapper or simply beginning a list in a journal, in this industry we need to find reasons to celebrate and be intentional about doing so. It's too easy to get discouraged, too tempting to look around you at the other writers who seem to have good things undeservedly happen to them. By all means save those rejection letters, but also print those sweet emails from readers and save them too. We need touchstones, little altars everywhere that affirm our calling... and mark the confirmations that God sends along the way.

How do you celebrate your large and small victories as you move forward in your writingjourney? How would it help you to have a visual reminder of those victories?

The Funnel of Inspiration

You who have followed us for a while have undoubtedly noticed that, with the exception of Latayne's The Hinge of Your History: the Phases of Faith, none of us has had a new book published in the past number of months. That can be, and quite candidly is, a discouraging situation for all of us. The publishing world has been hit by the downturn in our economy as many industries have, but even apart from that there are many changes taking place in the publishing world, and we've all been affected.

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It's discouraging to find yourself without a contract once you've been published, particularly if you're multi-published, as all of us here are. That said, none of us is back to square one, because we all have agents who believe in us and are doing their best to find publishing homes for our novels.

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So how do I deal with discouragement? One way is to encourage myself with comments from readers. I love the quote Marybeth used in Monday's post, how as Christian writers "...We should also wish to make [our readers] better" George F. Handel. It's quite gratifying to read a note from a reader who not only enjoyed your book, but who took something away from it, something that helped them grow a little in their Christian walk. Like the comment Megan Sayer wrote on our blog regarding Lying on Sunday a couple of weeks ago. It really boosted my spirits. I think helping the reader grow, no matter where they are in their relationship to God, is the goal of most Christian writers. Not just to entertain, though entertainment is certainly part of what we strive to offer, but to help advance the kingdom of God in our own small way.

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How else do I get the upper hand over discouragement? Well, as they say, misery loves company. So I share my writing woes with my closest writing friends -- Bonnie, Debbie, Katy, Latayne and Patti. They understand me like no one outside my immediate family understands me. Truly, it takes a writer to know one (or maybe the spouse and children of one). They've been exactly where I am, and if nothing else they can wipe my tears or share them, and they can and do pray for me. I can't stress enough the importance of having a close writing friend or two. We here at Novel Matters are excited because we see relationships developing between our readers, who, like us, may not live in the same state or even the same country -- perhaps not even on the same continent. But you're developing friendships, and we hope those friendships go beyond greeting one another on our Comments page. We hope you'll find critique pals and kindred souls who know just where you are and can encourage you as you write.

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Then there are those days when I close the door to my office, ignore the wooing of my characters, and find other things to do -- things not even remotely related to writing. Cleaning the pantry comes to mind. Mostly I don't do that. Mostly I keep to my work, plodding away on plots and word counts, but there are days ... And when I have days like that, when cleaning the pantry or the junk drawer or whatever else calls to me, I decide, "Why fight it?" I turn on the oldies and roll up my sleeves. But trust me, it's not wasted time. Because for as long as I can remember, when I have a problem to work through or a defeat to deal with, I clean. These days you could eat off my floor. (We won't talk about the windows.) I talk out loud to God while I'm doing it, too. Out. Loud. I lay my issues before him like Hezekiah spreading out the letter from Sennacherib, king of Assyria, who was determined to conquer Judah, and boasted that not even the God of Hezekiah could prevent it. Oh yeah? Overnight, God wiped out much of his army, and Sennacherib fled back to Nineveh "and stayed there." I love it. (For the whole account, read 2 Kings, chapters 18 & 19.)

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And beyond that, I determine on a daily -- sometimes hourly -- basis to be true to my call. Philippians 2:13 is one of my favorite scriptures: "For it is God who works in you both to will and to do His good pleasure." (Sorry, my quote is a blend of KJV and NIV.) God gave me a writer's heart, and short of a transplant, a writer I will stay. And as someone who believes very much in the sovereignty of God, I acknowledged long ago that it's my job to write, and His job to take my offering and do what He wants with it, when He's good and ready. Does that stop me from saying to Him on occasion, "Come. Let us reason together ..."? Not on your life. I'm not above twisting the arm of God. In fact, I'm dangling from it as we speak. I just happen to know it doesn't get me very far.

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So my encouragement funnels down from the praises of those I don't know, or don't know well, to family and friends who walk with me on this journey, to that still small voice inside that encourages me that when I've done all I know to do, to stand. And so I stand. Or more accurately I sit, BIC, and pour onto the page the story that churns in my heart. That's how it has to be for all of us, because when all is said and done, it's the inner conviction that keeps us going.

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We have some fun and some helpful resources planned for this year at Novel Matters, such as our Novel Tips on Rice recipe book that we offered in December. If you haven't yet downloaded it, you can find it here. It's a fun and a free resource we put together under the ultra-talented leadership of Katy Popa. Need a website? She's the person to talk to. Visit her at Cottonbond. We'll have contests and opportunities for the writers and readers among us, and we'll do our best to help you on your journey. We look forward to your interaction with us and with each other. 2011, here we come!

Make Them Better - A She Reads Guest Post by Marybeth Whalen

"I should be sorry if I only entertained them, I wish to make them better." George FriedrichHandel

The other day I received an email from a friend who wrote a nonfiction book that makes people act better, strengthens their walk, and causes them to be more holy. As I read her account of the salvations that were happening and lives that were being changed, I had a moment of despair. "All I do," I thought, "Is write stories. What difference am I really making?"

No less than a day later, I got an email from a teacher at my son's school. She was gushing-- if one can gush in an email. She shared the story of a student at the school who was openly anti-Christian. This student saw my novel on the teacher's desk and asked to see it because she knew it was by "Matt's mom" (my other name). The teacher quickly offered to let the student borrow the book and was happy to see her carrying it around everywhere she went for several days. A few days later, the teacher wrote, the student came to her saying she had read the book, absolutely loved it and had cried off and on while reading it. The teacher went on to explain that this was the same student who had tried to sabotage the See You at the Pole event just afew weeks earlier by arriving early and having her mom blare music with the car doors open while they were trying to pray around theflagpole. She said the student is very sensitive to anyone even mentioning church. She could not believe the girl had not only read a Christian book, but loved it.

Later it dawned on me that that same student wouldn't have picked up my friend's book even if Matt's mom had written it. Because of her hatred of all things Christian, she would have avoided it, maybe even asked the teacher to put it out of sight. But she picked up my novel because it was a love story and her teenage heart could tolerate that. She got drawn into the story, lost herself in it, never realizing that what really had her enthralled was a whole differentlove story. In the pages of this novel, this young lady was encountering the great lover of her soul.

I can't claim that the girl came to Christ as a result of reading my novel. But I Corinthians 3:6 did come to mind: "I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow." I had a part in this girl's process. Perhaps a bit of her barrier came down as she read about how God pursued Lindsey, my main character. Maybe she dared to dream that God would pursue herthat way.

We write novels to tell great stories. We write novels to entertain. But we also write novels to deal with faith and to allow our characters to experience things that challenge their faith, and take the reader along for the ride. As Handel said, it is not enough to just entertain them. We should also wish to make them better. When we do that, we can feel confident that our novels are much more than manuscripts. They are ministries. And we are honored to be a part of someone's process-- some we will hear about, and some we'll never know aboutuntil we get to heaven.

Fiction: A Keyhole View of Faith

The discussion about subjectivity has been very interesting, first with MaryBeth's story on Monday about the book club gone rabid and on Wednesday with Sharon's report from the ledge. I have a story too.

Back during my teaching days, I belonged to a book group of fellow teachers. Instead of lesson plans and playground mishaps, we talked books for two solid hours. We met once a month, taking turns choosing the novel and hosting the group, which meant baking something gooey and chocolatey.

I loved that group! They introduced me to their favorite writers--some loved, some loathed. And not since my days as an English Lit major had I experienced the shear delight of discussing the shared experience of reading a book, usually a relatively private matter. Pure. Heady. Indulgence.

The group grew closer as we shared our lives and values because talking about stories is talking about life. We disagreed without rancor, laughed freely, and celebrated our unique take on a story--unless there was a Christian element to the story. Nothing brought emotions to the surface quite like an obsessive-compulsive missionary (The Poisonwood Bible) or a preachy post-rapture pilot (Left Behind).

Honestly, fictional murderers are held in less contempt than Christians, and why not? Most literary Christians (in mainstream fiction) are despicable, or, at least, have questionable motives, always.

And so, a desire was born in me to be a writer who provided a keyhole look into the life of someone who followed Christ. We aren't always our best behind closed doors, but we're not always the worst either. For anyone in my book club to read a book like that, it would have to be, well, not a prairie romance. (Note: I'm not opposed to prairie romances, but my book club is.)

I write with that book club as my audience. They're agnostics, Buddhists, Baptists, Mormons, Methodists, Universalists, and absolutely nothing at all. I don't know if any of them have changed their viewpoint of Jesus, but that's why I write as authentically as I can manage. Just in case.

Five books later, the only book clubs I attend are ones I'm invited to appear at. (Writing this, I'm thinking that has to change.) Recently, a friend's daughter invited me to appear at her book club. I walked into a room of 20- and 30-something career women.

Oh no.

Seeing Things has a 72-year-old for a protagonist and Huckleberry Finn as one of the antagonist. I prepared to be skewered.

Not so. They asked wonderfully thoughtful questions that came from careful reading. They listened to my answers and peppered me with more questions, all respectful. Hog heaven!

And then, the hostess sidled up to her question. "Are you religious?" She didn't let me answer. "Because Birdie reminds me of my grandmother, and she was always praying or reading her Bible. When Birdie talks about lowering her family through the roof to Jesus, I see it. It's right there. I finally get what prayer is."

She looked through the keyhole! She saw my protag using the story of the paralytic lowered to Jesus as a model for praying for her family, and it made sense. I could have hung up my spurs and ridden into the west right there and then. Sigh. Thanks, God.

But I won't.

I have another story in mind.

There's always a chance someone might look through the keyhole again.

That's what keeps me writing. Not the possibility of awards. Or the nil to none possibility of getting rich or famous. Or the hope of a movie deal. Writing is our art, and our art reflects the beauty of Christ.

Do you keep an audience in mind as you're writing? Who are they? For those of you who belong to a book club, what keeps you coming back time after time? Do you read your reviews? Thought I'd sneak that question in.

Have a great weekend and thanks for a thought-provoking week.

The Subjectivity of Readers ... or ... Talk Me Down Off the Ledge

My first thought after reading MaryBeth Whalen's post on Monday was, "Sheesh, I wouldn't want to be in that book club." I can just imagine the conversation from her husband's perspective, hearing her defend her plot and her characters to a group of women who take their fiction far too seriously. Maybe not tomorrow, but I suspect MaryBeth will look back on the experience with the objectivity it deserves. And hopefully, laugh.

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I think most writers, at least in the early days of their careers, will have a "talk me down off the ledge"moment, when a review or an interview doesn't go as planned. For me, that moment came on a Saturday last summer at my local library. I was invited to participate in a Meet-the-Authors event with five other authors from my hometown, all but one of whom had published more books than I, and who were, by far, the more experienced public speakers.

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Yet I was the one who took the initiative to contact the other authors and invite them to meet for coffee a few weeks beforehand so we could become acquainted before the event. Turns out most of them already knew each other. But the children's author -- a gracious young woman -- joined me for coffee, and another author dropped in just before our time together ended. Then, a week or so later, the children's author invited me to have lunch with her, the drop-in, and another writer friend. It was nice, and helped me feel a little less of an outsider.

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I was honored to be a participant in the library event, and prepared my introductory spiel with care, as well as the material for my workshop. But the librarian in charge of the event was ... scattered, to say the least, and even arrived after the event was scheduled to begin. While the 60 or so who had gathered to hear us milled about, a couple of the other authors and I decided we'd go ahead and set up the room for the introductory session, because nothing was done. No tables, no chairs for our panel, no podium for our notes. No organization of any kind. Nothing. Nada. As a fan of structure, I was beginning to feel a little out of sorts.

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And it didn't help that I sat at the wrong end of the table. I realized the moment it was too late to do anything about it. Isn't that just how it goes? But I only had myself to blame. Left to right, Sharon. That's what I was thinking as I took that seat. Left. To. Right. That's how we do it in the US. And sure as the world, the fill-in librarian began with me. I stood, wishing I had a podium or even a music stand for my notes, and fumbled my way through the next five minutes. When we broke up for our workshops I had exactly three people in mine.

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True, most of the audience had come to hear the former local policewoman who now writes very successful detective novels, and we all knew it. She didn't disappoint. She was poised, polished, professional. Everything I wasn't. As expected, the bulk of the audience packed itself into her workshop.

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I took the long way home that day, feeling like an imposter.

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Considering that I once walked out of my high school sophomore history class and went home rather than give an oral report, I've come a long way. I've done TV and radio interviews and spoken to women's groups, where I was as poised, polished and professional as Police Woman. Just not that day. But for the most part, we writers want to write, not speak. Yet, maybe now more than ever, we have a huge responsibility in the promotion of our books. That means we'll be stretched, we'll have to step out of our comfort zones, and take chances that don't always have a happy ending, such as MaryBeth's book club interview.

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I've had some wonderful experiences interacting with book clubs. In fact, it's one of my favorite things to do in the promotion of my books. I know MaryBeth will have plenty of positive experiences in her future. But it's hard to let go of that one bad review, that one bad event. Because we're human. Another thing about being human is how very subjective we are. We're subjective as writers, penning stories that mean something to us. But we're also subjective as readers. Not everyone who picks up our books will be a fan. Hopefully the number will be small, and hopefully we'll learn something from the experience. Like how to laugh about it. In time.

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Maybe you've had an experience as a subjective reader where you didn't go along with the mainstream opinion, whether negative or positive. Or maybe you've had a talk-me-down-off-the-ledge moment, for whatever reason. We'd love to hear about it.

Grace For The Reader, Grace For The Writer- A She Reads Guest Post

Today's post comes from Marybeth Whalen of our sister blog She Reads.

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I had committed to a conference call with a book club that requested it, only to be challenged by them on the contents of my book to the point that I was put on the defensive. I kept wondering why this group had asked to talk to me at all if they disagreed with the book so much. My husband, who was in the background while I was talking and could only hear my side of the conversation, kept asking, "Who are you talking to?" He couldn't understand why I kept offering explanations for my characters' actions, why I seemed to be arguing about my book with whoever was on the other end of the phone.

Finally he said, "I don't care who that is, you need to get off." He was frustrated that I had taken time away from our family on a weekend, only to be ganged up on by women who were accusing me of encouraging readers to divorce so that they could find the true love of their lives. (Yes, they actually said that.)

My book, The Mailbox, wasn't written to encourage others to divorce. It was written to explore the themes of forgiveness and second chances and grace. Grace that I was not hearing from the book club I spoke to that day. Yes, my main character, Lindsey, is newly divorced in the book. And yes, she does reconnect with her first love on a trip to the beach following her divorce. But Lindsey is also grieving the loss of her marriage. I wrote the book because I've known one too many women in my real life that have been in that same situation. Where was this group's grace towards them?

After that conversation, I hung up the phone feeling stung and condemned. Though my husband tried to talk me down from the ledge (one of his main roles in life, poor guy), I couldn't stop hearing their voices. I wondered if they realized the power their words had over me; if they gave any thought to the way the conversation would make me feel, not just as an author but as a human being. I walked around processing the conversation for about a day.

And then the most wonderful thing happened.

I got an email from a woman who had read The Mailbox. She is one of those women who found herself divorced even though it wasn't what she ever wanted. She is still dealing with the loss of friends and lifestyle that comes from a divorce. She has felt the stinging judgments of others. And she wanted to thank me for presenting divorce as it really is, for creating a character that dealt with divorce in a way that felt familiar. She wrote words that were a balm to my soul, an affirmation that I believe was prompted by God so that I could break free of the condemnation I had felt following my conversation with the angry book club. I read her email over and over, letting the words sink in. Then I forwarded her letter to my publisher because I know that if I am getting criticized for writing it, they're probably getting criticized for publishing it. They wrote back to let me know that they loved her letter so much, they were reading it at their next staff meeting!

Writing is a solitary task. It is a risk when you write your solitary words and then send them out into the world. Sure your critique group or writing partner might sign off on them, your agent might tell you they're good, and the publisher might buy them. But you really can't know how they're going to be received until readers get their hands on them. I didn't expect to be called on the carpet for encouraging divorce but I did expect to help women who had been affected by it. I wanted to offer those women the grace they deserved through my writing. I am thankful for the woman who took the time to extend grace to me at a time that I needed it most. It turns out that writers need grace as badly as readers do.

Reading in the Land of Ought-to-Be

We’ve opened a huge topic here at Novel Matters this week, starting with Marybeth’s innocent question: Which books are on your “Keepers” list? These are the books you devoured and talked about incessantly to the annoyance of your family. Most titles offered by our readers came from the American Booksellers Association (ABA) or mainstream market, not the Christian Booksellers Association (CBA) or inspirational market.

This led to Latayne’s question: Why aren’t CBA books found on “Keepers” lists more often? She bravely listed her reasons. Marybeth's and Latayne’s insights are thought-provoking. Consider going back to read both of these finely crafted blog posts.

Allow me to stir the pot a bit more by asking: Why do Christians who buy inspirational fiction prefer more formulaic storylines in an America of long ago?

I think there is a strong spiritual element to this question. Warning: I’m not a theologian. (Haven’t I said that here before?) I’m just trying to understand our market. Try this out and feel free to set me straight:

As Christians, we all live in a place of great tension. The Kingdom has come in the person of Jesus Christ. Eternity has started for us. We’re members of His family. We’re Heaven-bound and God-connected. We worship a living God, eternal and holy. We’re loved, saved, grace-doused. Hallelujah!

And yet . . .

We aren’t in Heaven yet.

Friends get cancer. Our children rebel. Husbands leave. Prayers aren’t answered the way we hope and certainly not as soon as we would like. Smut is everywhere. We’re seeing our values dissolve before our eyes. We can’t trust the schools, and some have been deeply wounded by the church (little c).

We are between what is and what will be. We live, for now, in the Land of Ought-to-Be. We have high expectations of living out our faith, but this proves challenging in its application. We desire praises and not profanities to flow from our lips; we’re desperate to be healed every time we pray, to love one another sacrificially, and to be Christ-like in the way we live, work, and play. But because we’re in the Land of Ought-to-Be, we fall far short of these expectations.

Some Christians have a lower tolerance for the dissonance of the Land of Ought-to-Be than others. Those on one end of the continuum crave a literary vacation spot where the world is on their side. They also need their faith and life-style affirmed.

On the other end of the continuum, readers are more comfortable with open-ended questions, and a view of the world that is as menacing—or more menacing—as true life.

Now that I have this working model of why some Christian readers like certain kinds of fiction, what am I to do?

Simple.

I write the stories God dangles before me like a jewel in the sun, pursue excellence in form and content of my prose, and pray my audience finds me. And BTW, I enjoy a literary vacation, but the story must be well-written.

Did I even come close to understanding this phenomena? What’s your take?

Being a Keeper

Today's post comes from Marybeth Whalen Director of She Reads. Novel Matters and She Reads have partnered to create a bridge between readers and writers in order to create a community built around the love for books. We encourage you to have a look at the She Reads site and join in the discussion! Here is some information about this wonderful organization.

She Reads exists to honor Christ by connecting readers with novels that:

• inspire through excellent writing
• explore deep issues of faith
• initiate change in the reader’s life

Each month, the She Reads book club will offer a current title as featured selections. Readers have vast differences in taste and for this reason diverse genres and authors will be chosen.

Why should I join She Reads?

Readers who join She Reads receive a number of benefits, including:

• Connection with other readers on the She Reads blog who are passionate about great fiction and uplifting stories.
• Information via the She Reads newsletter that will keep readers up to date on their favorite authors, and books, with a few surprises thrown in for fun.
• Reviews of newly released titles written by a variety of readers, writers, and industry professionals.
• Options to create a She Reads book club or bring an existing club under the She Reads umbrella.
• Relationships developed within the intimate setting of a regular book club meeting.
• Fun planned study guides with activities and interesting facts developed specifically for the She Reads book club.
• Online Community for those who can’t participate in a monthly meeting (or don’t live near an existing club), via the She Reads blog and Facebook group.
• Pre-selected novels they can trust and appreciate – an important aspect in today’s economy where every buying decision requires a second thought.
• Access to authors they love through print interviews, meet and greets, conference calls, etc. Each selected author will participate in two conference calls with the first 100 guests (per call) who sign up. This will be a free service and a chance for readers to have their questions answered by the authors themselves!
• Free books from time to time via contests, giveaways, and publisher promotions.

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Of all the diversions of life, there is none so proper to fill up

its empty spaces as the reading of useful and entertaining authors.
~ Joseph Addison ~

There are books that we keep and books that we donate. What makes the difference? And why does it matter to us as writers?

I thought of this recently as I made my weekly visit to the library. I passed books on the shelf that I had read and loved and smiled at them like old friends. I watched a woman picked up a book that had been a favorite of mine and, on impulse, I recommended it to her. "That's a great one," I offered. "A good choice."

She looked at me with narrowed eyes as though trying to remember when she had asked my opinion. I grinned and continued with my search for a book that would inspire that same kind of passion in me. I did not look back to see if she took my advice and checked out the book I recommended.

As a writer, I want to write the books that people keep. Once I borrowed a copy of Gift From The Sea from a friend. I remember just as I was about to walk out with it my friend stopped me. "Hang on!" she said. "I want to write my name in it so I can be sure to get it back. This one's a book I want to keep." She paused. "It's special to me."

Isn't that every writer's longing? To write a book that readers want to keep, if for nothing else than to know it's there, to smile at it on their shelf? So what does a keeper look like? I thought of the books I have kept. In spite of my ever-shrinking shelf space they earned a permanent spot. These books are:

Moving. The book moved me emotionally. I connected with the plot, the premise, the outcome. I wanted to keep it because I wanted to preserve the connection.

Memorable Characters. I have spent time with these characters and loved them. When the book ends, I find myself wondering how they're doing. I wanted to keep the book because I wanted the characters close by.

Makes you think. Whether it's a surprise ending or a moral dilemma the character faced, the book kept me enthralled and made me ponder life from a different angle or made me dig deeper into some of my own beliefs. I wanted to keep it because it earned my respect.

Masterful writing. When I read the book I caught myself going back to re-read certain sentences or paragraphs because the writing was just that good. I wanted to keep the book because the writer created an amazing work.

Motivates me to be a better writer. When I closed the book I thought to myself, "I wish I had written that book... or thought of that premise... or created those plot twists, etc." Reading good writing inspires really good writing. I kept the book because I want good writing close at hand.

My co-director at She Reads, Ariel Allison Lawhon says, "The beautiful thing is that every writer can control the elements that make a book a keeper. We can't control marketing or promotion or cover design or even the title. But we can write really good books." The next time you are thinking about your novel, don't think about getting published or the brand or the title or anything else. Think instead about the books you have kept and how you can write a book that is a keeper.

Ariel and I thought we'd make a brief list of the books we consider keepers. We would love for you to share yours!

Ariel's list: Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen, The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger, Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, Kathryn Stockett's The Help, Keeper Of The Bees by Jean Stratton Porter, anything by George MacDonald or C.S. Lewis, and all of the She Reads selections,

Marybeths' list: all the She Reads picks, Kathleen McCleary's House And Home, Prince Of Tides by Pat Conroy (the book that cemented my desire to be a writer), all of Lee Smith's titles, Susan Meissner's Blue Heart Blessed, Love Walked In by Marisa De Los Santos, The Pact by Jodi Picoult

Which books are on your Keeper List? What makes them stand out to you?

Novel Matters and She Reads Partner to Create a Wonderful Reader/Writer Community

We're ringing in the 12 Days of Christmas on Novel Matters. (for full contest rules, click the link.)

"On the fourth day of Christmas my true love gave to me...
four calling birds

I'll send a signed copy of Raising Rain to the person who can find an author's last name in the phrase: FOUR CALLING BIRDS and name a title by that author OR submit a book title with one of the words from the phrase and the author. Submit your entry using the "Contact" button above. See complete details for the contest on the November 23rd post. Good Luck! The winner will be announced on Wednesday, December 2nd.

She Reads and Novel Matters – Bringing Writers and Readers Together

Proverbs 15:22 says, “Without consultation, plans are frustrated,

but with many counselors they succeed.”

That’s collective wisdom.

The authors of Novel Matters (Sharon K. Souza, Debbie Fuller Thomas, Latayne C. Scott, Patti Hill, Kathleen Popa, and Bonnie Grove), together with the authors and brilliant minds behind She Reads (Ariel Allison and Marybeth Whalen) announce a partnership designed to bring writers and readers together in a new, dynamic way.

She Reads blog is all about “Discovering Great Fiction Together.” Their motto is "The proper care and feeding of readers." Since their inception, She Reads has reached out to the reading community and provided a place for discussion, book clubs, events, contests, and arranged ‘close encounters’ for readers and writers to connect. Each quarter, She Reads chooses three “picks” to share with their readership. They are part of Proverbs 31 Ministries – an important and dynamic ministry to and for women.

Novel Matters blog is a community that celebrates the creative process of writing. We explore what matters in novels. We are six published authors – our combined books number 27. We have teamed to build a community populated by authors, writers, hopeful writers, readers, and people interested in the different ways of expressing creativity, language, and ideas.

The partnership between these two groups opens new opportunities for readers and for authors. To paraphrase author Kevin Crossley-Holland, we hope to create a "room with big windows" where readers can come into the lives of published authors who struggle daily with words and authors can partake of the privilege of meeting and sharing with readers.

What the partnership will look like:

Each site of course will maintain its own identity, as a readers' community and a writers' community.

Twice a month, an author from Novel Matters will post on the She Reads blog, giving insight to the creative process, answering reader questions, and revelling in our shared love of books and reading. Yes, Novel Matters is populated with authors, but each author is also an avid reader. We devour books and love to talk about our reading experiences.

Once a month, an author from She Reads will post on Novel Matters – bringing a wealth of insight on how authors can reach readers. This goes beyond marketing tips. The instruction they bring will help authors build trust with readers, and touch their hearts.

She Reads and Novel Matters are dreaming big dreams -- of glimpses into each others' worlds -- a place of community where you Read Novels -- where the She of each of you truly Matters to authors who care about their craft and their readers.

Please welcome Ariel and Marybeth!

~She Reads, Of Course!~

It’s funny how the best friendships are often started over a cup of coffee and a great conversation. Or, in the case of the She Reads Directors, Ariel Allison and Marybeth Whalen, an e-mail that basically said, “Hi, you don’t know me, but we will be friends!” (Ariel’s fault – she’s long been in the habit of plucking her friends at random with a gut feeling and a bold invitation).

Yet even in friendship, there must be commonality and for these two women it boiled down to books (and children – they have ten between the two of them). They love to read, they love to write, and they love to recommend books to others. Over the course of countless sessions of Gmail chat they came to the conclusion that book clubs are rather elusive entities. They are scattered, independent, and numerous. Yet book clubs are the heart of the publishing industry, and the key to reaching readers on a large scale. Thus the idea for an umbrella organization, specifically designed to meet the needs of book clubs and individual readers, was formed.

As a long time member of the Proverbs 31 Ministries speaker team, Marybeth suggested the idea to the organization as a way to expand the reach of their ministry. There are countless women who would never darken the door of a church or attend a Bible study but would go to a book club and discuss a Christian novel. It was only a matter of weeks before Proverbs warmly pulled She Reads into the fold. And here they are, just four months later reaching thousands of readers each month. Dozens of She Reads book clubs have formed, and many existing clubs have come under the She Reads umbrella. Women hunger for novels that matter and for authors that are approachable. She Reads exists to bridge the gap between the two.

So who are these two crazy women who’ve shouldered such a massive undertaking? Just two mommies, befriended by words, and a passion to help the world understand the power of story:

Marybeth Whalen is the wife of Curt and mom of six children. The family lives outside Charlotte, NC. Marybeth is a member of the Proverbs 31 Ministries speaker team and a regular contributor to their daily devotions. She served as general editor of For The Write Reason and The Reason We Speak. She and her husband Curt co-authored Learning To Live Financially Free and her first novel, The Mailbox will be released in June 2010. Marybeth speaks regularly to women's groups and enjoys sharing stories from her daily adventures as a wife, mom, writer, and, most importantly, a follower of God.

You can find her online at www.marybethwhalen.com.

Ariel Allison is first and foremost the wife of Ashley, and mother of London, Parker, Marshall, and Colby. She has a penchant for adrenaline-infused madness such as rock climbing, running marathons, and jumping off bridges – as if raising four pre-school boys were not adventure enough. Her first novel, Eye of the God, released in October 2009, from Abingdon Press. She is the co-author of Daddy Do You Love Me: a Daughter’s Journey of Faith and Restoration, and Jesus: Dead or Alive. When not immersed in a book, changing a diaper, or rescuing her dog from the death-grip of a toddler, you can find Ariel loitering in her little corner of cyberspace at www.arielallison.com. She and her family make their home in Texas, which is, according to her husband, the greatest state in the union.