Monday, January 6, 2020

Focused Backstory Celebration Tour!

About the Book

Book: Focused Backstory
Author: Carol Alwood
Genre: Non-fiction, writing resource
Release Date: June 26, 2019

Learn how to write characters readers will love.

Has an industry professional told you not to dump character history at the beginning of your story? If so, you aren’t alone. But what’s the solution to this common advice? Most writers take the time to design interesting characters with troubled pasts. They long for readers to care about the characters’ lives. However, the sad truth is on page one, readers don’t care—yet. That’s why industry gurus tell writers to stop overusing character history, also called backstory, at the beginning of stories. Have you ever wondered… How to use backstory correctly? What are the ways other writers successfully incorporate backstory into their work? Do tools exist to help writers better plan stories so the backstory isn’t such a problem? In Focused Backstory: The Key to Writing Deep Character Journeys, you’ll find answers to these questions and more. You’ll learn how to avoid the dreaded info-dump and instead, harness curiosity so readers keep turning pages. This resource breaks down focused backstory into simple pieces to use flexibly in any story no matter what genre or length. Worksheets, tables, questionnaires, and templates will help you plan an engaging story with deep characters. Examples from popular stories will help you understand this method.

You’ll learn how to

• design a character around a troubled past.

• create additional characters around the main character.

• weave interesting sub-plots within a characters’ journey toward healing.

• design proper obstacles which interfere with characters’ goals.

• guide readers’ emotions so they have a satisfying reading experience.

No matter what kind of writer you are, if you take the time to analyze the use of backstory, it will enhance your style. Focused Backstory: The Key to Writing Deep Character Journeys is the missing gadget in your writing tool kit.

My Thoughts: Are you thinking about writing? Or maybe you're stuck with a thought you want to get down on paper but just not sure where to go with it. This book will certainly help you with your writing process, helping you develop your characters and get the story rolling. Overall, this was an informative book on backstory with a wide variety of examples from books, film, and television to illustrate the concepts. Definitely worth a read by anyone looking for an in-depth, analytical look at how to break down the concept of character backstories. This is an in-depth study guide to what makes a good background for your story concept. She tells the reader how to choose your character's background and how to leave traces of them throughout the storyline. There are a number of worksheets for the reader to download to help assist the reader in working on their character's background. This is a helpful tool for writers.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Click here to get your copy.

About the Author

Carol Alwood has an unending passion for fiction, and she can’t think of a better way to spend her life than writing books for young adults and teaching about techniques she has learned along the way. With a Master of Education, experience as a content editor, and over a decade of establishing and working with critique groups, she is an excellent resource. An award-winning author, Carol finds joy in helping writers find the right tools to plan, draft and revise their novels so they can achieve excellence in storytelling.

More from Carol

Focused Backstory resulted from a personal quest to please industry critics who suggested I keep character history out of the first pages of my novels. My initial questions to this advice were: What? Why? I searched for resources to figure out how to write a more powerful beginning without relying on the past but found little help. On a mission to find answers, I studied popular books, television and movies to abstract what made stories work and — boom! I found it! We can break down backstory into simple pieces to use flexibly in any story without compromising artistry. This book provides definitions, examples, worksheets, templates, and comics to help writers study the art of using powerful character histories to keep readers turning pages. I’m so excited to offer this resource and hope it will empower your writing as it has mine.

Blog Stops

Book Reviews From an Avid Reader, December 28

Holly Jo Morris, December 28

janicesbookreviews, December 29

CarpeDiem, December 29

Jacquelyn Lynn, December 29

For the Love of Literature, December 30

Mary Hake, December 30

Blogging With Carol, December 31

All-of-a-kind Mom, December 31

Genesis 5020, January 1

April Hayman, Author, January 1

Pause for Tales, January 1

Through the Fire Blogs, January 2

A Modern Day Fairy Tale, January 2

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, January 3

Emily Yager, January 3

Remembrancy, January 4

Stephanie’s Life of Determination, January 4

A Reader’s Brain, January 5

Spoken from the Heart, January 5

Sara Jane Jacobs, January 5

Abba’s Prayer Warrior Princess, January 6

Godly Book Reviews, January 6

Blossoms and Blessings, January 7

With a Joyful Noise, January 7

Inklings and notions, January 8

Stories Where Hope and Quirky Meet, January 8

A Diva’s Heart, January 8

Artistic Nobody, January 9

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, January 9

Hebrews 12 Endurance, January 9

Texas Book-aholic, January 10

Stories By Gina, January 10

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Carol is giving away the grand prize of a $25 Amazon gift card!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway!

Click Here to Enter!

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review and the opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Wednesday, December 25, 2019

Crown Celebration Tour!

About the Book

Book: Crown
Author: Nancy Kaser
Genre: Christian Non-Fiction, Biblical Marriage
Release Date: August 20, 2019

Whether you’re in the honeymoon stage or celebrating your fiftieth anniversary, you have never before been in this season of your marriage. Your family dynamics, finances, health, emotional state, location, ministry, employment status—all the factors of your life—are in a perpetual state of transition. As a married woman, you are continually wife-changing. The Scriptures never change, but they can always be freshly applied to every season of marriage.

Crown is a resource that combines solid Bible teaching, humorous and humbling tales from the author’s own marriage journey, and dozens of compelling stories from real women just like you. Based on Proverbs 12:4, “An excellent wife is the crown of her husband,” Crown includes concrete Scriptural truths and real-life examples that will equip you to be the excellent wife God created you to be. Complex issues such as biblical roles within marriage, physical intimacy, communication, forgiveness, and home management are all addressed with candid honesty, encouragement, and biblical substance. In thirty wife-changing lessons, you will be instructed, challenged, and motivated to walk in obedience to God’s beautiful design for marriage.

My Thoughts: This is a wonderful study for women that is designed as a six-week Bible study that can be completed alone or in a group setting. It is structured so that you can read one day’s worth of material, five days a week, for six weeks. It contains Bible teaching, both humorous and humbling tales of the author's marriage path, and dozens of personal stories from real wives that Nancy Kaser has counseled over the years. This is a wonderful study for women of all ages, newlyweds or for those married for years; all women will benefit from this study. The author says "The Word Is Truth

We cannot know everything God says about marriage if we study only the handful of Scriptures that directly address marriage. Instead, we must study the entire Bible". I agree fully with the author on this, and Nancy Kaser takes the reader through what the reader may consider basics to make sure that we know what the gospel is and we study the scriptures thoroughly. Nancy shows the reader how to yield to God, to be a good helper to her husband, covers some difficult topics like divorce and submission. This is a wonderful study, and I highly recommend it to all. I know that I will certainly use this in my ministry to women.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Click here to get your copy.

About the Author

Nancy Kaser is a passionate pastor’s wife and veteran missionary. For over twenty-five years, she has taught women’s Bible studies, provided biblical counseling, and been a dynamic women’s conference speaker. Based in Southern California, Nancy teaches literature and history classes at The Writtenburg Door. She and her visionary husband also lead short-term mission trips with the Calvary Chapel movement and run a child-sponsorship organization.

More from Nancy

Not sure if you want it in an email attachment or a Word document so I am sending both. The attachment is below.

Closing the church door after my seventh counseling appointment that week, I was overcome with the realization that every appointment had been relatively indistinguishable. The women I counseled from our congregation were generally unsatisfied, disappointed, and disillusioned with their marriages, and some were downright rebellious in their role as wives. The same anxieties, the same troubles, (and the same sins creating the anxieties and troubles) came up in almost every meeting. Though these church ladies may have been well-versed in the scriptures, no one had taught them how to live out biblical principals in their everyday lives.

As a pastor’s wife, I wished I could meet with every married lady in my church and offer practical discipleship with this hope: that a glorious, fulfilling, and God-honoring marriage—to the same guy she is married to right now! —is absolutely possible through obedience to God’s word.

Crown – 30 Wife-Changing Lessons is a resource that combines solid Bible teaching, humorous and humbling tales from my own marriage journey, and dozens of compelling stories from real women just like you. Based on Proverbs 12:4, “An excellent wife is the crown of her husband,” Crown includes concrete, scriptural truths and real-life examples that will equip you to be the excellent wife God created you to be. Complex issues such as biblical roles within marriage, physical intimacy, communication, forgiveness, and home management are all addressed with candid honesty, encouragement and biblical substance.

Whether you’re in the honeymoon stage or celebrating your fiftieth anniversary, you have never before been in this season of your marriage. Your family dynamics, finances, health, emotional state, location, ministry, employment status— all the factors of your life—are in a perpetual state of transition. As a married woman, you are continually wife-changing. The scriptures never change, but they can always be freshly applied to every season of marriage. In thirty wife-changing lessons, you will be instructed, challenged, and motivated to walk in obedience to God’s beautiful design for marriage.

Blog Stops

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, December 13

Mary Hake, December 13

Inklings and notions, December 14

Artistic Nobody, December 15

All-Of-kind Mom, December 16

Just the Write Escape, December 17

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, December 17

Abba’s Prayer Warrior Princess, December 18

Texas Book-aholic, December 19

janicesbookreviews, December 20

Simple Harvest Reads, December 21

For Him and My Family, December 21

A Reader’s Brain, December 22

As He Leads is Joy, December 23

Lots of Helpers, December 24

Quiet Workings, December 25

Godly Book Reviews, December 26

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Nancy is giving away the grand prize package of 2 copies of Crown and a $50 Amazon gift card!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway!

Click Here to Enter!

Saturday, December 21, 2019

The 40 Day sugar Fast

Would you give up sugar to experience the sweet presence of God in your life?
Many of us think that if our bodies become healthier, then we'll be healthier. But a healthy body doesn't do us a lot of good if we are spiritually malnourished. Welcome to the 40-Day Sugar Fast, a process that begins with us giving Jesus our sugar and ends with Jesus giving us more of Himself--the only thing that can ever truly satisfy our soul's deep hunger. On this journey you'll learn how to

· stop fixating on food and fix your eyes on Christ
· pinpoint the triggers that send you running to sugar
· lose weight as you gain faith
· turn to the Most High instead of the next sugar high

If you run to sugar for comfort or reward, eat mindlessly or out of boredom, feel physically and spiritually lethargic, or struggle with self-control, this fast will help you discover not only freedom from your cravings but an entirely new appetite for the good things God has for you.

My Thoughts: What are you willing to give up in order to gain the powerful presence of God in your life? This book isn't just about a physical detox, it's about a spiritual transformation. It's not just about giving up sugar, it's about giving up the things that take you away from God. Think of this book as a 40-day devotional that brings you closer to God. Each of the 40 days has a scripture reading and application for the reader to do. This book has a wonderful concept. It is easy to read and to follow. You can follow Wendy Speake here at The 40 Day Sugar Fast. She is starting up her annual sugar fast in January. What a great time to be starting something new! This is a wonderful book to bring the reader closer to God.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review and the opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Friday, December 20, 2019

A Season to Dance Celebration Tour!

About the Book

Book: A Season to Dance
Author: Patricia Beal
Genre: Women’s Fiction, Romance
Release Date: May, 2017

Ana Brassfield has her path to the stage of the Metropolitan Opera House all figured out until her first love, renowned German dancer Claus Gert, returns to Georgia to win her back. Despite a promising start towards her ballet career and pending marriage to landscape architect, Peter Engberg, Ana wonders if her dreams of dancing at the Met are as impossible as her previous romantic relationship with Claus.

Then, an on-stage kiss between Ana and Claus changes everything.

Convinced the kiss is more than a one-time mistake, Peter breaks off their engagement. With an old dog crippled by arthritis and dreams deferred but not left behind, Ana moves to Germany to be with Claus. But the ghost of his late wife, Ana’s own feelings for Peter, and the pressure of earning a spot in a large ballet company are a high price for a shot at success. Ana seems on the verge of having everything she ever dreamed of, but will it be enough?

My Thoughts: This is a story that will certainly tug at your heart strings. A story of a young woman in search of her dreams and true love. This is a story of life, full of ups and downs in search of happiness. This novel is well written and flows well. The characters are easy to identify with. This novel will take the reader on an emotional ride with the plots twists and turns. I am thankful I was able to read this novel, it is full of life lessons and truth. It is a story of making the right choices in life. I was happy that the gospel is given in this novel ; the reminder that God will give us the desires of our heart if we honor Him is also something I saw in this novel. I look forward to reading more from Patricia Beal.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Click here to get your copy!

About the Author

Patricia Beal is a 2015 Genesis semi-finalist and First Impressions finalist. A Season to Dance is her debut novel (Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas, May 2017). Her second novel comes out in February of 2020. Patricia graduated magna cum laude from the University of Cincinnati in 1998 with a B.A. in English Literature and has worked for the U.S. Army as a writer and editor for many years. Patricia writes from Fayetteville, North Carolina, where she lives with her husband and two children. You can find more info about Patricia on her website here.

More from Patricia

A Season to Dance: The Book That Wrote Me When I wrote the first line of my first novel in January of 2011, I wanted to get published because I was desperate to feel important. I finished writing A Season to Dance that fall and hired coach Gloria Kempton via Writer’s Digest to look at the whole thing and tell me if it was any good. She saw potential in the story of a small-town professional ballerina with big dreams, but explained I needed a clearer quest, more telling details, better scene structure, and better balance between sequels and dramatic scenes. I joined Gloria’s critique group and spent a year rewriting. During that year, my husband got orders to move the family from Fort Benning, Georgia, to Germany, and he deployed for the sixth time soon after we settled on a lovely mountaintop in Idar-Oberstein. When I finished rewriting, Gloria said the novel looked good and had everything a novel was supposed to have. But… “Something’s still missing. I don’t know what it is. We’ve covered it all.” So of course I did what any writer desperate for validation would do. I told my coach that surely nothing was missing and that it was time to query. I hired a service to blast queries everywhere for me. I know… Shame on me… But God used that. God’s Plan—Phase One One query ended up with Mrs. Joyce Hart, of Hartline Literary. The novel wasn’t Christian—I wasn’t a Christian. She shouldn’t have received my query. But she did. She sent me a note saying she liked the storyline but that in Christian novels the protagonist couldn’t live with her love interest without being married. She was very kind and said that if she was missing the point and if the novel was indeed Christian that I should resubmit explaining the living together piece. When I read it I laughed and rolled my eyes. I started typing a condescending reply. Something about Christian fairy tale brains and me living in the real world, but I decided not to send it. Days passed. A week passed. A month passed. And all I did was collect rejections. I became bitter. Bitterly sad at first. Then bitterly discouraged. And then bitterly ugly. I’d never been ugly before. Not like that. See, up to that point, I’d believed that there was some kind of “god” and that somewhere, somehow, being good was right and that it paid off. But with the disappointments of the publishing journey those beliefs became a joke to me. I stood in the middle of my empty German kitchen—husband deployed, kids at school, my first dog had just died. And I looked at that inbox full of rejections and stated to whomever or whatever was out there: “God is dead.” Mercy. Surely I said that to the “god” of my imagination, and not to the real God—God as He reveals Himself in the Bible. But I know that He was in that kitchen with me. And phase two of His plan was about to start. Luke 22:31-32: “And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.” God’s Plan—Phase Two As I lost all restraint and became the worst version of myself, God removed me from my green German mountaintop. After less than eighteen months in Germany, we were sent back to America, to the Chihuahuan Desert in West Texas. To a place called Fort Bliss—a place from which you can see a Mexican mountain with the words: “Cd. Juárez. La Biblia es la verdad. Leela.” That translates to “City of Juárez. The Bible is the truth. Read it.” Gotta love it. God is good. During the first six months back in America, I went to two secular writers’ conferences and met more rejection. My lack of restraint and my selfishness didn’t really make me happy. I wanted to go to therapy. I wanted a job. I still dreamed of that book deal that had to be just around the corner. I wanted, I wanted… But nothing happened, and it didn’t matter how hard I tried to get help, get happy, and find any kind of relief for the pain I felt. Nothing. Happened. I’d never seen so many closed doors—slammed-shut doors—ever in my life. Even the shrink kept double booking, closing early, and somehow cancelling on me. It was ridiculous. The One Open Door When God planted our family in the desert, He planted us two blocks from a friend from the Fort Benning years. A friend whose claim to fame was church shopping whenever the Army moved her family. I asked her to take me to church on the first Wednesday of January of 2013. I fell in His arms. Surrendered, defeated, and dependent. Or what God likes to call—ready. I was born again two weeks later and was baptized on Super Bowl Sunday that February. Gloria’s “Something Missing” I had tickets to go to New York for the Writer’s Digest conference that spring, but sometime in March, it dawned on me: “You silly goose of a girl. You wrote a salvation story without the salvation piece.” My first coach, Gloria Kempton, had been right all along. There was something missing! A Season to Dance isn’t just the story of a small-town professional ballerina who dreams of dancing at the Met in New York and the two men who love her. It’s also the story of a girl desperately trying to fill the God-shaped hole in her heart with often misguided career and romantic pursuits. I deleted Mrs. Hart’s email that week. Yes, it was still in my inbox. Job well done, Mrs. Hart. Now, I had work to do. I spent 2013 and the first half of 2014 rewriting the novel. Five ladies from my Sunday school read chapter after chapter as I produced them and cheered me on through that gruesome process. I couldn’t have done it without their support. God is good. Jeff Gerke edited my novel in the summer of 2014 and had me read Robert McGee’s The Search for Significance: Seeing Your True Worth Through God’s Eyes. God is good. I went to my first Christian writers conference, the ACFW 2014 in St. Louis. Two weeks later, Les Stobbe offered to represent me. God is good. ACFW 2015 was fantastic and many houses are looking at that first manuscript. God is good. In early 2016, we sold the manuscript to Bling! Romance, an imprint of Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas. A Season to Dance released in the spring of 2017. God is good. My family got saved, too. My husband in July of 2013. Our son in December of 2013. My mom in the fall of 2014. And our little girl just this past summer, the summer of 2015. God is amazingly good!

Blog Stops

Among the Reads, December 12

The Power of Words, December 12

As He Leads is Joy, December 13

Through the Fire Blogs, December 13

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, December 14

Locks, Hooks and Books, December 15

For the Love of Literature, December 15

Hallie Reads, December 16

By The Book, December 16

Girls in White Dresses, December 17

All-of-a-kind Mom, December 17

Texas Book-aholic, December 18

janicesbookreviews, December 19

God’s Peculiar Treasure Rae, December 19

Godly Book Reviews, December 20

Blogging With Carol, December 20

Christian Bookaholic, December 21

For Him and My Family, December 21

Inklings and notions, December 22

Stephanie’s Life of Determination, December 22

Emily Yager, December 23

CarpeDiem, December 23

A Reader’s Brain, December 24

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, December 25

Batya’s Bits, December 25

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Patricia is giving away the grand prize package of a themed basket of book-inspired coffees and chocolate!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway!

Click Here to Enter!

Wednesday, December 18, 2019

The Camera Never Lies Celebration Tour!

About the Book

Book: The Camera Never Lies
Author: David Rawlings
Genre: General fiction/allegory/magical realism

Release Date: December 3, 2019

David Rawlings, author of The Baggage Handler, returns with another probing story: what would you do if your secrets were revealed to those around you?

Daniel Whiteley is a successful couples counselor who regularly puts families back together, helping them face up to the things in life they hide. But his own marriage is falling apart.

His wife, Kelly, knows Daniel is hiding something from her, but she doesn’t dare probe for fear her own secrets will be revealed.

When his grandfather dies, Daniel inherits an old SLR camera from a time when cameras pointed away from the person taking the photograph. On the camera is an inscription: “Use this camera wisely and remember, regardless of the picture you think you took, the camera never lies.”
When Daniel first uses his new camera he finds someone has already filled the roll of film. Annoyed, he processes the film and finds photos of a secret that he’s been hiding from his wife and daughter.
He has no idea who took them.

Now every time he uses the camera, the photographs reveal another secret about himself the he is desperate to keep-as well as those of his wife, which he is desperate to uncover.

My Thoughts: This is a thought-provoking book that the reader will be unable to put down. The author David Rawlings has written a story that deals with the results of having secrets in our lives. Every untruth we have will affect us or someone close to us in one way or another. In this book we see how secrets affect a family. The author has a unique way of telling the story. It keeps the reader spellbound and entertained.
The characters are easily identified with by the reader; the author has a way of drawing the reader in wanting to keep reading until the end of the book. This is the second book I have read by the author and I look forward to reading more from David Rawlings.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Click here to get your copy.

About the Author

David Rawlings is an Australian author, and a sports-mad father of three who loves humor and a clever turn of phrase. Over a 25-year career he has put words on the page to put food on the table, developing from sports journalism and copywriting to corporate communication. Now in fiction, he entices readers to look deeper into life with stories that combine the everyday with a sense of the speculative, addressing the fundamental questions we all face.