Interviews, Articles, Reviews - Oh, my! Part II

A couple of friends have joined my blog tour, so I have an updated list below.

UPDATED SCHEDULE:

• Wed, June 11 - Paula Moldenhauer has reprinted my article from Seekerville. "Take Your Passion and Make It Happen" is about my writing walk and how I got that first contract for Merely Players. http://www.gracereign.blogspot.com/
• Wed, June 17 - Rachel Hauck has asked me to talk about my book. I'll go into some of my research. Do you know the difference between a bottlenose dolphin and a Pantropical Spotted dolphin? I had never heard of the latter before I wrote this book! www.rachelhauck.com/blog.htm
• Sat, June 22 - Angie Breidenbach has asked me to pull out something nifty (my word) from my book. So I will talk about what role symbolism played in the writing of this story. (Preview: Is it just a storm?) http://writingbyfaith.blogspot.com/ CORRECTION http://godusesbrokenvessels.blogspot.com/
• Wed, July 2 - Margie Vawter will offer a brief review and an interview on my writing process. http://www.marjorievawter.blogspot.com/
  
• Wed, July 9 - Tiff Stockton will host an interview. http://www.ambermiller.com/
• Sat, July 19 - Pat Gonzales will host an interview. http://www.pattishene.com/
• Mon, July 21 - Megan DiMaria will host an interview. http://www.megandimaria.blogspot.com/
  

Interviews, Articles, Reviews - Oh, my!

Florida Weddings is in stores now! Look for it in the C's for Coleman as Lynn A. Coleman is the first author in the collection. Kristy Dykes is the second, and bringing up the rear is Kathleen E. Kovach! My story is Merely Players, the Heartsong Presents novel that came out in 2006.

Here's a brief synopsis of Florida Weddings:

• When thieves ransack Renee Austin's design firm, all the evidence points to her as the culprit. Her boss, Aaron Chapin, wants to trust her, but secrets from her past are endangering more than one life. Will the Cords of Love give Renee the strength to prove her innocence?
• Child psychologist Jeris Waldron is a children's director at a church, hoping to win some hearts for the Lord. Brady Moore has prayed for a new mommy and believes Jeris is the answer, but his dad, Luke, has his doubts. Will this threesome allow God to show them the Heart of the Matter?
• Having escaped from Hollywood, Bethany Hamilton finally feels safe in Florida--until she comes face-to-face with Brick Connor, the man who abandoned her for the big screen. When Brick meets up with Bethany again, he realizes he still loves her. Does God have a plan, or are these wounded hearts Merely Players in a cruel game of love?

I've asked some friends to promote Florida Weddings for me on their blogs. Here's a schedule over the next couple of months. Some are interviews, some are articles, and some are reviews. I do hope you'll mark your calendars and visit me over there. Please leave comments, too!

SCHEDULE:

• TODAY! Wed, June 11 - Paula Moldenhauer has reprinted my article from Seekerville. "Take Your Passion and Make It Happen" is about my writing walk and how I got that first contract for Merely Players. http://www.gracereign.blogspot.com/
• Wed, June 18 - Rachel Hauck has asked me to talk about my book. I'll go into some of my research. Do you know the difference between a bottle-nosed dolphin and a Pantropical spotted dolphin? I had never heard of the latter before I wrote this book! www.rachelhauck.com/blog.htm
• Sat, June 22 - Angie Breidenbach has asked me to pull out something nifty (my word) from my book. So I will talk about what role symbolism played in the writing of this story. (Preview: Is it just a storm?) http://writingbyfaith.blogspot.com/
• Wed, July 2 - Margie Vawter will offer a brief review and an interview on my writing process.
  
• Wed, July 9 - Tiff Stockton will also interview me. http://www.ambermiller.com/

Stay tuned, I may have others who would like to finish out July.

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I want to add this brief note. Kristy Dykes, the middle author in our collection was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer a few months ago. Her friends and family are asking for a miracle for Kristy this side heaven. Please join us, and read her blog that her husband, Milton, is keeping up for her and updating on her condition daily. It's an inspirational testimony that touches everyone who stops by.

I'm God's Peculiar Piece of Art

Check out the new look!

I haven't blogged often in the past, but I hope to rectify that. My life is easing somewhat, and my muse has returned home. I don't know where she fled to in the past year and a half. Probably Fiji. She came back with an incredible tan a renewed love of sweet potatoes.

But I digress.

I've spent a few days polishing up my main blog. (Kinda sounds like "my main squeeze." He could do with a bit of polishing up, too!)

ADD has kicked in. Sorry about that.

Where was I? Oh, the new blog. Yes, gone is the feather pen in hand graphic behind the words. I loved it, even though it was a man's hand. But, to celebrate my new found muse, and to step into the new century, I thought a kicky graphic would be the thing. What thing? THE thing. THE thing to get me out of my writing funk. THE thing to remind me that I'm still a hot chick and not a 53-year-old grandmother who colors her hair and rubs linement on her knees. THE thing to help me reconnect with my readers and writing friends.

How can a graphic do all that?

I went on a hunt for "free blog header graphics." I didn't have to search far before I found this one.

The image was sharper, but I fuzzied it up so my title would show. It spoke to me right away. It told my whole life, my hopes and dreams, my quirks, my desires, my whole being in this one piece of art. What I saw was a lot of colorful, unique circles in boxes. This represented the people around me. All have thier own styles. All are beautiful. All are neatly contained in their own space. That's a good thing. I'm not saying they shouldn't be in their squares. I, however, am the diamond off to the side. The diamond in a box of my own. I'm the thinker off-center. The one who makes her own rules. I may conform to a certain extent, as in the seventies when I caved in to bell-bottom jeans and waist-length hair. Or more recently when I pierced my ears on a dare. I believe I was forty at the time. But inside, I'm Kathy. My mother often said that I march to a different drummer. I hear my own tunes -- sometimes a jazz ensemble while everyone else is listening to Mozart.

God created me uniquely His. He gave me a singularity all my own. He made me a diamond in the rough, off center with just enough shine so people will know that He did it.

We all have pieces of art that speak to us. You may be the Norman Rockwell -- the solid piece of Americana with a splash of humor. You may be the Thomas Kinkaid -- the beautiful still life with a sparkle of light. You may be the Picasso -- your nose in the place where your ear should be.

I say all of this, not only to introduce my blog's new look, but to remind us that we are all uniquely God's. Made up of different DNA and bits of genetic material to be used by Him for His good purpose. I like to think of myself as peculiar. 1 Peter 2:9 says we are His "peculiar people" according to the King James Bible. Other versions say this:

• His own special people (NKJV)
• you are God's very own (TLB)
• a people belonging to God (NIV)
• a people for God's own possession (NAS)

Wow! All you diamonds set apart -- rejoice! We are God's special people, His very own.

From the Mouth of a 3 Year Old: I Smell Something

Sabella: "I smell something."

Daddy: "What do you smell?"

Sabella: "A puma."

Daddy: "What does a puma smell like?"

Sabella: "Waffles."

ACFW Colorado Retreat

ACFW COLORADO RETREAT
“The Courage to Pursue Your Writing Dreams”

Speaker: Paula Moldenhauer, http://www.soulscents.us/

April 25 & 26
Camp Eden
Golden, Colorado
11583 Camp Eden Rd. Golden, CO 80403
Deadline: Registration must be postmarked by April 15!

Open only to members of American Christian Fiction Writers. (http://www.acfw.com/)

If you'd like to know more please contact Kathy Kovach at kathleenekovach@yahoo.com

Do you ever feel held back by fear, a raging sense of inadequacy, or the thought that you aren't good enough to write for God? Maybe letting someone read those words you've scribbled for years makes your heart pound and your palms sweat. Entering the world of pub­lication isn't for the weak of heart. It's a God-sized adventure. Stepping onto the writing road requires courage, and stay­ing on it takes tremendous fortitude, es­pecially when things don't turn out the way you hoped.

As Paula teaches on the courage to pur­sue your writing dreams, she'll not only share what God has to say about the big picture, but will prayerfully encourage you to look beneath the surface of your heart to what holds you back. This weekend is about embracing your calling to write, unleashing your passions, and discovering how to live above the lies that keep you from pursuing both. Along with the teaching time, there will be time for personal reflection, journaling, and prayer. A prayer team will also be avail-able to support you.

The retreat committee is praying for spiritual break-through in your writing journey. Join us in praying for this retreat and come ready to let God's sweet Spirit call you forward into the courage to pur­sue your writing dreams.

OUR SPEAKER
Paula Moldenhauer is passionate about God's grace and freedom in Christ. In her mid-thirties, she experi­enced a spiritual break-through that set her free to pursue her life-long dream of writing for publication. Since that time Paula's work has been published in book compilations, print and on-line magazines, and de­votionals. She also has her own min­istry, Soul Scents, which offers a free weekly devotional delivered to your in-box. (Subscribe at http://www.soulscents.us/) When not writing, Paula homeschools her four children and once in a while she finds a moment to walk barefoot, drink a good root beer, or climb a mountain trail.