Spotlight on Kim Stuart and Balancing Act

Unfortunately, the spotlight I had planned didn't work out. Perhaps I'll be able to highlight her at a later date. Instead, I'm pleased to introduce you to a new author who has written a delightful story of surviving the Balancing Act. This book released in September, 2006, but the sequel is set to release in May this year.

Take one twenty-nine-year-old woman, add a career, add a husband, add a home, toss in a best friend, and you have a great life.

Add a baby. Not a problem. Still can do.

Add a seductive ex-boyfriend moving a few houses over. Hmmm, a little more complicated, but managing.

Add a blonde twenty-something ski bunny flirting with your husband. Uh-oh. Did we mention the postpartum body? Somebody press the panic button.

Pile on returning to work after maternity leave, and sprinkle in a nosey Mommies Group...

And you've got a Balancing Act--a hilarious look at the challenges faced by modern women as they juggle careers, marriage, and children.

After teaching Spanish and English as a Second Language, Kimberly Stuart took a huge increase in pay to stay at home full time with her daughter, Ana. She lives in Des Moines, IA. While writing Balancing Act, Kimberly was pregnant with her second child.

1. What inspired you to write Balancing Act?

I was neck-deep in the throes of motherhood and found it could make me laugh until I made unfortunate snorting noises, cry until I needed to breathe into a paper bag, and hang my outgrown roots in forced humility, and all before nine a.m.

I wanted to write a story that would acknowledge both the chaos and the blessing, the euphoria and the nagging doubts involved in mothering a child.

More than anything, I wanted to write a story with authentic, achingly real characters who struggled with faith and morality as well as sleep schedules and diaper rash. I figured if I could imagine my friends becoming engaged with the story, I was on the right track.

2. Is it true you wrote this novel while pregnant? What was that like?

I was four months pregnant when I attended a writers' conference and received some very positive feedback from an editor at NavPress. She encouraged me to send my manuscript to Nav's fiction line when I got a chance.

My "manuscript" at that time was around three thousand words, the very rough beginning of Balancing Act. I found an expanding uterus to be like my own private motivational speech. It was a fixed deadline, so to speak, and I like deadlines. So each afternoon, while my two-year-old napped, I'd waddle over to my laptop and crank out my thousand words. God is good, I finished the book, and my water broke, in that order.

3. Experiencing mommy-hood for the second time, did you go back and make revisions?

My son, who just turned one, is very different from my daughter, who is now four. Mitchell wants me with him, wants to cuddle, and thinks I'm a rock star even with morning breath. Ana, however, is very independent, cuddles only when feverish, and minces no words regarding morning breath. So I feel like I'm revising all the time, trying to keep up with their very different needs and personalities. My most major revision, however, has been throwing out Neurotic Kim and going for a more laid-back approach out of necessity. Funny how four years of parenting does that to a girl.

4. Did you use true-life stories in your novel? Can you give us an example?

While Balancing Act is absolutely a work of fiction, there are threads of my own experience woven throughout. Nora, the baby in the book, is loosely patterned after my daughter, Ana. She gets to talking in the sequel, Bottom Line, set to release in May. I see a lot of Ana in that part of Nora's story.

The protagonist, Heidi Elliott, certainly has my sense of humor. Like Heidi, I taught high school Spanish. Like Heidi, I identify with the tightrope walk of a woman living in this century. I know the chaos of working, mothering, wife-ing, and trying to be plain old me, for crying out loud. And like Heidi, I've had a certain amount of distrust for church-run women's groups, always fearing they'll make me quilt or something.

But I've assured my family that unlike what occurs in the book, there are no skanky dealings in my marriage, that I don't know any well-endowed heiresses, and that none of my relatives are represented in the characters. Well, that last part isn't entirely true, but you'll have to wait to read my posthumous memoirs to get the full scoop.

5. How do you balance motherhood and writing?

It isn't pretty, I'll tell you that much. Far easier to make up a story about the balancing act than to actually do it well oneself. I've been known to type while my son drools on my big toe and my daughter screams the soundtrack to "Little Mermaid" in the background. This system does not seem to reap the most productive writing moments. So I have help. God has always turned out to be sufficient when I let Him. My mother, bless her, and my babysitter, Ashley, bless her too, help me out for a couple hours each day so I can write. My husband is a fantastic human being who assumes I can conquer the world and should. My friendships keep me above the surface just when I think I'll sink.

And on grace-drenched days, there’s always naptime.

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Post a comment for a chance to win a FREE copy of Kim's first book. Winner of last week can be found in the comments for that spotlight.

Monday Morning -- Broadening the Writing Scope

Well, I don't have a lot to say this morning as I haven't received my book contract yet (the paper contract is coming in February), so I'm awaiting the revisions phase of the process. Until then, I can say I'm working on 2 other books to submit and in search of an agent once again.

Despite comments encouraging me to introduce Raelene to everyone on Fridays, only one comment leaves me wondering if it's good to continue. She'll get rather lonely if her diary entries aren't read. :)

I spent all weekend working on an assignment for a children's writing course I'm taking through correspondence. It's an excellent exercise to broaden my scope of writing from just adult fiction to children's fiction and nonfiction and articles. This course for the past 2 years has helped me do that and so much more. It's opened doors I never would have thought possible and provided me with invaluable feedback, support and encouragement that has kept me going.

For more than 32 years, the Institute of Children's Literature has offered the premiere writing course to adults interested in learning how to write and be published for children and teens. They offer one-on-one personalized instruction from an impressive faculty of active professional writers and experienced editors, and even offer college credits. You complete the course via the traditional home study method – with lessons exchanged through the mail or via the Internet.

Coming to the home stretch with just 2 assignments left to complete before receiving my diploma. Hopefully, I'll be done before I get into the major throes of revisions. If not, it'll be time to prioritize. In a world as hectic and busy as this one, that's not often easy. We all manage, though.

If anyone is interested in writing for children or even improving your writing for adults, check out the Institute for Children's Literature online. You won't regret it!

Introducing Raelene Strattford

March, 1736

Papa and Mar have suggested that I begin a diary to share my thoughts and feelings. So, I am abiding by their wishes and spending time each day writing in this special book Mar purchased for me. I suppose I should begin by saying I have fourteen years to my age and I currently live in England. Papa is serving in the Royal Navy and Mar instructs young women on the pianoforte. She and Papa actually met when Mar journeyed from Sweden to London in search of employment. Their story is one I never tire of hearing. But that is all going to change very soon.

Yesterday, Papa asked me to join him and Mar in the parlor. They had something important to discuss with me. At first, I thought they might be telling me I was finally going to have a baby brother or sister. They have wanted another child for so many years. But such happiness was not to be. Instead, Papa announced that he has secured passage on board the next ship crossing the ocean to the Colonies. We will be leaving within a fortnight.

I can hardly believe it. We have such a happy life here and a beautiful home. My cousins are nearby. We attend coutillions and soirees. I have friends and family and London is not so far that Mar and I can't enjoy a visit to the center of grand society. There is even one or two young gentleman who have indicated they might come calling soon.

My attempts to change Papa's mind were pointless. He told me that the Royal Navy was not the place for him any longer, and he wanted to start a new life in the Colonies. He wanted land and something to call his own, a heritage to leave when he is gone from this world. I didn't like Papa talking like that, but I also don't like seeing Papa sad.

It is not certain what kind of life awaits us across the waters. I have heard of a lot of stories from letters that have come to my family and friends here from those who have gone before us. It could possibly be a grand adventure, but my heart is not in it. What will we do once we arrive? Where are we going to live? What will happen to the life we know here?

Most important of all is am I ready for this?

Until next time.

Spotlight on Lenora Worth and Fatal Image

Lenora Worth has written 30 books, most of those for Steeple Hill. Lenora grew up in Georgia, but has lived in Louisiana for over 25 years. She had two grown children and a husband who just retired at the age of 49!

With close to a million books in print, she is considered one of the top selling writers for Steeple Hill's Love Inspired line and continues to write romance and romantic suspense for Steeple Hill. (The best of both worlds--romance and faith!)

And now I have the distinct privilege of introducing her to you.

Steeple Hill Love Inspired Suspense
Book One of Secrets of Stoneley
January 2007
Lenora Worth

From the desk of Bianca Blanchard

Everything I was raised to believe has been a lie! The photo Leo Santiago gave me of our mothers together—dated a week after my mother's death—and my father's evasions set my legal mind racing, so I hired a detective to investigate my mother's long-ago accident. Turns out she's alive! I've been so thankful for Leo, who has been incredibly supportive. He works for my father, so catering to the boss's daughter is part of his job, but the looks this handsome man gives me make me think there's more to our relationship than business.

1. This book is the first in the Secrets of Stoneley series, and another book for the suspsense line for you. Where did you get the inspiration for this story?

My other suspense stories for Love Inspired (Lacey's Retreat and A Leap of Faith) both had suspense elements, and I have written two single titles suspenses--Echoes of Danger and After The Storm for Steeple Hill, but I was invited to write this story as part of a continuity series with five other Steeple Hill writers, which is always challenging and fun. So that's how this story came about. The other authors will have books following mine.

2. How much of your own experiences influenced the character of Bianca? What aspects became traits that were hers and hers alone?

Bianca was an intriguing, interesting character. (In continuities, we are given an overview by the editors, complete with character sketches, but it's up to us to flesh out those characters. I saw Bianca as a tragic soul who couldn't accept that her mother would leave her children without a very good reason. She was the one who always had questions, and that lead her to become a lawyer. I guess I share that questioning, curious trait with her, but it made me become a writer instead of a lawyer. Bianca, therefore, is much smarter and braver than I could ever be!

3. What themes exist in Fatal Image that you hope the reader sees? Are there any themes that weren't overt but developed as the story progressed?

The basic theme is one of hope--no matter what. We have to have hope. Bianca needed that hope before she could move on with her own life. She couldn't get over the past, so she had to find a way to get to the truth. The other theme would be that the truth always wins out, I think.

4. What was your most difficult part to write? Your favorite?

The difficulty was in making sure my story meshed with the other five. I had to set up the series and then pass the torch on to the next writer in the series. That was a challenge, but all of the writers at Steeple Hill are very professional and great to work with. I learned a lot from doing this series. I guess my favorite part of this is that I love gothic stories, used to read them when I was a teenager. So I really enjoyed playing up the dark elements of this story--money and power and secrets--it was very intriguing and well, scary. But I truly had a great time working out all the details with the other writers.

5. When is your next book coming out and what is the story?

My next book will be out in September of 2007. It's another suspense called Secret Agent Minister. It is very action-packed and fast-paced, but at the core it has a wonderful love story. I think it is one of my favorite stories yet, so I'm anxious to see how the readers react.

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Thanks, Lenora, for joining us here at Fiction-Filled Life and launching the new year of author spotlights. For those reading, don't forget to post a comment for a chance to win a FREE autographed copy of Fatal Image. And tell your friends too. Lots of free books, lots of fun!

A New Phase of the Writing Life

The dawning of the new year has come and gone, and it's time to get back in business. As I stated last year, the author spotlights will shift to Wednesdays from here on out. Mondays and Fridays will be used for something directly correlating to writing.

I've toyed with the idea of using Fridays for a diary entry of sorts from the key character in my first book. Her words would give you a glimpse of the life and times of Colonial Delaware while sharing a piece of who she is along the way.

Was even thinking of teaming up with a couple fellow authors who are also writing during this time period and having our characters interact with each other, sharing their letters here on this blog.

Haven't fully decided, but I know I want to offer something *you* want to see. So, share what you'd like see posted here. If one of the ideas above appeals to you, tell me. And as always, tell others about this blog if you think it might interest them. Thanks for your support.