Monday Mishaps with Mom - Deadlines and Sick Kids

This week is for those facing a deadline and the interruption of sickness in the house.

Now, many of you here know I'm an author. And that means I have deadlines for completing books. My editors don't like it too much if I'm late. Today is one of those days. I am attempting to finish the revisions on a novella, but I have had next to zero time the past 3 weeks to work on it. And when I say revisions, I mean my own edits, not those from the editor once it reaches that stage in the process.

This past weekend was awesome as my husband took care of the kids for most of the 2 days and allowed me uninterrupted time to write. But, I didn't get as far as I needed to get. And this morning, the infant only slept for 45 minutes (normally 1-1/2 to 2 hours) then decided he wanted to scream for 30 minutes. The toddler wouldn't keep her hands off him, only making his crankiness worse.

To top that off, there has been sickness and tummy issues in the house for the past 2-1/2 weeks. Both kids had it and my husband caught it as well. That meant I played nursemaid, washer woman, disinfecting queen, and chief house mother to everyone. I washed 2 loads of laundry every day, cleaned out soiled clothes and spent a lot of time cuddling or snuggling. Praise God no one got a fever, but it wasn't easy getting a toddler to eat when everything she ate came out in a rather unpleasant fashion. She simply didn't want to eat or drink anything.

So, looks like I'm in for a marathon editing session during naptime today with a ton of prayers that both kids sleep well during that time.

How about you? Have you ever been under a deadline of any kind, and your best laid plans were interrupted by the needs of your family? What happened, and how did you handle it?

Tune in next week for the next "Monday Mishap with Mom." See you then!

And you can always look at the labels at the bottom of the right column to find "monday mishaps with mom" and read up on any week you've missed. My goal is to encourage mothers who feel a bit frazzled, and to help brighten your day as you start off your week. You're not alone.

Welcome Lynn Squire and Joab's Fire

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

LYNN SQUIRE is an avid writer who artistically intertwines Biblical truth with colorful narrative. Her childhood farm life, coupled with her equestrian experiences, brings authenticity and heart to her stories. Lynn actively serves her church through her writing in and in other ministries and is currently the president of the American Christian Fiction Writers San Francisco Bay Area Chapter in California, where she resides with her husband and three children.

JOAB'S FIRE
by Lynn Squire
Published by HigherLife Publishing

ABOUT THE BOOK

Joab black and his wife Sarah overcame the worst of pioneer hardships in order to establish a prosperous farm in Alberta, Canada. But those challenges never prepared them for the tragedy they now faced—a staggering loss and intense pain causing them to doubt everything they had ever believed. In the midst of their sorrow, even their closest friends interpret their sufferings as a result of God’s judgment. Has God abandoned them?

Inspired by the Biblical book of Job, this novel includes a Bible study exploring the perfection of God’s plan and the bounty of His love even in the most inexplicable and intense sufferings.

Readers, buy your copy of Joab's Fire-A Distant Hope today!

AND NOW A WORD FROM OUR FEATURE AUTHOR

Novelists Are a Rare Breed
By Lynn Squire

Novelists are a rare breed of humans with spirited imaginations and unusual behaviors. Even amongst themselves, unique is normal and peculiar is acceptable.

Every novelist keeps her own hours. Several creep in the late hours of the night, while some may crow with the roosters in the morning. Still others give the appearance of normalcy by operating in the middle of the day. I, for one, am heavy into my characters from the hours of 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM when no one else is home. But should my children be present, I crow with the best from before sunrise until mid morning.

Encountering a novelist during her working hours can be a fearsome event. Please understand, in the privacy of her writing world, she transforms into the character she creates on paper. If she snarls at the sight of you, she really isn't mad (at least, with the first encounter . . . a second one, well, let's just say I'm not making promises).

Should you telephone her during writing hours, beware. She may be enduring great emotional trauma for the past several hours as the character whose mind she's been submerged in has. Give her a few minutes to surface and shake off that character's hold.

Don't be surprised if you knock on the door and she appears dressed in the costume of some character or wearing the expression of someone who just slew a giant. This too will pass as your novelist extracts herself from that protagonist (or possibly it's the antagonist). Be patient, but don't stay for coffee. She might be enjoying her work too much.

That said, let me enlighten you. The wisest of neighbors will not intrude upon her until she's closed her laptop or set down her pen for the day.

Perhaps your neighborhood novelist shares with you where she is at in her current project. Take warning, a different creature emerges at each phase of the novel production.

During her research time you might feel safe to visit. However, be forewarned. Don't stay for supper if your novelist is experimenting with poisons. You never know just how realistic she wants her experiments to be.

In the first draft, she is particularly queer. Her characters are not fully developed. She's just meeting them herself. In this phase, her antics are highly unpredictable.

As drafts progress, she settles into each character and each plot line with greater ease. Coming out of them, however, is far more difficult.

When revisions are required by her editor, expect her to roar like a lion, cry like a baby, and breathe fire like a dragon. Eventually, she will calm down and emerge from the process a little more sane and usually happier for having gone through it.

The book release--the happiest stage. You'll find your novelist the most receptive to your visit or call. After all, she expects you to buy five dozen books, encourage your friends to do the same, and invite all your relatives (a thousand of them would be nice) to her book signings. If you don't comply . . . well let’s just say you'd better pray her next novel isn't about a crazed serial killer.

* * * * *

Thank you, Lynn, for sharing with us today.

Guest Questions: 1. Have you ever called a writer friend in the middle of her writing time?

2. What do imagine William Shakespeare was like when he was writing the three witches in Macbeth?

3. What classic author do you think would be the most interesting to meet? The most terrifying?

ENTRY RULES Readers, leave your email address (name at domainname dot com/net) along with your answer to the question for your chance to win a FREE autographed copy of the book detailed above. If you do not answer the question, and your email address isn't provided, you will not be entered.

This week, the contest is open to US/Canada residents only.

2011 INSPY Awards Finalists Announced

The INSPY Advisory Board is pleased to announce the shortlists for the 2011 INSPY Awards. CONGRATULATIONS to all the finalists.


Creative Nonfiction
Little Princes by Conor Grennan, William Morrow, January, 2011
One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp, Zondervan, January, 2011
Passport Through Darkness by Kimberly L. Smith, David C Cook, January, 2011
The Waiting Place by Eileen Button, Thomas Nelson, June, 2011
The World is Bigger Now by Euna Lee & Lisa Dickey, Broadway, September, 2010

General
City of Tranquil Light by Bo Caldwell, Henry Holt & Co, September, 2010
The Blackberry Bush by David Housholder, Summerside Press, June, 2011
The Reluctant Prophet by Nancy Rue, David C Cook, October, 2010
Wolves Among Us by Ginger Garrett, David C Cook, April, 2011
Words by Ginny Yttrup, B&H Publishing, February, 2011

Mystery/Thriller
Back on Murder by J. Mark Bertrand, Bethany House, July, 2010
Darkness Follows by Mark Dellosso, Realms, May, 2011
Digitalis by Ronie Kendig, Barbour, January, 2011
Over the Edge by Brandilyn Collins, B&H Publishing, May, 2011
The Bishop by Steven James, Revell, August, 2010

Romance
A Heart Most Worthy by Siri Mitchell, Bethany House, March, 2011
A Hope Undaunted by Julie Lessman, Revell, September, 2010
The Preacher’s Bride by Jody Hedlund, Bethany House, October, 2010
Within My Heart by Tamera Alexander, Bethany House, September, 2010
Yesterday’s Tomorrow by Catherine West, Oak Tara, March, 2011

Speculative Fiction
Heartless by Anne Elisabeth Stengl, Bethany House, July, 2010
The Charlatan’s Boy by Jonathan Rogers, Waterbrook Press, October, 2010
The Falling Away by T. L. Hines, Thomas Nelson, September, 2010
The Resurrection by Mike Duran, Realms, February, 2011
The Skin Map by Stephen Lawhead, Thomas Nelson, August, 2010

Young Adult
A Girl Named Mister by Nikki Grimes, Zondervan, August, 2010
Losing Faith by Denise Jaden, Simon Pulse, September, 2010
Saint Training by Elizabeth Fixmer, Zondervan, August, 2010
The Fences Between Us by Kirby Larson, Scholastic, September, 2010
The Truth of the Matter by Andrew Klavan, Thomas Nelson, September, 2010

October New Releases in Christian Fiction

More in-depth descriptions of these books can be found on the ACFW FictionFinder website.

A Wedding Invitation by Alice Wisler -- General Fiction from Bethany House; When Samantha Bravencourt receives an invitation to a wedding in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, she looks forward to reconnecting with her college friend. Instead her life collides with Carson, a fellow teacher and the man who broke her heart.

Attracted by Fire by DiAnn Mills -- A Thriller/Suspense from Tyndale. When a Secret Service Agent is assigned to the Vice President's rebellious daughter, danger lurks in every corner - and her heart.

Deeply Devoted: A Novel; The Blue Willow Brides Series by Maggie Brendan -- A Historical from Revell -- She is staking her future on a man she's never met. Can she learn to love him?

Freezing Point by Beth Goddard -- A Thriller/Suspense from Love Inspired. Casey Wilkes didn't realize her simple human-interest story would put her life at risk—again.

Lethal Remedy by Richard L. Mabry M.D. -- A Thriller/Suspense from Abingdon; A doctor discovers that the experimental "wonder drug" that offers the only hope of cure for a universally fatal infection can be attacking more than just bacteria.

Love on the Line by Deeanne Gist, -- Historical Romance from Bethany House. Rural switchboard operator Georgie Gail is proud of her independence in a man's world ... which makes it twice as vexing when the telephone company sends a man to look over her shoulder.

Maggie's Journey by Lena Nelson Dooley -- A Historical from Realms (Charisma Media). Near her eighteenth birthday, Margaret Lenora Caine finds a chest hidden in the attic containing proof that she's adopted and her journey begins.

Recipe for Deceit by S. Dionne Moore -- Mystery from Barbour. The third LaTisha Barnhart mystery finds the sassy diner owner trying to figure out who put the hit on a hitman.

Rodeo Dust by Shannon Vanatter -- Romance from Barbour Heartsong; Can they rely on God to find their common ground or will they draw a line in the rodeo dust that neither will cross?

Southern Fried Sushi: A Novel by Jennifer Rogers Spinola -- General Fiction from Barbour; Ride the roller coaster of Shiloh Jacobs’s life as her dreams derail, sending her on a downward spiral from the heights of an AP job in Tokyo to penniless in rural Virginia.

Ten Plagues by Mary Nealy-- Thriller/Suspense from Barbour; A demon possessed serial killer pits himself against a former ego driven cop, who's found peace as a mission pastor and a tough lady cop with the spiritual gift of discerning spirits.

The Baker's Wife by Erin Healy-- Thriller/Suspense from Thomas Nelson; To save her husband and son, Audrey Bofinger must rescue her enemy.

The Chair by James Rubart-- Thriller/Suspense from B and H Publishing; If you were given an ancient looking chair and told Jesus Christ made it, would you believe them?

The Christmas Child by Linda Goodnight-- Romance from Love Inspired; When a battle weary cop and a Christmas crazy teacher join forces to care for an abandoned, mute boy in a small town, neither is prepared for the shocking revelations waiting...just in time for Christmas.

The Lady's Maid by Susan Page Davis-- Romance from Barbour; As a lady's maid, Elise will follow her mistress anywhere, even into the Wild West.

The Wishing Pearl by Nicole O'Dell-- Young Adult from Barbour; Join conflicted sixteen-year-old Olivia Mansfield on her journey to hope and healing as she leaves her messed-up life behind and moves into home for troubled teens

There You'll Find Me by Jenny B. Jones-- Young Adult from Thomas Nelson; Grief brought Finley to Ireland. Love will lead her home.

When Love Gets in the Way by Janelle Mowery-- A Historical from Harvest House; Straight from the heart of the Old West, the Colorado Runaway series is full of adventure, humor, and romance.

When Two Hearts Meet by Janelle Mowery-- A Historical from Harvest House; Rachel Garrett finds that attaining her dream of becoming a nurse is fraught with peril, and a deputy sheriff with a wall around his heart doesn’t help matters.

Welcome Lena Nelson Dooley and Maggie's Journey

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Lena Nelson Dooley is an award-winning author with more than 675,000 books in print. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers-—where she received the Mentor of the Year award in 2006-—and president of the local chapter, DFW Ready Writers. She’s also a member of Christian Authors Network (CAN), CROWN Fiction Marketing, and Gateway Church in Southlake, Texas. She lives in Hurst, Texas, with her husband of almost 47 years.

Lena loves James, her children, grandchildren, and great grandson. She loves chocolate, cherries, chocolate-covered cherries, and spending time with friends. Helping other authors become published really floats her boat, with fifteen signing their first book contract after her mentoring. The high point of her day is receiving feedback from her readers, especially people whose lives have been changed by her books. And she loves chocolate, especially dark chocolate.

In addition to her writing, Lena is a frequent speaker at women’s groups, writers groups, and at both regional and national conferences. She has spoken in six states and internationally. Lena has an active web presence on Shoutlife, Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, and with her internationally-connected blog where she interviews other authors and promotes their books. You can check out her books and find out more about her on her blog by clicking the tabs across the top.

http://lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com

MAGGIE'S JOURNEY
by Lena Nelson Dooley
Published by Realms/Charisma House

ABOUT THE BOOK

Maggie's Journey grabs you on page one with characters and events that reflect real-life joys and heartaches that change the characters forever. Make room on your "keepers" shelf! —Loree Lough, best-selling author of 80 award-winning books, including From Ashes to Honor.

A girl who’s been lied to her whole life...

Near her eighteenth birthday, Margaret Lenora Caine finds a chest hidden in the attic containing proof that she was adopted. The daughter of wealthy merchants in Seattle, she feels betrayed both by her real parents and by the ones who raised her.

Maggie desires a place where she belongs. But her mother’s constant criticism and reminders that she doesn't fit the mold of a young woman of their social standing have already created tension in their home. With the discovery of the family secret, all sense of her identity is lost.

When Maggie asks to visit her grandmother in Arkansas, her father agrees on the condition that she take her Aunt Georgia as a chaperone and his young partner, Charles Stanton, as protection on the journey. Will she discover who she really is and, more importantly, what truly matters most in life?

Readers, buy your copy of Maggie's Journey (McKenna's Daughters) today!

AND NOW A WORD FROM OUR FEATURE AUTHOR

A Day in the Life of an Author

Yes, I write novels, and I’m multi-published, even award-winning, but that often takes a back seat to the here and now. I will give you a peek into my Mondays.

During the extremely hot summer we’ve had in Texas, I got up really early. My laundry is in the garage, and by midday, the heat is stifling. So I’m up early to separate the clothes and put in the first load. If I’m really tired, I set the timer and sit in the recliner and rest (snooze) while that load washes. At the ding, I’m off to the garage, where I set up two large fans and put the first load in the dryer, then start the second load. I always wash the loads with my clothes that need to be hung up from the dryer first.

After the second load is in, I go to the office and read email, answering what needs to be answered. Then I do my first set of physical therapy exercises while watching one of the local channels to see what’s happening where I live.

I finish those exercises in time to go to the garage to hang up the first load. By then, James has awakened. Since he’s now retired, he comes out to put the next load in while I’m hanging up the first one. That’s a great help in getting things done before I’m totally wiped out.

I cook us breakfast.

After that, I’m back in the office for a couple hours, stopping to hang up the second load when it is ready. At least James will completely finish the last two loads.

During all of this, I’m careful not to forget the heart medication and other vitamins and herbs I take in the morning. I’m working on my rewrite of book two in the McKenna’s Daughter series. Soon I will continue writing book three.

James and I eat a late lunch about 2:00 pm. And I work for the rest of the day until suppertime. Right now, we’re watching a lot of the Texas Ranger baseball games in the evening. But when it’s at a slow time, I’ll read part of a book.

Oh, the glamorous life of an author. Of course, some days we go to the movies as we did this week. We saw Seven Days in Utopia. A very good G-rated movie. And recently, we saw The Help.

And of course, by the time you read this, I’ll be just returning from the American Christian Fiction Writers national conference in St. Louis.

James and I are very active in our church and involved with our extended family, but this is a typical day in the life of an author.

So what do you do on a typical day in your life? It might be more glamorous than mine.

* * * * *

Thank you, Lena, for sharing with us today.

Guest Question: So what do you do on a typical day in your life?

ENTRY RULES Readers, leave your email address (name at domainname dot com/net) along with your answer to the question for your chance to win a FREE autographed copy of Christmas Love at Lake Tahoe. If you do not answer the question, and your email address isn't provided, you will not be entered.

This week, the contest is open to US/Canada residents only.