Cincinnati's Book Blast!



Suzanne, Terri, Joni, Terry, Me, Dee

I had such an awesome experience at Cincinnati's premiere book festival known as Books by the Banks. This was my second year in attendance and I'm pleased to announce that the Christian novel presence is growing. Last year I was the only author in attendance writing Christian fiction. This year there were several of us. There were also two panels.

Unfortunately with the schedule I didn't get to sit in on the panel with fellow Books and Such agency mate, Ann Gabhart, but we eventually caught up with each other and of course I forgot to take a picture. :)

Book club members from River Hills Christian Church in Loveland, Ohio drop by to visit at Books by the Banks. Left to Right: Suzanne Mohr, Terri Weeks, Joni Baker, Terry Kirkland, Me, and Dee Bailey.

READ MORE HERE . . .

AND THE WINNER IS...

Linda is the winner of a free copy of my new book, Threads of Hope.

Congrats to Linda!

~Andrea

IT'S HERE! Threads of Faith, book 2

It's always a thrill for me to receive my free books from my publisher, an indication that my novel will soon be released to bookstores. Yesterday was the official release date of my book, THREADS OF FAITH, book 2 in my series Fabric of Time.

Here's a blurb: 

Julianna Wayland is running for her life! She hides in a crate on London’s dock, only to be loaded onto a ship bound for America. During the voyage she meets Captain Daniel Sundberg, and by the time they reach New York’s harbor, she is certain she’s in love with him. The only problem is, Daniel has plans for himself—plans that don’t include her.

As Julianna struggles to find her place in a new world, will trouble from her past derail the life she is looking for?

What's fun about this historical romance set in 1878 is primarily twofold. First, Daniel, the hero, is the estranged son of Kristin and Sam, the characters in book 1, THREADS OF HOPE. Estranged? you ask. But why? Well, you'll have to read the book and find out.  

Secondly, I did gobs of research for this book on sea-faring ships that sailed from one country to another. I learned about the Black Ball Line, a fleet of ships that set records sailing from London to New York -- the fastest, I believe, being 15 or 16 days. I also researched Great Lake clippers and learned that clippers sailed both the oceans and on the Great Lakes. The Cutty Sark, for instance, was a clipper built for tea trade and sailing from China to London. On the Great Lakes, clippers were built much the same way as sea-going ships, but with smaller rudders so they could maneuver the shallower waters.

Wisconsin Maritime Museum in Manitowoc, WI

Manitowoc, Wisconsin, the city in which much of my story takes place, was known as "Clipper City" in the 1800s because of its highly-regarded ship manufacturers. I thank the volunteers at the Wisconsin Maritime Museum for helping me in my research. 

As for the story itself, there are a lot of twists and turns and more fun by the way of surprises -- and, of course, romance!

Here's what a few other best-selling authors said about it.

“Andrea Boeshaar gets to the heart of God’s healing grace in a way readers can carry into their own lives.” —Louise M. Gouge, award-winning author of The Gentleman Takes a Bride

“Andrea Boeshaar plucks the home strings with her newest historical romance. As a Wisconsin historian, I am well pleased with her efforts to make life at the dawn of our state authentic.”—Lisa Lickel, award-winning author of A Summer in Oakville

“Andrea Boeshaar’s story pulled me back into the middle 1800s. I didn’t want to put it down until the last page.” —Lena Nelson Dooley, author of Maggie’s Journey and the Will Rogers Medallion Award–winning Love Finds You in Golden, New Mexico

“Andrea’s talent for weaving genuine characters, vivid descriptions, and a compelling story line together drew me into the story from the first page, and I felt Kristin and Sam’s heartaches and joy.”—Sally Laity, author of Remnant of Forgiveness, and co-author of Rose’s Pledge

“Andrea Boeshaar weaves timeless themes of honor, equality, and mercy in this tender love story.” —Kacy Barnett-Gramckow, author of The Genesis Trilogy

*     *     *

Additionally, I want to thank those authors who took the time to endorse my book. And a big "thank you" goes to the fiction team at Charisma Media/Realms as well as my editors Lori, Deb, and Debbie.

THREADS OF FAITH is an important and memorable book to me for many reasons and it's one of the best stories I've written to date. My hope is that readers will agree!

AND NOW FOR A BOOK GIVE-AWAY!

To be entered into a drawing in which you could win a free copy of THREADS OF FAITH, please leave a comment on this blog post. I'll pick one winner tomorrow!

The Business Side to Writing

      It is a reality that the book publishing industry has a bottom line. No matter how dear a writing project is to our hearts, no matter how long and hard we have worked on our “baby,” the project must be marketable. And we as authors are under constant pressure to remain commercial, even as times and tastes and styles continue to change around us. Remaining current in an ever-changing marketplace is a daunting task.
     I have been saddened by the recent termination of contracts for a few of our friends and colleagues. It not only saddens me but frightens me as well. I’ve asked myself repeatedly: Am I headed in the right direction with my new project? Will what I’m working on right now be acceptable two years from now when it’s finally published? Have I run my course and had my “fifteen minutes of fame”? The old saying “You’re only as good as your last book” has taken on new meaning for me. In this day and age, I’m not sure how much “track record” still means.
     A friend contacted me recently and asked for advice on getting published. I told her: “You need to know your target audience. And you also need to decide on the genre that best suits that target audience. You also should ask yourself: Does my story have commercial appeal? Because like it or not, book publishing is a business, and publishers won't take on a book that they don't think they can sell. Your grandmother's diary, for example, might be special and treasured by your family, but is it something the general public will go out in droves and buy? I don't want to discourage you but book publishing is very much a business venture and your product has to be marketable or it won't be accepted. So ask yourself the basic questions I've outlined, and if you feel confident about the answers, then by all means proceed with an eye toward getting published.”
I wish my friend all the best. And I extend best wishes to those who lost contracts. My thoughts and prayers are with you.
     I hope each one of us can find fulfillment in writing and remember the singular joy that comes from putting words on a blank space where they did not exist before. The royalty check is nice . . . but fortunately that isn’t the bottom line for writers.

Audio Books

I'm hooked on audio books. But I can only listen to readers who really keep me awake. That's important because I'm usually commuting when listening to a book. Over the past couple of years I've discovered a reader I just love. His name is Nick Pohdel and he was voted the 2010 voice of the year. I discovered him when I listened to Nora Roberts book called, Black Hills. I'm currently listening to Harlan Coben's young adult novel, Shelter. I'll be ordering the second one in that series called, Seconds Away and I'm so glad it's read by Nick because after the first one I couldn't listen to the second one by any other reader. But it must wait while I listen to Danielle Steel's, Southern Lights. Read by Nick Pohdel of course.

Don't believe me. Just listen to him here. Scroll down to Harlan Coben's, Shelter and Nora Robert's, Black Hills before you listen to the rest, just because I've listened to those books. Now I'm sure you have your own favorite readers and I'd like to know who they are. If you've got a favorite tell all of us so we can be entertained as well. I also love Rosslyn Landor's reading of Julia Quinn's, Just Like Heaven.

I don't know yet if Nick Pohdel and Rosslyn Landor ever read together but that's one of my bucket list dreams. I'd love to hear them read my books. I don't even want to think about how much that costs but if money was no object I'd be asking. With our busy world I can't think of a better way to reach readers, especially younger readers. I don't know. Maybe everyone isn't as in love with this form of reading but I love it and will continue to listen, but only to my favorite readers.

Interestingly enough I haven't found a reader I love yet who narrates Christian fiction. If you have listened to someone lately that you enjoyed who reads in the genre we all write in, I'd love to know.

Do you have a favorite narrator? A favorite book(s) you enjoy listening to because of voice? Put a great writer and a great reader together and you've really got charisma.

WELCOME A NEW MEMBER OF THIS BLOG

Introducing Brandi Boddie. Her book Garters for Lace will release in the Fall of 2013.

Let's give her a warm welcome.

Winner

Wendy is the winner of my book Annie's Truth! She is an avid Amish reader and sooo tickled to have won! I sent it out already! I hope you enjoy the read, Wendy!

I'll have another contest soon! For the next giveaway you have to guess what's different about the cover of Annie's Truth!

Book Giveaway

Don't you just love to get free books???

I'm giving away a copy of Annie's Truth! If you would like the chance to win just make a comment or contact me on my website:

BethShriverWriter.com

I'll contact the winner October 5th!!

2012 ACFW National Conference

The conference this year was September 20-23 at the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport Hyatt Regency hotel. Since I live only about fifteen minutes from there (when there's no construction), I was thrilled. Even when the conference is so close, I stay in the hotel. So much goes on outside the times of the sessions.

James took me over to the hotel on Wednesday, September 19. My agent, Joyce Hart, hosted the dinner for her clients at La Hacienda Ranch restaurant in Colleyville, which is just west of the airport. We had a lovely buffet and got to know the people we'd only been in touch with online. Here's a picture of the clients and Joyce.

The Conference itself was amazing. Michael Hyatt was the keynote speaker, and his sessions were extremely helpful. You can order CDs of the sessions on the ACFW web site.

Since it was only six weeks since my knee surgery, I took my walker. I had asked for a handicapped room near the elevators. I was in a handicapped room, but it was all the way at the other end of a long hall from the elevator. The first day, after I had been up to my room several times, the last time I looked down that long hall, I thought I'm not going to make it. I did go a ways down the hallway and then sat in the seat of the walker for awhile before I started again. It took four times.

Joyce had rented an electric scooter. Before I could find her and get the phone number of the place she rented it from, James called me. He was out and about, running errands. I asked him to go see a friend of ours who owns a store that sells walkers, wheelchairs, scooters, etc. I told him to let John know the predicament I was in and see if he could put me on a scooter for four day. He did. John did. And I ended up on a very large scooter. But it saved my conference experience. Praise the Lord!!

I had two mentoring appointments on Friday and enjoyed them immensely. One evening, while trying to find a place to sit for supper where I could park the scooter nearby, I found only one empty seat along the back of the room. I took it and sat beside a woman wearing a First Timer ribbon. As is usual, I tried to make her feel welcome. She told me this conference would determine whether she would be a writer or not.

I mentor a number of people in a critique group that meets in my home. There are several things I tell newcomers. One is about writers, athletes, musicians, etc. being created in their mother's womb. I explained what I meant by that. She began to ask me questions. I answered the best I could, often using things from my personal testimony.

After about thirty-five minutes, I finally leaned over to look at her name on her name tag. She did the same and began to cry when she saw my name. I wondered what I had done to hurt her feelings. I asked her what was wrong. She told me that she almost made a mentoring appointment with me, but she didn't think she would know what to say to a mentor. She told me that before she went down to eat dinner, she had been praying. She asked the Lord that if there was anyone at the conference who had something she needed to hear, would He please send that person to her. I was near tears then and goosebumps danced up and down my arms.

I had been a little exasperated that I couldn't find a seat at the back of the room. I had to keep going and going before I finally found one. And all the time God was setting up this divine appointment. That was a high point in my conference this year.

Other exciting things: A woman I had mentored before found out she was going to receive a contract right away. Another woman I've been wanting to get published for a long time was told she would receive a two-book contract.

I heard a lot of good news like that. And some of the DFW Ready Writers members also had very good appointments with editors requesting full manuscripts, etc. Here's a group of the DFW Rady Writers having a little fun.

I had six back-to-back paid critique appointments on Saturday. They were all special to me. There's a lot of talent being developed by ACFW.

My daughter, Jennifer, who is a hairdresser, came out to the hotel and made my hair look really good for the banquet. Here I am with Chip MacGregor. I like to have my picture made with him in his kilt tuxedo. This year he wore the Black Watch one.

As always, worship was amazing. I always love having so many people (about 700 this year) from different denominations and churches in one large room really praising the God of the universe. It's a tiny prelude to how we'll be praising the Lord in heaven.

If you went to the conference, please tell us some of the highlights for you.