More than Writers

  Have you ever held a lump of gold? Australian gold at that? We did last night! My oldest son is very keen on gold. And when I say very keen, it means that his favourite colour is yellow, because it’s the closest to gold. To hold real gold was the highlight of his evening, and he told me this morning he’d been dreaming of gold all night. For me, the fact that we had lovely friends staying nearby, who spent a whole afternoon and evening with us, in their busy time over in the UK, was worth more than gold. I had seen Katy in various Zoom calls, she has been an amazing supporter of my books and is such a kind and supportive friend, so to spend time with her and her husband and daughter was wonderful. Fortunately, we’re both pantsers, so instead of driving all the way to Bourton-on-the-Water for cream tea, we stopped in Cirencester for waffles instead. Of course, if you would visit me, and you’d be an avid planner of your stories, I would make every effort to plan what we would do, an

Image Credits:  Images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos. In a recent ACW Flash Fiction group meeting, we discussed seasonal writing. I shared tips, not least of which is if you are writing seasonally, think well ahead of time. The women’s magazine market would have wanted their Christmas 2023 stories in by June in most cases. Look on the bright side - you’ve got plenty of time for the Christmas 2024 market by starting now! For this post, I thought I’d look at autumnal writing. The best known example is To Autumn by Keats. His lines Seasons of mists and mellow fruitfulness, close bosom-friend of the maturing sun cannot be beaten, in my view, for the sheer beauty of the imagery they conjure up. We can learn from this.  Keats has chosen specific images. We see the mists in our mind’s eye. We know what he means by mellow fruitfulness (especially when you see wasps and other insects having a high old time of it on a fallen apple). Think about what images you want your readers to

  Various MTW posts have triggered the title of my post for this month. When King Belshazzar, the son of King Nebuchadnezzar, saw the handwriting on the wall, during a feast, he was troubled. Fortunately, Daniel got him out of his misery and gave the interpretation. Here in ACW, God is talking to us to through many ‘Daniels’ just like there was a Daniel for the king at his point of need. There is a popular saying, ‘What you are looking for very far away is right there where you are!’ I feel great about myself when I consider what I have achieved since joining ACW, in uly 2020.   I learned the value of editing and finally mustered up to having my current works edited. I have plans for past published works. I have learnt to upload my stuff to KDP. I learnt to veer into social media and truly enjoying it. I dropped layers of timidity and boosted my confidence by joining a variety of ACW groups. As for my writing skills, reviewing, supporting others in various ways, God has given me th

Do you ever get the feeling that your life is like a game of dominos? One job leading inexorably into another; one deadline fulfilled opening the door to another needing to be met? The joy of seeing a piece of work become substance, a printed page that others can read; pristine covers full of words you've crafted; the euphoria of a launch,  signing your book for someone, celebration and wonder at what God has helped you to achieve. I've been in that place recently with my new book Unashamed  and am still there now.  But alongside the joy of seeing my book birthed is a feeling of exhaustion.  I feel I need to be doing important work to make my book known and I do need to...... But even as I think of my next step and goal, a little whisper comes into my heart: 'Don't be afraid to take rest.  I did.'   It was those words, 'I did,' that stunned me.  I seek to follow Jesus and do the things he did, but I often interpret that in terms of loving people, praying for

Where or what are the opportunities to attend, share your writer's story and sell your books?  This was the question that I asked myself in 2022 when looking for Christian book festivals.  I was surprised to find that there weren’t many at all.  I am still looking for opportunities and am prepared to travel but where can I go?  Who will want me?  Any suggestions welcome.   In 2022 I answered this question by creating the 1 st Christian book festival in Stroud, my home town.  Book Blest was a huge success.  I was surprised to find many other authors, who like me, were keen to attend an event such as this.  This raises the question, why aren’t there more opportunities such as this across the country?  Have you ever thought of hosting a Christian book festival in your town?  If so, I would be more than willing to help you organise one and even attend it. Book Blest 2023 takes place in Stroud, in Gloucestershire from 2 nd to 4 th November and features keynote speakers, Patrick R

  Hebrews 5:9 And  having been perfected, He (Jesus) became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him,   I was reading Hebrews 5 the other day and paused at this verse. The word ‘author’ jumped out at me. I have read this verse many times, I have described Jesus as the ‘Author of my Salvation’ before, I think I have even sung about it ( Mighty to Save, Hillsong Worship ). But on that particular day the word ‘author’ jumped out at me afresh and I felt the need to investigate further. Why? I think because the word ‘author’ evokes such a confusing response in us as writers. We can get so hung up on the difference between two descriptors. Am I an author, or am I a ‘just’ a writer? As if being an author is somehow more prestigious. A title to aspire to. I said in an earlier post that we are the ‘Association of Christian Writers’, not the ‘Association of Christian Authors’. We seek to be a group that encourages all Christian Writers not only those who also happen to be author

  My partner, the novelist, and I have just completed the Sisyphean task of filling out the IngramSpark self-publishing form and uploading the text and cover of her new novel. This gruelling task, involving devising cover prices that will return a small positive margin, and writing long and short book descriptions, has occupied parts of the past three or four days. Before that, of course, was the design process, which, after a few hiccups, resulted in the sort of beautiful artefact typical of our designer, who has worked similar wonders for us for the previous books in the saga. And before that we had the massive struggle to get the novel finished. Beginning its life in 2015, the novel’s entire development has been pitched against one of the darkest periods in our nation’s history, as well as a time of various troubling health issues in our own lives. As the final volume in a family trilogy, it has evolved from a third adult-focused story into a Young Adult coming-of-age tale narrated

  Networking by Rebecca Seaton   Networking is ‘ the action or process of interacting with others to exchange information and develop professional or social contacts:’ Writers don’t always want to, so why and how should we?   Why should we network? As John Donne said, ‘No man is an island.’ In school, a TAF or Team Around the Family is a stage where different services share information to support a family. I often think we need a ‘Team Around the Author’. This should be a two-way street: as people support us, we see ways in which we can help other writers and people connected to our writing world. But it does involve getting out there!   How can we network? Writing groups – local and national groups provide an opportunity to meet others in the same boat. There will be others who write in your genre, so it’s easy to talk about what you’re writing. They may be able to recommend a publisher or illustrator they’ve worked with. But think more widely. I don’t read a lot of ro

  I (Paul) planted the seed, Apollos watered it... 1 Corinthians 3:6a At the Bible study I attend, we are looking at Corinthians. This week was the passage containing the verse above. It got me thinking. Who are our Pauls and Apolloses? Specifically, for this blog, who are the Pauls and Apolloses of the Christian book world? The ones who plant and water words? A couple of weeks ago, I was at CRT , and I met some of them: Booksellers Speakers Readers Publishers Authors Sales Reps Printers Editors Organisers Illustrators Empathisers Cover designers Reviewers Distributers  People who served food and tea (perhaps should have been top of the list!) Yesterday, I met more Pauls and Apolloses. I went to  Torch Trust annual thanksgiving service, where I met people who make books available in braille, audio, and large print. So many people involved in making books, and there will be more than listed above. So many Pauls and Apolloses. Not forgetting our individual friends, families, supporters.

Bathsheba's name is linked to one story: the story of David's failings.   Imagine having one single uncomfortable story associated with your name. We still do this today; I have heard far more about Hermoso being kissed than her football success. What will her legacy be? And the wife of Uriah? She slept with King David. That's her story. Everything went wrong after that in David's family life. You don't see many Bathshebas on the Sunday School register.  But this is not her whole story or identity. It's not even a fair snapshot. Who really was she? Does the biblical text give us any more clues? If you're interested, the references are at the end of the post. But let's try and get into Bathsheba's head a little by thinking about her circumstances.  She is a married woman who apparently does not yet have children - so perhaps still in the early months. Her husband is sold out in his work as a warrior for Israel, despite his non-Israelite heritage. He i

We’re in the process of moving house, to a different area and potentially a very different life. My husband and I are both self-employed so for us, it’s not just moving house, but moving our business, our income stream, our entire lives. Added to that, we’ve lived in our current place for 19 years.   I was talking to one of my sons about it the other day and I joked that the house would be crying when we left. Ever the pragmatist, he countered, “Don’t be ridiculous, mum: it’s just a house.” Yet, it isn’t. It’s a home. A home that has ‘seen’ our courtship, our wedding, four children born, toilet trained and semi-raised. Our family has belonged here – and most of our extended family we shall leave behind – both blood relations and church family. This place has been our fortress for a long time. For the last week or so I’ve been constantly on the cusp of crying, feeling full of unbidden, unwanted grief-fuelled emotions that rise to the surface at the slightest provocation. It’s hard to de

                                                        South African Bible Study Group It’s only footballers and movie stars who write about their lives, isn’t it? I’ve often toyed with the idea of writing my autobiography, but wondered if there is enough to interest others? Then I discovered the genre of memoir. Um, yes, working to a theme could be exciting. But you know how life is and I just don’t mean the writer’s life. I mean everybody’s. Stuff gets in the way. So yes, I started a few courses, who is my audience, ten easy steps, and you too can do it. Except steps have never been my road to success. I can’t even cope with the NHS target of 10,000. Is that per day or month? I had to admit I couldn’t do it until ….. Our fellowship group asked me to share how I became an ordained minister in the Uniting Presbyterian Church of Southern Africa. Yes, it really is called that. Well, the talk seemed easy until the day arrived and I thought more deeply about it. What motivated me? How did