Fellow ACFW board member, Pamela (Pammer) James, tagged me last night. This time the exercise is to tell five random things about myself that people likely don't know. This may be harder than it sounds but I'll give it a go.

1. Like Pammer I graduated high school before I was 18 and still had a curfew (which rebel that I was, tried to break and was grounded!)

2. I once climbed a mountain. Years ago my cousins and I camped in the White Mountains of New Hampshire and my cousin, Dick, led us up a mountain, past the tree line to the top. Not exactly Long's Peak in Colorado, but it was a mountain. I have no idea what the elevation was.

3. When I was about five or six I won first place singing Jingle Bells in a talent contest put on at the local movie theatre where we went every Saturday afternoon to watch Roy Rogers movies. Only at that age could I win a singing contest. Probably because I was cute as all kids are at that age. It surely couldn't be for my voice! A singer I am not :-).

4. One of my ancestors in my extended family, George Bancroft, served as secretary of the Navy under President Van Buren. He also founded Annapolis and there's a building named for him there. There he is on the right!

5. A late-bloomer, I didn't graduate from college until age 49. I started college before I turned 18 (remember how I graduated high school at 17?) and my immaturity showed. By the next year I was home and looking for a job. Over time I got my act together and went back to school, getting A's.

Okay there's my little-know list of facts. Now I tag Michelle S., Deb Kinnard, and Winter Peck. Let me know when your info is up!

Ta da!!!
Drum roll, please!!!

Windycindy!!!!

As soon as Cindy sends me her snailmail address Maureen will be getting a copy of My Sister Dilly off to her.

Thanks to all for entering my contest!

Watch this blog for another contest coming up soon!

I finally got my pictures from the ACFW Conference uploaded. I often got so busy I forgot to pull out the camera, but I did manage to get quite a few pics and some of these were taken by others.

On Free Friday night my crit group, the Penwrights, went out to a great Italian Restaurant at the Mall of America. It's amazing how much fun a group can have with nothing stronger than Diet soda to drink. :-)

So here ya go! Enjoy!

ACFW Conference 2008 - Minneapolis MN

October is going to be a great month at Writer's Journey as I get caught up on my book reviews and interviews and contests.

We're starting out with a great read by Maureen Lang that is just out from Tyndale. Many of you are familiar with Maureen's historical novels, but this time you are in for a treat. "Dilly" is a contemporary novel that is all about relationships. Hannah Williams comes back from California to the small farm town in central Illinois where she grew up. She thinks she's coming to help her sister who has paid the price of a bad decision. A decision Dilly made because Hannah wasn't there to help her. She's driven to do this although she loves life in California and loves the man she left behind there.

I don't want to tell you more because you need to read it for yourself. The story begins in a slow, easy pace, much like life is in Downstate Illinois, which is what Chicagoans (where I live) call any place in Illinois that isn't near Chicago :-). But the action picks up quickly and before you know it you are turning the pages as fast as you can read!

Maureen is kind enough to offer a pristine copy of My Sister Dilly to the winner of a contest I'm running. Next Monday, on my birthday, October 6th, I will throw all the names of those who leave a comment to this post on the randomizer and see whose name comes out in first place.

Below is an interview with Maureen about the writing of My Sister Dilly. Enjoy and be sure to leave a comment to win your own free copy of this excellent book!

1. My Sister Dilly is a departure from the historical genre you usually write in. What prompted you to write the story?

I vividly recall the exact moment this story took shape. I was talking to my sister-in-law, who, like me, has a child with a disability. We often talk about how things are, and she told me of another mom to a disabled child who was serving time in prison. Even as my sister-in-law was telling me the story, I remember praying, “Oh, no, this story is too hard, Lord. I cannot possibly write it. Why are You nudging me to do this?”

But it just wouldn’t go away, even though I didn’t feel equipped. The circumstances seemed too serious, even though from the get-go I started telling myself that if I could insert some kind of romance I might be able to make it through the storyline.

So I started corresponding with my sister-in-law’s friend, who was so helpful to me even as she’s still serving time. Her input was invaluable, and the story really started to take shape.
Another thing that made this particular story more difficult was the setting. It had to be a small, rural town, similar to where my husband grew up. I knew it would be a delicate balance to create a character who wouldn’t like small town living, but I didn’t want to offend so many people I love who live in small towns!

2. Not only is this not an historical, but you also write the story in first person point of view. How did that come about? Did you find it easier to write in this format or harder than third person?

The first person POV was a definite surprise to me, since I tend to prefer 3rd person both for my own reading and for my writing. But when I sat down to experiment with this storyline, it just naturally came out from the first person POV of the older sister.

It wasn’t long before the story idea was contracted with Tyndale, and as I seriously proceeded with the book, the first person POV still seemed like it was the best fit—for the book, not necessarily for me. I sent a sample to my editor and asked her what she thought. Should I change it to 3rd person? I was almost hoping she’d say yes, change it, because that’s the format I’m more familiar with. But to my surprise she wrote back almost immediately and said to keep it in first. It was working.

So it stayed that way, and I’m really happy with it. It was one of those things that really served the story best, as if it couldn’t have been told any other way.

Later, it was my editor who suggested a few chapters in Dilly’s POV, also in first person. And I loved it! I wish I could say those chapters were my idea. ☺

3. Do you think you’ll write another first-person novel in the future?

I never say never, so who knows! 3rd person continues to be more in my comfort zone, but now that I know I CAN write in first, it’s not so scary. It would have to serve the story best, though.

4. Right after I read “Dilly” I went on a road trip through Central Illinois and kept thinking about your story as I drove along and looked at the farms dotting the landscape. How did you come to situate the story in that locale?

I really thought the small town setting served the story best because small towns are known for a closer-knit community. If people can isolate even amidst a tighter community, then maybe this isolation really is a factor more unique to families with disabled kids.

5. A funny thing I noticed that really reminded me of your story was the rows of yellow directional arrows on a side road warning drivers of the road narrowing. You describe a similar thing in your book that warned drivers of a turn the road. Is this something indicative to that part of Illinois or is it coincidental that I came upon a similar thing where I was?

I tend to think it’s not that much of a coincidence. If you’ve flown over rural areas, you might have noticed how absolutely square the acreage usually is. Roads tend to follow that pattern, so unless there is a natural reason (like a lake, hills, woods, etc) for a curve, here in flat farm country it really is divided into even squares. So changes in what the road is expected to be, from narrowing to curving, tend to be high lighted for safety reasons.

6. How important is it to have these kind of little details in a story to personalize the setting?

Oh my goodness, I love details! Whether I’m reading or writing, that’s the element that makes a book really come alive. The trick is not to get too detailed and bore the reader, or go off track from the story. If the details really reflect the story, they deepen the texture and can make the characters absolutely breathe.

7. How did you conceive the characters, i.e. the two sisters and Mac, the Los Angeles boyfriend of the older sister?

When I heard about the woman who inspired the story, I knew I didn’t want the serious challenges of her life to be the main POV character. I didn’t want to take my readers (or myself) to that dark place where she did what she did to land herself in jail to begin with. I knew I needed to start the story after the worst was behind her, at that point of hopeful healing, but I was also concerned about the sympathy factor. So the older sister, also flawed, was born. She was a step away from the really blackest part of the story. She seemed safer to me, both for my own comfort and for my readers who want an escape.

And Mac…well, I have to admit my husband plays a part in the inspiration behind all of my heroes. As I mentioned, he grew up in a small town, but after college he lived out in California for a few years before returning to the Midwest. So his experience played a part in the formation of my characters.

8. Did the storyline change by the time you finished the story or was it in place from the start? I guess this is another way to ask if you are a seat-of-the-pants writer or a plotter :-).

I’m definitely a seat-of-the-pants writer. I knew from the beginning that there would be a faction of the story representing the public’s abhorrence over the type of crime Dilly committed. But I didn’t know about her needing to help out another woman who committed the same crime until coming to that dreaded middle—knowing the end was too far away and something had to keep those pages turning. It worked out well, I thought!

9. What can readers look forward to next from Maureen Lang?

I’m going back to my safe historicals, at least for the time being. Although if my characters could come alive and you could interview them, I doubt they’d say there was anything “safe” about the circumstances I’ve put them in! The setting is rural again, but this time in Northern France, during the First World War. That setting continues to intrigue me, mainly because it’s on the cusp of modern living and yet (especially in rural areas) still so historical. And the backdrop of that war in particular, where the fighting was for reasons no one really understood, makes for great conflict on any scale.

I don’t have a final title for this book, in my mind it’s just Book One of a three book series, and it’ll be released from Tyndale in September of 2009.

I’ve actually been blogging about the process, from the sale through a research trip to Belgium and Northern France, and the topic will continue on through the editing process, cover design and marketing. You can check that out at: http://maureenlang.blogspot.com/

Thanks so much for having me, Pam! This was fun.

And it was having you here, Maureen.

Okay, folks, before you click out of here, be sure to leave a comment to win your own free copy of My Sister Dilly sent directly to you from the author, Maureen Lang, herself. I'll be she'll even sign it for you :-).

I have been back from Minneapolis for two days and am just coming out of my brain fog that I've been in ever since I walked into my condo Sunday night at about seven p.m.

I flew up to the Twin Cities a week ago today and was met by a couple crazy ladies, better known as two of my fellow Penwrights, a crit group I belong to. They stood there in the baggage claim area holding an ACFW sign upside down. I should have taken a picture, but I didn't.

Wednesday was spent in board meetings most of the day and evening, then the next morning the conference began revving up with early bird sessions. Being on the ACFW Board I only made it to one workshop, but will be getting recordings of all the sessions which I look forward to getting because the workshops covered a gamut of different topics.

It was good to catch up with friends I haven't seen for a while like Winter Peck who is with me here. And Deb Raney and Rachel Hauck who are in the pic below.

My appointments with editors resulted in requests for proposals for my romance and my mystery both! I'm working on honing my mystery manuscript and getting ready to send it to an interested editor and, at the same time, will be working to finish the romance manuscript which is about half done. I have my work cut out for me! But it's fun work. God is good.

Saturday we held a massive book-signing at Mall of America. We had over 100 authors signing books. I joked I needed to contract a book so I could sit down! Almost three hours after I arrived to help, I finally sat down on the shuttle bus, hot and tired. Those several hours were frenzied and loud, but at the same time so satisfying to see Christian fiction being spotlighted. While the authors were signing, interviews of other authors like Angie Hunt (our keynote speaker), Brandilyn Collins, Terri Blackstock, etc. were taking place on the rotunda stage.

Then it was back to the hotel for more workshops before we cleaned up for the awards banquet. We all cleaned up good too! The Genesis writing contest winners and the Book of the Year winners were all announced in addition to the Mentor of the Year which I had the pleasure of announcing. This year's award was especially gratifying. Janice Thompson, the 2008 winner, had just come through Hurricane Ike, and for a while it didn't look like she and the other Houstonian members would make it to the conference. Here's a pic of me with Dineen Miller, the graphic artist who designed all our banners and the conference book cover.

I'm sure by tomorrow my brain will be a bit more alive than it is right now, but the memories will be as clear as ever. Next year it's Denver and I can't wait!

I am so happy to have a working computer back. I've been waiting a couple weeks to be able to post my review for a new mystery that's out for your reading pleasure.

About a year ago or so I came across Christy Barritt's Hazardous Duty and literally inhaled it. I've always loved mysteries, especially those with recurring sleuths, and was very happy to meet Gabby Sinclair, a crime scene cleaner. Gabby is sassy, at times insecure, and drawn to solving crimes, most notably murders. When Christy asked for reviewers for her second book in the series, Suspicious Minds, I jumped at the chance, excited to see what Gabby was up to now.

When the book arrived, I knew immediately I was going to enjoy the read. How could I not with the legs pictured belonging to none other than Elvis. Yep. This story is about Elvis whom Gabby finds dead in a crawl space. Well, not really Elvis. After all, he passed years ago. The victim is an Elvis impersonator, called a tribute artist. When the police seem to be lagging in their investigation, the dead man's widow asks Gabby to investigate. Well, what's a girl with a penchant for rooting out the truth supposed to do but accept?

Gabby faces ups and downs during her investigation, including facing the truth about her relationship with her boyfriend. What she finds harder is to face her real feelings for another man or her need for God.

Barritt writes a fast-paced story that manages to mix humor with the seriousness of murder in a way that works. You will love this sassy but emotionally-vulnerable heroine and find yourself rooting her on.

I don't know if Barritt has more stories up her sleeve in the Squeaky Clean Mystery series, but I sure hope so.

You can find your own copy of this great read at Amazon or Christianbook.com.

This past week has not been easy. I have been working hard on reducing the word count of Murder for Breakfast to submit to a publisher who has requested it. Working so hard that I even took my trusty laptop on my Labor Day vacation!

The day after Labor Day I started getting weird error messages that I didn't have enough RAM. I cleaned out my temporary files and I still got the same message. At times the system would crash because it couldn't support the software. I tried all sorts of things. Shut off the Spy Ware, shut off the virus protection, etc. etc., re-configured the RAM settings and still I was told I didn't have enough RAM. I spent the entire day up until late afternoon trying everything and nothing worked.

Under normal circumstances this may have been a job for the Geek Squad or some other computer guru, but problem is that I had this manuscript to work on and worst of all, the ACFW conference is coming up. I leave in about another week! I need a trustworthy working laptop. I'm secretary on the board and must take the minutes of two board meetings.

I've been saving for a Mac laptop so I finally caved and went to the Apple store and got the laptop I've had my eye on. I put the money saved down on it, but will be paying off the good old credit card instead of my savings account to pay for it.

I have to say I looooooove the MacBook! And I'll love it even better when I get the Office for Mac software I ordered. Until then I can still use the other laptop to work on Word docs, if that's all I do. No email, no anything else. Then I save to a flashdrive for transfer to the Mac once the software arrives. I've been tracking this package since Wednesday and it's taking the proverbial slow boat to China. For the past two days it's been in the Chicago area, but it has yet to get to my local post office. I'm praying for tomorrow!

I've had to put this all in the right perspective or I'd go nuts waiting. Things could be a whole lot worse. I had the means to get the new computer. I will still have a week before I leave for conference to get things loaded on the Mac and printed out, etc. I have my health, the weather is good, God is blessing me in hundreds of ways, and in a few days this will all be a memory!

September 12, 2008: I wrote the above last week, but gave up because of the problems I was having. But now I'm good to go. . . I think. And I discovered yesterday that the PC had three viruses on the thing!!! Did one person ever suggest I check that out? No. Yes. I had Virus protection, but they still got in. Go figure.

Anyway, I am so jazzed about this new MacBook so all is well.