The 2006 Christy AwardsFor Reservations:
Donna Kehoe
CA2000DK@aol.com
BEST-SELLING AUTHOR BRET LOTT TO KEYNOTE
Ann Arbor, Mich.—The seventh annual Christy Awards dinner will be held Saturday
evening, July 8, 2006, from 6:30 to 9:00 PM at the Denver Marriott City Center. The
Christy Awards are held prior to the opening of the International Christian Retail Show.
Bret Lott, author of eleven books, including Jewel (an Oprah Book Club selection in 1999) will give the keynote address.
Reservations are now available for $60 per person and can be made by contacting DonnaKehoe at CA2000DK@aol.com or by downloading a reservation form available at www.christyawards.com and mailing a check payable to The Christy Awards to 1571 GlastonburyRoad, Ann Arbor, MI 48103, postmarked by June 9.
Award-Winning Author Rob Lacey Loses Battle with Cancer
Rob Lacey, 43, father, actor and award-winning author, lost his courageous battle with cancer. He is survived by his wife, Sandra Harnisch-Lacey, and his two young children, Lukas and Magdalena.
(I know you'll say a prayer for this family.)
In other news:
We had a bit of a controversy playing out on Novel Reviews, Novel Journey's sister site. My friend, author Don Brown, has a vocal critic and Don responded.
I was very impressed that although there were strong feelings, no one who commented stooped below the belt. All parties articulated their points with civility.
Click here to read.
Personally:
My wonderful reader, a born editor, Mandy, read my second manuscript,
The Demon Chaser. She told me the first third dragged a bit but the remainder was unputadownable. Overall it was a pretty benign critique. So, I'm pulling out several chapters I know to be the culprits and replacing them with a little more fire.
I'm doing this on the chance that I get a request for a full manuscript from one of the publishers looking at partials of it as we speak.
My second novel, Nailed Open, will have to be set down for a week or two as I make changes on the other. I hate to set it down. This book is incredibly fun to write and heads above the level of anything I've written before. I can't wait to see what happens myself so I'll be happy to get back at it.
If anyone wants to share news of their own, we'd love to hear it. Leave a comment below.
Thanks Wayne. With Ane and Jess sharing, along with our new special correspondant, Kelly Klepfer, and devotions writer, Janet Rubin, I think even working under deadlines, we'll be able to continue. I appreciate those words,btw.
ReplyDeleteAnd I hope when you become the CBA's Stephen King, you'll continue to read NJ.
NAILED OPEN is a great title. I'm intrigued already.
ReplyDeleteTHE DEMON CHASER sounds familiar...I think there's a Terry Brook's book called RUNNING WITH THE DEMON, maybe that's what I'm thinking of. I wish you luck (in the good, spiritual sense of that term) with both these works, Gina.
The repartee between Don Brown and his critic was fascinating. I agree with Mr. Brown's assertion that injecting any political correctness into a novel, of all things, for PC's sake will only deaden if not outright kill the story. PC makes for lousy fiction, which is all about friction and tension. (The fact that HOSTAGE evoked such a visceral response in a reader shows that Mr. Brown writes excellent fiction indeed.)
In a follow-on but fairly unrelated thought, I recently watched "Capote" and the condemned murderer came to mind. How he was sympathetically portrayed until the truth was told and the flashback occurred. In Cold Blood indeed.
Personal news: I have submitted a proposal for a novel of suspense -- for grown-ups! -- to my agent. She likes the opening chapters and made suggestions for the synopsis, which I've now rewritten. Eagerly awaiting her response (to the new synopsis) and looking forward to seeing this thing sent off to editors...
Write well,
Randy, that's so exciting!
ReplyDeleteNot only does pc not make for good fiction, it's no good for Christianity either. PC tends to be lukewarm when we're called to be hot. But, regardless of either position, I was very impressed at the way everyone handled that disagreement. It came across as done "in love" and that's to be commended.
Cool, Randy! What's your novel about? Or are you keeping it under wraps ... ?
ReplyDeleteChristy Awards - would love to be there, but it's too far to drive, or should I say row. ;-)
ReplyDeletePersonal news - got none. Maybe one day.
Gina says, "...we're called to be hot." Speaking of not being politically correct, there are many ways to interpret that statement. :-)
ReplyDeleteC.J., thanks for the shared excitement! Whenever I read about an author keeping some WIP under wraps I tend to roll my eyes (figuratively) and think, "Whatever." Like there's some super neato classified idea at work here.
Having said that, I'm not going to divulge about my suspense WIP for the same reason I don't work with a critique group. I've found that when I share a WIP I lose some energy for that very WIP. Does that make sense? If I tell you what it's about, my excitement to write it wanes. When I keep it in, however, the tension and excitement builds within me and helps propel the words onto the page. Of course, I've told my agent fairly completely what it's about ala the synopsis. No way to get around that!
Should I possibly someday get a contract for it, I'll be sure to post the news here...along with a little blurb about the story. :-)