ACFW 2015

Love Fest in Dallas

After all the conference prep drama (Alley blog post below), ACFW 2015 was awesome! Yes, the pitches were very good (details below), and Francine Rivers was there (gotta love that—what a lady). But what really made it "awesome!" was to see God use His people. I don't know how He does it all, but I'm glad He does it.

This was my first year in zone 11: Beyond the Border. I'd just made the change, so I had the wrong zone ribbon in my envelope, and had to wait for the right one at the conference registration desk. God used author/volunteer J.A. Marx to show me the history of my first manuscript had to be part of my pitch. Because of A Season to Dance, I was born again in January of 2013. My husband in July of 2013. Our son in December of 2013. And our little girl just this past summer.

So I pitched the manuscript and the story of salvation that was part of its creation: the coaches, the cancelled trip to a third secular writers conference, the year-long rewrite, the first victories... And guess what? People loved it. Thanks, J.A.!

God used author/filmmaker Bill Myers in my conference journey, too. He told us that his claim to fame is saying yes to God. He called himself a cry baby, a coward, and a moron. But he says yes. And God has used him. That was so encouraging to hear because I'm so different (English as a third language, Asperger’s, new Christian) that I feel like there's no way this writing thing will ever work out for me. But I learned that if I can master the art of saying yes to God, like Bill, it will work out.

Another super special thing happened there. Nadine Brandes won a Carol Award for her debut speculative novel A Time to Die. She just copyedited A Season to Dance, and we have the same editor/mentor, Jeff Gerke. Seeing Nadine and Jeff on stage and hearing her beautiful acceptance speech was a perfect way to wrap up ACFW 2015.

And these are just a few of the many blessings I lived personally in Dallas. How many other #ACFW2015 God stories are there? Hundreds? Thousands? Probably. It was a love fest.

Another Guest Post: I'll Be Your Mississippi

It doesn’t matter how badly your plans falls apart. God’s plan will still stand. Whose hands are on the bow? Genesis (49:22-26).

Thank you, Alleycats!

The latest from the publication front

As you might remember, one of my dream publishers rejected A Season to Dance in March. But I've made so many improvements to the manuscript, and my online platform is growing so fast, that they decided to look at it again. Yeay!

I met another one of my dream publishers for the first time in Dallas last week. They requested the full manuscript. Yeay!!

And yet another dream publisher liked the pitch and kept the whole proposal. Yeay!!!

Can I just say, pray, pray, pray? Please pray. After each pitch I had to go to my room and scream a little. Pitching is so crazy.

I have no idea how far these submissions will go, but I'm thrilled because God was in it. Yes, I rehearsed a lot. And yes, I used the My Book Therapy pitch format (relaxed and friendly). But God prepared the way. One lady couldn't say yes fast enough.

And when God's in it, how can you not get giddy?