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Local Authors at Upcoming Book Fair!

Sep 27

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On Saturday, October 28 the local chapter of the American Christian Fiction Writers will hold a “Wholesome Book Fair” at Barksdale Baptist Church. It’s a great opportunity to get books for Christmas presents. And, I will be there with ALL of my books. I reached out to C. D. “Chuck” Sutherland, the president of our local chapter for an interview about the upcoming book fair.

What is the “Wholesome” Book Fair?

The October 28th Wholesome Book Fair, being held at Barksdale Baptist Church in Bossier City, is an opportunity for the community to look at and choose from a wide selection of books written by local Christian fiction authors. While not all of the books displayed fit in the traditional category of “Christian Fiction,” the vending authors have agreed to limit their selections to books that do not contain profanity, graphic sex, gratuitous violence, or other objectionable material. It’s a safe place for attendees looking for material suitable for general audiences, young adults, and children. Family safe.

What is the ACFW?

Founded in 2000, the American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) is a professional organization devoted to meeting the needs of new and seasoned authors alike by training in the craft of Christian fiction, educating in the market, and advocating in the traditional Christian fiction publishing industry.

Engaging its members through online classes, email discussion loops, genre loops, special writing/editing/polishing month-long programs, critique groups, a wealth of resources, contests for both published and unpublished Christian fiction writers, and the premier Christian fiction annual conference, ACFW impacts writers and the stories they create.

With nearly 3,000 members, ACFW has 30 local chapters across the country and an online international chapter. ACFW offers a venue for readers of Christian Fiction to learn more about their favorite authors and discover the vast array of choices available from the Christian Fiction market in general.

ACFW helps writers tell their stories by inspiring them to partner with God in the creative process, learn the craft, and find their audience.

I understand you are the president of the local ACFW chapter. Can you tell me more about the local chapter?

To join any local ACFW chapter, you have first to be a member of the national organization. Joining a local chapter gives you a chance for fellowship, prayer support, and encouragement face-to-face, not only during monthly meetings but also during other events, and of course, many members develop life-long friendships with other members. ACFW Louisiana has a robust Professional Development program, which focuses on developing writing skills, and we have three annual projects: the Wholesome Book Fair, an Annual Aspiring Writers Workshop, and an opportunity to volunteer for an Authors Posse that collaborates with a local publisher to produce an annual anthology.

I understand the local chapter puts out an anthology of short stories each year. Can you tell us more about that?

Our annual anthology project functions much like a graduate course in creative writing. Each year, the volunteers agree upon a common thread, which provides unity for the collection. Then the authors produce their short stories, which are in turn edited by the entire posse. Editing is a tough job, but the process matures a writer, making them better at the craft of writing. Based on the collective editorial inputs, the authors, in turn, refine their stories, which are compiled into an anthology by a local publisher.

The anthology becomes the centerpiece of that year’s Aspiring Writers Workshop. Because the workshop and the anthology are a community outreach effort, the eBook editions are offered for free at Smashwords.com. https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/NWPLLC

Over at Amazon, printed editions, including some hardcovers, are available for purchase. You can usually find your best prices by buying directly from individual authors selling signed versions in various venues—like the Wholesome Book Fair.

What are some of the books you will be featuring at the Book Fair?

Each vendor has the leeway to display the books they choose. I intend to offer my Antediluvian Steampunk series, which is an amalgamation of literary Biblical fiction and traditional Science Fiction, the last six years of our Christian Fiction anthologies, and a Children’s picture book about the Christmas Candy Cane—maybe a couple of others.

We have other authors who have written more books than me. Marguerite Martin Gray has at least seven novels in her Revolutionary Faith and Garden in Time series. I’m not sure how many of those she will present. Our chapter has a member who is a doctor and author of no less than fourteen books on depression and supernatural thrillers. I’m sure he’ll display some of those. Susan Hiers Foster, our Vice President, has published two children’s books dealing with tough issues like a mother in a nursing home and how to deal with bullying and forgiveness. We have several authors of multiple genres: Victorian Romances, Spy Thrillers, Time Travel, Folksy Humor, and others; the common thread is that they are all wholesome. The list of vendors is still growing; again, the vendors are empowered to display whatever they believe complies with our definition of “wholesome,” which should mean people looking for Christmas gift books will be in the right place to do that.

What do you hope visitors will get from coming to the Wholesome Book Fair?

Primarily, I hope attendees will find suitable books for their family and friends. Printed books are a bargain compared to other options. Plus, they can provide hours of entertainment. For children, books are generally used over and over, as they enjoy the familiar feel of a good story. An additional hope is to let people know there is an emerging culture of good books of all genres written with a Christian worldview for them to enjoy.

Where can people find out more information about the Book Fair and the local chapter of ACFW?

We’re on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q=acfw-louisiana, where you can find general information about us.
Additionally, anybody can email their specific questions to ACFWLAWholesomeBookFair@gmail.com, which includes authors interested in getting a vendor’s slot for 28 Oct.

Posted in Breaking News, My Writing, Speculative Fiction

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The First Domino Falls!

Apr 1

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Be careful what you ask for.

I was wandering through Barnes & Noble about four weeks ago. I stood in the Christian fiction section and recalled a time when my first two books sat on the shelf along with books by authors such as Tosca Lee and Ted Dekker. For a moment, I imagined myself as a bestselling author whose books would stay on the shelf for more than a few weeks before they would wind up in the $3 pile at Half Price Books. I was pretty down. Depressed. Discouraged. I wrote about this in my last post and made a decision to back off from writing.

Something happened that day. Something that would change everything for me. But, first, let me take a moment to share one of my personal philosophies. My inspiration for writing comes from God. Period. No contest. No argument. And, I have discovered that I can very easily wander off the path God has chosen for me and get all wrapped up in the dream of being Ted Dekker or Tosca Lee or any of my favorite Christian writers.

And, then, God humbles me. Over. And over. And over. And, in the humbling I stop and remind myself what I have chosen to ask God every morning when I wake up. It is simply, “God, what is the one thing you want me to do today as part of your work for my life. Let me know what that thing is and not waver from the purpose you have for my life.” Wandering away from God’s purpose for my life is what got me into so much trouble 20 years ago when I descended into a horrific and paralyzing depression. (See conqueringdepression.com for more on that!).

Back to the book store. I have always maintained there is no experience you can reproduce online that rivals that of wandering through a bookstore. Surrounded by the look, the feel, and, yes, the smell of books can’t be replicated on the keyboard and screen. It’s impossible to wander aimlessly through Amazon’s almost infinite collection of “books”. And that is why, in my dreary mood that day, I paid a visit to my local bookstore chain. It was the first time in months and now I stood forlorn and depressed in the section where my four fiction books should have been featured along with others written by Christian authors who have a story to tell to the world. And, I asked myself if it had all been an empty dream; a squandered opportunity because I wanted to be published for my own satisfaction, not to fulfill God’s work in my life.

I turned away from the fiction and glanced at a small, turquoise book on the top shelf behind me. “Switch On Your Brain” by Caroline Leaf. I don’t know about you, but sometimes when I see a book there is a quality, an instantaneous attraction to it that defies human explanation. I glanced away and then looked at it again. It called to me. I picked up the book and read the back. Something about it clicked. I now know this was a divine appointment. I didn’t see it at the time. I added it to my small pile of books and checked out. I placed the book on my desk along with three other books I had purchased on improving my writing.

During the next week or so, I opened one of those writing books on Christian Fiction by Jeff Gerke. The opening few pages asked a very important question. “Why do you want to be published?” His answer was simple. Fame. Money. Glory. Immortality. I have an entire lecture on the three types of writers: those who can’t not write; those who want to be published; and those for whom writing is a “job”. And, all three are vastly different. When you sign that contract with a publisher, your writing moves beyond a hobby to a business. And, then the job becomes work! I had to stop and really ask myself why I wanted to continue to write and be published. The answer, I had to remind myself, lay in the paragraphs above. If God did not honor my writing, then I was wasting His time and mine doing the wrong thing! And so, I prayed once again for direction. “God, if you want me to continue to write, help me know what you want me to write and show me your will.”

This past weekend, while on call for my radiology practice, I picked up the “Switch on Your Brain” book and decided to read the first chapter. An hour later, I was halfway through the book. What happened that afternoon was like someone pushing over the first domino. You see, about a dozen things happened in one week that had nothing to do with each other when viewed separately. But, putting them together I began to see an undeniable push toward a complete rewrite of “The 9th Demon: A Wicked Numinosity”. Suddenly, information and ideas fell into my lap. Ideas circling in my brain actually gelled. And, three different separate conversations with people about totally unrelated subjects suddenly converged into the final conclusion that I HAD to write this book!

Monday night of this past week, I shared all of this with my wife, Sherry. She is my anchor, my reality check. After I laid out all of the “coincidences” of the past month, she nodded in agreement. “Yes, you need to write again.” Today, I started over with the book and it is coming fast and furious. And, the central theme of this book is so timely! I hope to share more with you in the coming weeks. But, right now, I have to write! Here I go!

So, I have an idea. Here in the ArkLaTex about six years ago we had an event featuring local authors. I’d like to consider something like that again. If you are a local Christian writer, would you like to have a weekend event where we get together and have some presentations about publishing, marketing, editing, etc.? Would you like to have a venue where you could feature and sell your books? It’s just an idea, right now. But, if you are interested or if you know someone who might be interested, drop me an email or a comment.

Posted in Breaking News, My Writing, Speculative Fiction, Steel Chronicles

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