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GRACE AWARDS – Reading Recommendations

Wow! Summer reading has never been this exciting. What fabulous novels and super talented authors.

Check out these Grace Awards Summer Book Bash recommendations: six fabulous novels from super talented authors!

Grace Awards Annual Summer Book Bash Recommendations

 

THE POISON WE DRINK
by Carol McClain
(Desert Breeze Publishing)

Summer is too short to labor over ponderous tomes.  This novel will sweep you up in its drama and keep those pages zipping. You’ll not want to leave the beach until the last page has been read.

The Poison We Drink – Available on Amazon

 

 

HARMFUL INTENT
by Nike N. Chillemi
(Crime Fictionista Press)

Kick off your summer reading by diving into this fast paced detective story, the first of the Veronica “Ronnie” Ingels/Dawson Hughes trilogy.

Harmful Intent – Available on Amazon

 

 

 

6 DATES TO DISASTER
by Cynthia T. Toney
(Write Integrity Press)

A summer read for teen girls ages 13 to 15! This story addresses honesty in school and with parents as well as drinking and driving. It shows how decisions can damage relationships and risk a teen’s reputation and future.

6 Dates to Disaster – Available on Amazon

 

 

IMPERFECT BONDS, Book 3 of The Imperfect Series
by Elizabeth Noyes
(Write Integrity Press)

Imperfect Bonds, a 2016 Grace Awards Winner, Book 3 of the Imperfect Series, is the ideal summer escape for book lovers. Whether lounging on the beach or relaxing at home, this edgy, sometimes funny, sometimes sad romantic suspense will sweep you away on an action-packed, page-turning journey.

Imperfect Bonds – Available on Amazon

 

 

REVENGE
by Paula Rose
(Anaiah Press)

Are you looking for a summer escape where danger lurks below the surface? Treat yourself to a suspense-filled vacation, staycation, or beach read where career, a missing person, and romance combine inside a mystery that is this exciting novel.

Revenge – Available on Amazon

 

 

STRONGER THAN MOUNTAINS
by Lynn Dean
(Wordsworth Publishing)

Summer is a great time to travel. Reading can take you on a journey without ever leaving your favorite hammock or recliner. You can even travel through time! This novel (the sequel to MORE PRECIOUS THAN GOLD in the Sangre de Cristo series) will whisk you away to the Wild West during the days of bustles and bad guys.

Stronger Than Mountains – Available on Amazon

Imperfect Bonds – Finalist!

I am thrilled, proud, and so very honored to announce that Book 3 of The Imperfect Series – IMPERFECT BONDS – has been named a finalist in the Action-Adventure / Western / Epic Fiction category!

The Grace Awards 2016 is an annual reader-driven literary awards presentation of Christian fiction. This year’s nominations include works from major publishers, small publishers, and independent authors. Winners in each category will be announced on May 31, 2017.

And…the Grace Awards 2016 Finalists are… (click here)

 

 

Quality is a must if you want to succeed as a writer.

Invest in yourself. You’re worth every penny.

After many, many years working in the corporate administrative world where I slaved over a typewriter and then a computer, I’ve learned the value of producing superior work. Be it a product, a service, a technical document, promotional flyer, presentation, brochure, report, or hard-learned-lesson-1even an email, poor quality can derail your efforts for success. The last thing you want to do is show the world anything less than meticulous.

Think about it. Would you go to the local grocery store and purchase a liter bottle of Coca-Coal? Or a can of Campbell’s Chicken Noodle Suop?

Not me! If I can’t trust the company that produced the product to be meticulous with their labeling, how can I trust they weren’t also careless with what’s inside?

Which leads me to ask why any writer would expect an editor or publisher to overlook obvious flaws in a manuscript submission.  No one knows how many manuscripts are submitted to publishers each year, but research shows that only 1 out of every 1,000 are accepted, and then only 1 in 2,000 of those gets published!

Look at the competition. Amazon.com alone offers upwards of 800,000 ebooks and more than 1.8 million  physical books for order!

For those who choose to bypass the traditional contractual process and follow the self-publishing route, great! Indies have opened the door for pretty much everyone to succeed in the publishing industry. But let me refer  back to the paragraph above about the Chicken Noodle Suop.

Bookstores and online retailers are in the business of selling and making money. Consequently, they’re extremely interested is understanding what drives a reader to purchase a book, and have conducted tons of research on reading habits.  Did you know that readers who start a new book, only one in four will finish that book?

Various reasons are cited for this — They’re boring, not plausible, unrealistic, I can’t relate to the characters, too wordy. not enough action, etc.  But the hard-learned-lesson-2one reason that screamed at me was: “I couldn’t get past all the spelling, punctuation, and formatting errors.”

Yikes! Don’t let this be you!

Join a writing group or go to writing conferences. Attend classes, find a critique partner. Maybe recruit beta readers, utilize online tools, follow blogs that focus on writing tips, or even invest in a good copy editor.

One of the first things you should do as a writer, whether seasoned or a newbie, is clean up your manuscript.

hard-learned-lesson-3Study the standard requirements. Know what is expected from a publisher, an editor, and your reader-audience. Master the fundamentals. Create your own self-editing checklist. Invite others you trust to critique your work.

I’ve provided several several excellent links below that can help you through this process. Use them. Look for others. The number of free online resources is almost overwhelming. Take advantage of them.

Holly Lorincz, Editor, Lorincz Literary Services

Ian Irvine, Bestselling Author

Jane Friedman, Author, Blogger, Publishing/Marketing Guru

The Heart Seekers Series

Heartseeker Series

Three Novellas weaving stories of loss, heartbreak, forgiveness, redemption, hope, and a journey to find a forever kind of love. 

See what readers had to say:

“… a fun and easy read.”

“I read it over and over just to see the difference creative aspects of several eager fun-loving authors who love to write.

“I love these stories and how the characters weave together toward the ending.”

“I enjoyed this multi-author collaboration. The book flows well and has one voice; no small feat considering each chapter was written by a different writer.”

Read more about each book:

A Dozen Apologies – Book 1 in The Heart Seekers Series

dozen apologiesMara Adkins, a promising fashion designer, has fallen off the ladder of success, and she can’t seem to get up.

In college, Mara and her sorority sisters played an ugly game, and Mara was usually the winner. She’d date men she considered geeks, win their confidence, and then she’d dump them publicly. When Mara begins work for a prestigious clothing designer in New York, she gets her comeuppance. Her boyfriend steals her designs and wins a coveted position. He fires her, and she returns in shame to her home in Spartanburg, South Carolina, where life for others has changed for the better.

Mara’s parents, always seemingly one step from a divorce, have rediscovered their love for each other, but more importantly they have placed Christ in the center of that love. The changes Mara sees in their lives cause her to seek Christ. Mara’s heart is pierced by her actions toward the twelve men she’d wronged in college, and she sets out to apologize to each of them. A girl with that many amends to make, though, needs money for travel, and Mara finds more ways to lose a job than she ever thought possible.

Mara stumbles, bumbles, and humbles her way toward employment and toward possible reconciliation with the twelve men she humiliated to find that God truly does look upon the heart, and that He has chosen the heart of one of the men for her to have and to hold.

The Love Boat Bachelor – Book 2 in The Heart Seekers Series

Romance is a joke.love boat bachelor image

After the love of Brent Teague’s life came back into his world only to marry someone else, Brent is through with women. He might be through with being a pastor, too.

Brent was so sure that God brought Mara Adkins home to him so they could marry and live happily ever after. Six months after her wedding to another man, that theory is obviously a dud. If Brent could be so wrong about that, who’s to say he’s not mistaken about God calling him to pastoral ministry?

Tired of watching Brent flounder for direction, Brent’s feisty older sister boots him out of Spartanburg and onto a cruise ship. Brent’s old college buddy manages the ship’s staff, and he’s thrilled to finagle Brent into the role of chaplain for the two-week cruise.

As the ship sets sail, Brent starts to relax. Maybe a cruise wasn’t such a bad idea after all. But there’s just one little thing no one told him. He’s not on any ordinary cruise. He’s on The Love Boat.

What’s a sworn bachelor to do on a Caribbean cruise full of romance and love? He’ll either have to jump ship or embrace the unforgettable romantic comedy headed his way.

Unlikely Merger – Book 3 in The Heart Seekers Series

cover of unlikely mergerNo longer needed as her father’s nurse, Mercy Lacewell attempts to step into his shoes at his acquisitions firm. That means travel, engaging strangers, and making final decisions—nothing she feels equipped to do. If her best friend has her way, Mercy will simply marry one of the single, available men she meets, but they overwhelm her. So handsome and kind. And so many. Even if she felt obliged, how could she ever choose?

Should she shove all attraction aside and focus on her father’s business, or is God warming her heart with the possibility of forever?

 

All books available onAmazon.com – The Heart Seekers Series – Amazon