Good Girl Exclusive! The Anonymous Gospel Diva is back...and she has SPRING fever!

From the Good Girl Book club website:

Spring is in the air and so is young love, Diva Chicas.

Its' everywhere, including with me. For my birthday God sent me a younger man, and honey, he's divinely favored. You know how young men are. They're ambitious, brash, got a spring in their step, a glow, and a tattoo with angel wings -- and fit for romance. They love to be in love. And so that's what I want talk about -- books and movies and other good things that love to be in love.

Shall we?

One of my favorite songs this year is Dove Award Nominee, Darlene McCoy's Fallen in Love. It's a love ballad to God and Godly men. There's something sweet and fresh about the song that makes me think of what love is supposed to be about.

So when I read Claudia Burney's new interracial romance, Zora & Nicky, I felt resonate connection. This story encourages me to believe how easy love, good love is supposed to be, particularly between people who the world doesn't want to be together.

I would be remiss to say that love can be as Pat Benator's puts it A Battlefield, or the fight to keep a good love is a battle. Girls we know the difficulties we face when we meet someone and then we have to fight to keep that love alive. Tricia Goyer's Whisper of Freedom takes this battle to an another place. The story is set during the Spanish Civil War. Think heat, Latin love, more heat, the fire of God kind of heat of course. Don't want to get you all hot and bothered.:)

But since we're on the subject of heat. Tyler Perry is at it again, producing another move, this time in sweltering New Orleans . The Family that Preys Together cast members set to star: Sanna Lathan, Rockmund Dunbar, Alfre Woodward, Kathy Bates, scrumptious looking Cole Hauser, Robin Givens, Taraji P. Henderson and Tyler Perry. Sorry chicas, movie won't release until 2009.

So what are we going to do until then?

You can check out another other redemption themed film shot in the Louisiana area, Vivica Fox's Cover, a mystery involving a Christian couple and a murder. See what I mean about love is a battlefield?

Or you can see the Anti-Tyler Perry, Terrance Howard perform in Debbie Allen's Broadway revival of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof as Brick. I won't touch that name or his position to not appear in a TP movie with a ten foot pole -- Like I said I like brash men.

More books to keep you spirits lifted: Michelle McKinney Hammond's Playing God, This Far by Faith, a Kimani New Spirit anthology featuring: Stacy Hawkins Adams, Linda Hudson-Smith, and Kendra Norman Bellamy, and Jacquelin Thomass' Jezebel.

And if you still need a refresher or an invitation to meet fresh faced single men, then hop on Ty Adams' Love Boat Cruise in August. Get your reservation on, girl.

Missing you til summer,
Em

(c) 2008-2010 GoodGirlBookClubOnline.com, Good Girl Book Club Worldwide, Good Girl Magazine and Good Girl iMedia. All rights reserved. Words, image and concept, Anonymous Gospel Diva, may not be used, reproduced, copied or altered without express written permission.

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Stop Lurking! Every week I will draw names for a free Tricia Goyer book from those who comment on my blogs. Winner's choice! Tell your friends

Connecting...

One of the best decisions I've ever made was to connect with a few writer friends (most of the time we connect at conferences) and build a friendship which includes reading the other person's work. In my opinion every author should have such friends. And the truth is that most of the time you will learn far more editing/commenting on someone else's work that by reading their comments about yours. You can see what works, what doesn't, and why. Oh, yes, and it's also great to include suggestions for improvement, which also build on your skills.

This is a passage from "Bird by Bird" by Anne Lamott, talking about the friends she has read her work:

"I always send my work Federal Express, because I am too impatient to wait for the mail to deliver it. I spend the entire next day waiting to hear, pacing, overeating, feeling paranoid and badly treated if I haven't heard from my friends by noon. Naturally I assume that they think it is tripe but that they don't have the courage to tell me. Then I'll think about all the things I don't like about either of them, how much in fact I hate them both, how it is no wonder that neither of them has many friends.

“And then the phone will ring and they will usually say something along the lines of 'I think it's going to be great, I think it's really good work. But I also think there are a few problems.'

“ . . . My first response if they have a lot of suggestions is never profound relief that I have someone in my life who will be honest with me and help me to do the very best work of which I am capable. No, my first thought is, 'Well, I'm sorry, but I can't be friends with you anymore, because you have too many problems. And you have a bad personality. And a bad character.'

“ . . . But then whatever friend is savaging my work will suggest that we go through it together page by page . . . and if I'll hang in there, they'll have found a number of places where things could be much stronger, or funnier, or more real or more interesting, less tedious. They may even have ideas on how to fix those places, and so, by the end, I am breathing a great sigh of relief and even gratitude."



Stop Lurking! Every week I will draw names for a free Tricia Goyer book from those who comment on my blogs. Winner's choice! Tell your friends

Advice for Novelists (Part 4)

C.J. Darlington, co-founder of TitleTrakk, is running a great series on her blog: She started a series of blog posts in which industry professionals (editors, agents, publicists, authors, etc.) share their responses to this question:

"If you could say one thing to aspiring novelists, what would you say?"

James Scott Bell's advice is this: Arnold Palmer said golf came down basically to this: hit it, find it,then hit it again. Well, writing is sort of like that, too. Write it, edit it, then write it again. When you write, don't be hung up on making it perfect. Don't be bollixed up on writing techniques.
Read the rest here


Stop Lurking! Every week I will draw names for a free Tricia Goyer book from those who comment on my blogs. Winner's choice! Tell your friends

Advice for Novelists (Part 3)

C.J. Darlington, co-founder of TitleTrakk, is running a great series on her blog: She started a series of blog posts in which industry professionals (editors, agents, publicists, authors, etc.) share their responses to this question:

"If you could say one thing to aspiring novelists, what would you say?"

Sue Brower, Sr. Acquisitions Editor, Fiction & Inspiration, Zondervan had this to say...

Finish your novel! I often hear from novelists who have a complete marketing plan, list of endorsers, and brand strategy—but only three chapters of their novel completed. It is very difficult for an editor to evaluate your work if it’s not complete. read the rest here


Stop Lurking! Every week I will draw names for a free Tricia Goyer book from those who comment on my blogs. Winner's choice! Tell your friends

I'm not ignoring you... I promise!

Hello Friends!

I found out last week that the contact page on my website does not work. Has never worked.

Yep. That's right. If you've ever left a comment on my website, it is now floating around cyberspace La La land, unread and unretrievable.

The good news is that it works NOW! So comment away...I'll be waiting. :)

Also, the blog tour for Generation NeXt Marriage began yesterday!

Here are the first few stops:

3/24
Julie at The Surrendered Scribe
http://thesurrenderedscribe.blogspot.com/
http://christianwritersforum.com/Blog/

Martha at Our Family’s Adventures
http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Martha

Katrina at Callapidder Days
http://callapidderdays.blogspot.com/

3/25
Rebecca at Ripples and Reflections
http://www.rebeccabarlow.blogspot.com/

Angie at God Uses Broken Vessels
http://godusesbrokenvessels.blogspot.com/

Gina at Portrait of a Writer…Interrupted
http://portraitofawriter.ginaconroy.com/

FUN!


Stop Lurking! Every week I will draw names for a free Tricia Goyer book from those who comment on my blogs. Winner's choice! Tell your friends. Last week's winner is Grateful Gramma! She left a comment on the It's Real Life blog! Congrats! Send your book choice and mailing address to my trusty assistant Amy (amy@triciagoyer.com)!

SSPS

Good stuff from I Corinthians 4 this morning--this is from The Message. See if some of this relates to what we all do in this writing ministry:

"It seems to me that God has put us who bear his Message on stage in a theater in which no one wants to buy a ticket. We're something everyone stands around and stares at, like an accident in the street. We're the Messiah's misfits. You might be sure of yourselves, but we live in the midst of frailties and uncertainties. You might be well-thought-of by others, but we're mostly kicked around. Much of the time we don't have enough to eat, we wear patched and threadbare clothes, we get doors slammed in our faces, and we pick up odd jobs anywhere we can to eke out a living ... I'm not writing this as a neighborhood scold just to make you feel rotten. I'm writing as a father to you, my children. I love you and want you to grow up well, not spoiled. There are a lot of people around who can't wait to tell you what you've done wrong, but there aren't many fathers willing to take the time and effort to help you grow up."

So, what do you think of that?

Personally, when I started this writing journey I went through a season of SURRENDER where God closed every writing door until I focused on His face, rather than publishing.

Then I went through a season of SERVICE where God had me giving and serving in life ... and not with words.

Next, I went through a season of PRODUCTIVITY. The words were there as I depended on God to achieve what was impossible by human standards.

Now, I feel I'm going through another season of SURRENDER. I've had some huge writing disappointments, lots of illnesses and life challenges, and even writing struggles. But God is reminding me to again focus on His face, not my to-do list. To focus more on being an influence for Him rather than for my work.

So today these words hit home: "I love you and want you to grow up well, not spoiled. There are a lot of people around who can't wait to tell you what you've done wrong, but there aren't many fathers willing to take the time and effort to help you grow up."


Stop Lurking! Every week I will draw names for a free Tricia Goyer book from those who comment on my blogs. Winner's choice! Tell your friends

Out of the experts' mouth

“The difference between fiction and non-fiction is that fiction must make sense.” -- Tom Clancy


“Writing is mind traveling, destination unknown. Make this statement your writing motto, and step into the writing process expecting to surprise yourself with the discoveries you make.” -- Writer’s INC


“There are few experiences quite so satisfactory as getting a good idea … You’re pleased with it and feel good. It may not be right, but at least you can try it out.” -- Lancelot L. White


Stop Lurking! Every week I will draw names for a free Tricia Goyer book from those who comment on my blogs. Winner's choice! Tell your friends