Update on publishing

Got a rejection from Harvest House. They didn't want a story that took place in Bible times (even though my story isn't a Bible story, doesn't have Bible characters in it, nor do I use miracles to fix difficult plot issues). And didn't they know it took place in this era when they asked for a full? I'm confused.

Also, Moody Press rejected it because it doesn't fit their "current publishing plans." *sigh* To be honest, I had no idea Moody was looking at it! LOL

Anyway, it's disappointing, but such is life.

I'm still waiting to hear from Karen at B&H. She's the one I really, really, really want. And Zondervan has it as well.

We'll see what God has in mind.

Dare to Dream

Does this picture look real to you? It seems like a picture taken from a children's book. But it is real. And I've been there. (I also added the text to the picture with my new found knowledge of picnik, thank-you-very-much.)

I first saw a picture of this castle in High School. It was on a calendar in my history class. I begged the teacher for it, and he gave it to me. It didn't say anywhere on the calendar where the picture came from (the page had been torn out), so I had no idea where to find this castle.

Despite that, I knew, one day I'd see it.

And I did.

I later discovered that this castle is the replica Walt Disney used for his Disney castle. It is called Neuschwanstein and is located in southern Bavaria, Germany.

I decided to put one of these pictures up as my header for this blog and title it "Dare to Dream."



I want to inspire all of you to dare to dream. To reach for the stars. If you set your sights on the stars, you might just land on the moon, and that wouldn't be a bad spot to land, now would it?



I came from a broken home, my father was abusive, and I wanted to die when I was five. Now I belong to Christ. My heavenly Father pulled me out of all that muck and mire. And now I'm dancing with the bright Morning Star. He is my Savior and He holds me in His hand. He made my dreams come true.

I dreamed of seeing this castle, knowing nothing about it or where to find it. I believed I would see it. Now, I've stood in its bailey, walked through its halls, and touched its stone walls.

Faith is a powerful thing. Now I'm looking forward to seeing the castle in my Father's Kingdom. Not because I've done anything deserving of it, but because He promised to let me in.

What are your dreams?

Adding text to a picture and other things

I needed a change! I hope you all like it. Personally, I'd rather have a castle or some such historical monument with dramatic font in the text, but this will have to do for now.

Some wanted to know how to add text to a picture. Go to: www.picnik.com. There you can download a picture for free, crop it, color it or put it in black and white, or add a text inside it! There you can choose the font and color of the text as well. Isn't that awesome?

I learned all of this from my oldest daughter, Whitney. What would we do without our kids to teach us these things, huh?

Enjoy!

I did it!

Okay, well I figured out how to put the text inside the picture. The red might be a bit much, though. I wonder how blue would look? As for centering the picture . . . that's another story. And if you're wondering what I'm talking about, see previous post. I'll be changing the template and cleaning things up a bit, but right now, it's late.

Time for bed.

Wooden Shoe Picture

Like my new picture? You're looking at my kids. Yes, I have four. Allow me to introduce them to you, starting at the left: Aaron (9, and yes, the only boy, poor thing), Whitney (16), Kirsten (12), and little Chelsea (2). Aren't they cute?

Anyway, I'm having quite a time trying to move the text and center the picture. For some reason, blogger doesn't like their pictures centered. Ugh. If anyone of you has any tips, please let me know. I'm also interested in learning how to put text inside of a picture. As you can see, the text that blogger wishes to use insists on being where it is. Another, ugh.

All I know is, I've seen some pretty amazing pictures with great texts in/on the pictures on other blogger blogs and in the appropriate spots. Now, why can't I do that?

I'm just not computer savvy. I guess I'll stick to writing. (Got three chapters done in the last week, by the way. Oh, and I'm still waiting to hear from all those lovely editors. Life in publishing is slow. I'm not going to pray for patience, in case that's what you're wondering. No way!)

P.S. I'm also attempting to change the subtitle, but it won't let me back on. How rude!

Are you suffering from "Networking Fatigue?"

We were discussing "networking" on one of my writing loops, and someone mentioned that folks are bombarded by emails, spam, ads (whatever you wish to call it) to the point that this sort of marketing is causing "networking fatigue" for readers. Others suggested that writers need to find other creative outlets in order to capture readers' interest.

Hmm. How can I become more "creative" in marketing my book? Hmm? *thinking, thinking, thinking*

How about taking a look at it from the networker's perspective? Not only are the receivers overwhelmed with looking at the same things all the time and becoming desensitized, maybe the networkers are exhausted and not getting any cotton pickin' writing done?

Ding! Ding! Ding! "Yes! That's me! That's me, folks!"

I'm exhausted trying to run two blogs, twitter, Facebook, a gazillion writing loops, etc. It's also very addicting to where I find myself spending so much time checking emails and "networking" (it's hard not to like these people and develop relationships) that I've lost my focus on craft and "why" and for "Whom" I'm writing.

Yes, I know I need to develop a "tribe" so when I do get that book published I can market it to all these folks. But whatever happened to the most valuable marketing plan? You know. The one between the pages?

As for me, I can build this great platform, but if my book is just average or even stinks, readers aren't going to read it anyway. So, what's the point? And if you're one of those folks who can do both, more power to you.

How can I be more "creative" about how I'm going to market my book? I've decided here and now: become a GREAT storyteller.Yes, if you haven't noticed, I'm suffering from networking fatigue.

Can anyone else relate, or am I all alone?

AND THE WINNER IS . . .

EDWINA COWGILL!

You're the lucky winner of The Swiss Courier.

My husband drew your name out of our daughter's wooden shoe. For those that don't know, my husband is Dutch and we lived in Holland for thirteen years. The shoe is a bit scuffed from being worn, but it's one of the pretty ones.

Edwina, please contact me via email at sandirog7 at aol dot com. I'm going to need your snail mail address so you can receive a signed copy of The Swiss Courier.

CONGRATULATIONS!

(If you click on the picture, you can see the name better.)