Dan Walsh's Blog, page 37

I Don't Do Snow

I'm from Florida. I've spent one wintry week in Texas. I've come to the conclusion...I don't do snow.

Don't get me wrong, it's lovely...in pictures or looking out the window (from a well-heated room). I suppose if I grew up in it, I'd think differently. Think of all the fun I'm missing. Breaking my legs skiing or breaking my neck ice skating.

Well, I don't have to break my neck skating; I can do that just walking through a parking lot (pick one). I'll admit, for one morning, one blessed morning, the snow looked nice. I'd go so far to say, beautiful even. We took pictures. "Look, it's snowing."

Then it stopped being nice for 4 days. Cars slid off the road driving 20mph. Snow in the street morphed into slush, the slush morphed into something resembling black fungus. Wouldn't you know it, 4 days later, all the snow had melted except these chunks of black fungus.

Drove past a good number of snowy fields (slowly). Didn't see a single horse-drawn carriage ridden by cheerful people singing wintry wonderland songs. It does make a great scene for a holiday card. Who'd want to buy a card of a shopper falling on his butt at Wal-Mart, as he slipped on a chunk of snowy black fungus.

Okay, snow lovers...let me have it.

Word Weavers 2011

Last weekend I had a wonderful time at the Word Weavers retreat in Fruitland Park, FL. If you've been following my blog, you know it was the first time I've done any public speaking about writing (I was a pastor for 25 years, so speaking in public wasn't a challenge). Seemed to go well. No one threw anything at me, nor did anyone get up and leave while I spoke. I consider both of these things a plus.

Larry Leech, the President of Word Weavers, served as host and emcee. Did a great job, made it a lot of fun. "Media Circus" was the theme (if you've seen any of the pictures, explains the circus motif). Revell author Eva Marie Everson and Cheri Cowell, both VP's of Word Weavers, did a workshop on social networking. Gave me some great ideas. Eva also gave an encouraging word from Ezekiel 36:26-28. She actually did a word study, elaborating on what all the Hebrew words meant in the passage.

I did a workshop on what it looks like transitioning to writing fulltime, shared my writing journey, and talked about keeping our eye on what matters most along the way. The WW chapter volunteers did a great job organizing everything. The whole weekend went smoothly (they had an incredible snack table). Even the food in the cafeteria was good.

But I think all there would agree, the highpoint was a surprise visit from Jerry Jenkins, the President of the Christian Writers Guild, who recently acquired Word Weavers, to serve as their model for establishing critique groups for writers throughout the US. Jerry is the NY Times bestselling co-author of the Left Behind series, as well as dozens of other books (a total of 70 million in print).

I found him to be humble, warm, funny and big-hearted. He gave each of us free sig ned copies of two of his books. Actually changed the cover of one in honor of the occasion, and the other was Riven, his favorite novel. He answered questions, told some great stories and shared his vision for how Word Weavers will work together with Christian Writer's Guild to make a difference in the writing community.

In the group pic, L-R: Jerry Jenkins, Eva Marie Everson, me, Cheri Cowell and Larry Leech.

Great News on Two Fronts

Yesterday, I became a grandpa.

Our daughter, Rebekah, gave birth to our first grandchild: Caden Alexander Mosier (sounds like it could be the name of a great author). He was born just a little after the noon hour, EST, weighing in at 8 lbs even, and 20 inches long. She had to give birth by C-section, so no conehead here. Caden's got a perfectly little, hairless round head.

My wife, Cindi, was there in TX where they live (Ft Worth area). I'm not scheduled to go out till Tuesday, because of the Word Weaver's retreat I'll be speaking at this weekend. Of course, Caden wasn't due until Feb 9th, so it seemed like a good idea when we hatched the plan. But seeing as he came out weighing 8 lbs, I guess he was ready now. We're so grateful to God, both mother and son are healthy and well.

On top of my great news yesterday about our grandson, I got a call from my publicist at Revell, Karen Wiley. Publisher's Weekly (PW) wants to set up a call for an interview in their magazine about The Deepest Waters, my next release, coming out in April. PW is to Publishing what the Wall Street Journal is to Finance. It's been running continuously for 138 years, read by almost everyone in the publishing industry.

It's a great opportunity and hopefully will help the book reach a whole new block of readers.

Busy, Busy

2011 has begun with a bang. Way busier than I thought I'd be, but that's a good thing. Just glad I didn't make any New Year Resolutions.

I found out just before Christmas I'd been awarded a contract for a new book with Guideposts, for a new series they've started called Miracles of Marble Cove. About 4 friends living in this charming seaside town in Maine. The thing is, I needed to start working on it in January, get the plot all figured out and a detailed outline put together by Jan 19th. An additional challenge, and a first for me, is I'd be writing as part of a team. My book would actually be the 5th book in the series, so I needed to find out everything that had already happened in the 4 books before mine.

Well, I got it all done and the outline turned in 2 days early (awaiting approval so I can start writing the book itself, which is due in May). One top of this, I'm still finishing Book 5 for Revell, which is due in April. Another first for me, writing 2 books at the same time.

On the business side, we made the decision (under the advice of a CPA) to incorporate, so we've had to set all this up this month, too. Tons of details. And this week, we're packing up to fly my wife, Cindi, out to Texas to be with our daughter, who's expecting our first grandson any day now.

Yesterday was Cindi's last day at her job at Hobby Lobby. It was a sad/happy time. She really enjoyed the people she worked with, but is very excited to be working at home again. After a month in Texas, she'll take care of the books for "Dan Walsh Books, Inc," as well as function as my "first editor" again (I don't send anything in Cindi doesn't like). She's also hoping to do something she's wanted to do for as long as I've known her...take a dog training course and work with dogs, maybe even start a side business doing this.

This big change for Cindi has been made possible by the Guidepost contract and some new book deals in the works. Actually, some good things are brewing there (thank God). Hope to share more details about it very soon.

And that's not all, the last weekend of this month I'll be the keynote speaker at the Word Weaver's writing retreat in Florida, as well as teaching a workshop there. I'm really looking forward to it, but it's another first for me. Preparing messages and speaking about Writing.

Busy, busy. But I'm not complaining. For a writer, busy is good.

Novels I've Read & Recommend from 2010

It's been a busy year for me. The year ahead looks to be fuller still. But there's always time (or should be) to read a good book. Here are a few of the books I've read and really enjoyed this past year. This isn't a Top 10 kind of list. The order is just from most recently read till earlier in the year.

The Cross Gardener - by Jason F. Wright. A great book by one seriously talented writer. He's the NY Times bestselling author of The Wednesday Letters and The Christmas Jars. I became aware of Jason this past year because Amazon kept linking our books together. Well, I guess our readers connected us together, because the same ones were buying both of our books. So I decided to find out why. Now I'm a fan and plan to make my way through all of his books in 2011.

The Book of Days - by James L. Rubart. This is Jim's 2nd novel, following on the footsteps of his successful debut novel, Rooms. It's a brand new release. I liked Rooms, but I liked this one even better. Jim has also become a good friend this past year, and I was honored when he asked me to read and endorse it. Then relieved, when I liked it so much. Here's what I said: "James Rubart is officially now one of my favorite writers. He takes grand concepts, weaves them together with mystery, suspense, some mischievous fun and a serious thread of hope. Book of Days is a great read, why people buy novels."


Lost Mission - by Athol Dickson. This novel won the Christy Award in 2010 in the suspense category. Winning awards is nothing new for Athol. He's won many Christy's and other awards for his books. Lost Mission is certainly suspenseful, but it also depicts fascinating characters, meaningful and relevant themes, and a complex multi-layered plot which Athol weaves together in masterful fashion to a satisfying climax.




A Distant Melody - by Sarah Sundin. This is the first book in Sarah's Wings of Glory series. Sarah is a fellow Revell author and a fellow WW2 history buff. When it comes to WW2, Sarah really knows her stuff. A Distant Melody is a wonderful WW2 love story, set mostly on the homefront. But it also has plenty of action and suspense. Fans of my first 2 novels should definitely read this book and check out the other Wings of Glory novels. The second book, A Memory Between Us, came out in September (on my reading list) and the third comes out this coming August.

I may add a few more to the list but, right now, I have to run out and buy the pizza (not kidding).

Happy New Year everyone!

Merry Christmas!

Just wanted to take a moment and wish all my family, friends and fans (and anyone else who might read this) a Merry Christmas 2010.

Listen to what the prophets foretold, centuries before that first Christmas Day:

"Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel." Isaiah 7:14

"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9:6

"But you, O Bethlehem, Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days." Micah 5:2

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Dan

Writing a New Book for Guideposts

Here's an exciting development, and a nice Christmas present for Cindi and me as we look to the New Year. I've been asked to be part of a writing team for Guideposts publishing, for a new book series coming out, called Miracles of Marble Cove.

I'll be writing Book 5 in the series, called Mystery of the Mill. Although the word "mystery" appears in the title, and the series certainly has some elements of mystery, it's not a mystery novel, per say. The series is set in the present in Maine, in a fictitious seaside town called Marble Cove. The book cover to the right is not part of the series. I picked it because it looks like the rocky coast of Maine, and a lighthouse is central to the storyline.

The town is charming, almost like a character itself. Four friends have been brought together in Marble Cove and all have this in common: their lives have been miraculously spared by God. They are drawn into a series of events where they, too, are being used in seemingly miraculous ways to affect the lives of others. Central to the story is the historic Orleans Point lighthouse, which is unoccupied and has been decommissioned for years. But the friends keep seeing mysterious lights coming from the lighthouse and, just after they do, wonderful things seem to happen.

The books will only be available directly through Guideposts, not in retail stores. But I loved the storylines the moment I read them and I'm thrilled to be a part of this writing team, which include bestselling authors Melody Carlson and Anne Marie Rodgers. When the books do become available, you can probably purchase them by clicking here.

Speaking at Word Weavers Retreat

I've been invited to be the keynote speaker next month at Word Weaver's 8th Annual writer's retreat. It's Friday through Sunday, Jan 28th -30th at The Enrichment Center in Fruitland Park, FL (near Leesburg). The keynote message will be Saturday evening, but I've also been asked to do a workshop that afternoon. Fellow Revell author Eva Marie Everson will also be speaking.

This will actually be a first for me.

Not speaking in public. As a pastor I've done that for 25 years. This will be the first time I'll be speaking about writing or to an audience of writers. I'm looking forward to it, and trusting God that my hosts will be glad they invited me in when it's over.

Word Weavers describe themselves as a "Christian Writers critique group" who "welcome writers of all levels and ability." The first chapter formed in 1997. They now have 7 chapters, mostly in Florida, in cities like: Orlando, Gainesville, St. Augustine and Tampa. But they also have one chapter all the way up in Rochester, New York.

If you'd like to find out more about this retreat or about Word Weavers, click here.

Unfinished Gift in National Woman's Magazine!

I'm going to do something here I don't do very often. I'm going to recommend you all go out and buy a certain Woman's magazine, the Christmas issue of FIRST for Women. It's on checkout stands all over the country (I've seen it at our local Wal-Mart and Publix). The magazine has a 1.25 million circulation.

Here's a pic of the cover, and here's why you should get one:
You will learn how to trim 17 lbs of unwanted fat by Christmas.There are $102.30 in coupons.4 pages on "Your Most Beautiful Holiday Hair Ever."Some crazy-good recipes for holiday desserts.A super tip on using mint tea bags to keep your toilet bowl fresh.And on page 110, my novel The Unfinished Gift was selected as 1 of 6 books recommended as "First Picks" for your holiday reading list.Come to think of it, that last item alone was enough for us to pick up 3 copies.

Honestly, it was quite an amazing thing to see my book there. Even though The Unfinished Gift came out last Christmas, it seems to be reaching even more people this year. I love all the emails I'm getting every week, from people who've been touched by the story.

The Unfinished Gift for Sale...in German!

Don't you like getting packages in the mail? Especially ones you didn't expect?

Today I opened a box sent from my publisher. Staring back at me were three little hardback books with my name on the cover, the only words I understood. Here's a picture of the cover, taken from Amazon's German counterpart.

If you'd like to see the page, click here (you can get it for a mere 12,95 Euros).

I was told last year a German publisher had purchased the rights to translate it into German, with plans to market it online and in retail stores in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. But I thought it wasn't happening until next year. So this is a pleasant surprise. Guess it's on shelves in those countries right now.

You might notice the little wooden horse on the cover. An interesting story here. The German editor sent me a nice email last year, asking permission to change the story, just a little. If you've read the book, you know Patrick's grandfather had begun to carve a wooden soldier for his son, but never finished it (where the title comes from). They wondered if I'd be open to them changing this soldier into a little wooden horse.

She explained in Germany, ever since World War II, their culture has downplayed the idea of children playing with war toys. It was an easy concession to make, since the nature of the toy itself isn't really central to the story. I think it makes for a really nice cover. My wife said she'd buy it in a heartbeat, if she saw it on the shelf (and could read German).

One last item, there were already two nice reviews on the German Amazon site. My son translated them for me using Google Translator. Here's an excerpt from one, translated literally. I must have read similar comments hundreds of times from English-speaking fans. It was great to see the German translation is having the same effect:

"His book I devoured in a few hours. Maybe he has pressed a little too much given to the tear glands..."

I'm humbled and deeply honored to see others take such an interest in my work. Wouldn't it be wild if the book took off over there and Cindi and I got a chance to do a booksigning tour in Germany, Austria and Switzerland?