B.J. Hoff's Blog, page 15

Announcing the Winners of the Songs of Grace Contest!

Before I list the winners of the Songs of Grace contest, I want to tell you just how difficult it was to choose from among all the wonderful, heartwarming entries received.

An amazing number of submissions came in, and I'm still marveling over how moving and inspiring each one was.

So many of you shared your hearts: your times of loss and struggle, pain and challenge--and those times when it was all you could do to hang on to your faith and continue on. It was pure joy and blessing to...

It's All in the Way You Look at It

Are you frustrated because there are too many books out there that have already said what you were going to say? Told the story you had hoped to tell? Set on stage characters too similar to the ones who have been trolling about in your mind? Are you about to shove your partially finished or newly begun manuscript in the bottom of your desk because you don't want to be accused of imitating another writer's story?

Don't be in such a hurry to give up. It seems to me that one of the least...

Grand Openings

"It was a dark and stormy night."

"Long ago and far away..."

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times."

"Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again."

You're familiar with those, right? Famous first lines of novels, so overdone they've become cliches. I suppose it's only natural for writers to pay attention to first lines of novels, newspaper or magazine articles, and even blog entries. The ones we know best are usually from the classics. Writers also tend to notice those opening...

Q & A

I'm still working my way through some of the questions that arrived in my mailbox while I was offline, finishing up the manuscript for Where Grace Abides.

Here are a few more replies:

Q.    How long does it take you to write a book?

A.    Typically, anywhere from nine months to a year.

Q.    I have part of a novel manuscript written, several chapters. Should I be looking for an agent?

A.    No, that would definitely be premature. Especially in today's highly competitive publishing climate, you...

Where Grace Abides

Where Grace Abides, Book Two of The Riverhaven Years, has released and is now on its way to bookstores!

Don't forget about the contest! Details are in my previous post and on the web site.

BJ

Announcing the Songs of Grace Contest!

Many of my readers are lovers of music, and my stories often include a musical theme, so a song contest seemed like the perfect way to celebrate the release of Where Grace Abides.

HOW TO ENTER:

During dark times, music can lift our hearts, and give us courage and grace to endure our trials.

Do you have a song that has encouraged you in this way? If so, tell me about it using the contest form on my web site's new Reader Contests page.

You can include the song title, song lyrics, and any...

I'll Take My Crow without Catsup, Please ...

Okay, so I'm eating a little crow here, having launched into something that I've resisted for years--that being the "social networking" site of Facebook. I finally buckled and let my media management set me up with a friend page and a fan page there to give some promo to the upcoming release of Where Grace Abides (two weeks away--October 1!).

Save the snickers and snorts and chuckly emails. Unless this works out a whole lot better than I anticipate, given my terminal introverted...

We Will Never Forget ...

May we stop today and throughout the days ahead to remember, to pray ... and to comfort.

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our afflictions that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction."  2 Corinthians 1: 3-4

BJ

 

A Big Little Life

Because I know there are a number of us who are readers and enthusiastic fans of Dean Koontz, I wanted to give a heads-up on a book unlike anything he's written before. I've read two biographies of him and several interviews, but I don't believe I've ever read anything in which he's as vulnerable and as open as he is in this book. I honestly laughed ... and cried ... my way through it.

It's no secret to any of us that he dearly loved his golden retriever, Trixie, who died when she was...

Q & A

I noticed that a lot of my still unanswered questions had to do with "favorites," so I grouped some of them together for this week's entry:

Q.    What is your favorite part of writing fiction? Plot, characterization, or setting? 

A.    Characterization. But it all has to work together.

Q.    Who is your favorite author?

A.     Oh, my--more than one. Many more. I love authors who can make me think about a book at various times throughout the day and look forward to picking it up again...