Jennifer Erin Valent's Blog, page 10

National Fiction Day

Lifeway Christian store's National Fiction Day on Saturday turned out to be a great way to celebrate Christian fiction, and I was so glad to be a part of it! Thanks to everyone at the Glen Allen, VA store for giving me such a warm welcome, and a special thanks to everyone who dropped by my signing table. I had a terrific time and look forward to visiting there again in the fall to sign Cottonwood

Writing For Readers

I met with a local book club this week to discuss Fireflies In December. I love talking with book clubs. It's not only a great chance to meet readers, but it's also a great way to find out how other people see my stories and characters. As a writer I spend hours immersed in a novel from my own perspective, but we all see things differently, and hearing the questions and observations of a group of

This Isn't Child's Play

My job as a nanny is important to me. After all, kids grow up to be adults who will someday make decisions that affect the world. They can end up being anything from doctors to store owners to congressmen to teachers. And many of them will end up raising a new generation of kids who will one day become adults to raise their own children... and so on, and so on. The time and attention we put into

Go To The Head Of The Class

Remember when you were in school and you thought, "I can't wait until I graduate and I don't have to be responsible for learning new stuff all the time"? I do. In fact, it feels like it wasn't so long ago. (It really was long ago, but let's not go there.)The thing is... I was wrong. You never stop learning. In fact, life is one loooooong lesson. The Christian life in particular. Why? Because

Books-A-Million Signing

Thanks to everyone who stopped by my book signing at Books-A-Million Tuesday evening. It was a fun time of meeting new people and seeing old friends. And thanks to everyone at Books-A-Million for making my visit so special. I look forward to doing it again soon!If you missed it, come on by the Lifeway Christian Store at 9840-A West Broad St. in Richmond, VA. on Saturday, May 16th. I'll be there

A Proper Perspective

There should be some sort of alarm system when it comes to keeping perspective. But then, I guess there is. At least for me. For me, it's when I start to feel like an outsider looking in, living my life but not really in the moment. A little bit like watching myself as a character in a movie. It looks like me, talks like me, but doesn't really feel like me.My descriptions are easy to relay here

Who Says It's Junk?

Once when I was young my mother allowed me to walk to a yard sale down the road with a small amount of money and the instructions to not buy any junk. And of course I didn't! Who did she think I was? I brought back a very tasteful, very useful item that consisted of colorful plastic butterflies bobbing about on wire. So not junk!I think that's where my yard sale obsession took root, and so, now

Location Change For Books-A-Million Signing

Sorry to switch things around on everyone last-minute, but there's been a location mix-up with my April 28th Books-A-Million signing. I had originally posted it as being at the West Broad St. location in Richmond, VA. However, it's actually going to be at the store located at 9131 Midlothian Tnpk. So sorry for the inconvenience. Still hope to see you there at 7pm!

Just Along For The Ride

Amazingly, the first nice sunny day we had around here ushered in a cure for my writers block. Hopefully the cure is permanent... or at the very least lasts for more than a week. There really is something about surrounding and circumstance that affects creativity. But I'm learning that they impact more than just my creativity; they oftentimes determine my outlook on life in general.Not such a

Where Have All The Plot Lines Gone?

There should be a store for plot lines. Or at the very least a rental place. If only I could get story ideas in the mail like my Netflix DVD's. Right now I'm working on the third book in my series (now called the "Calloway Summers" series, BTW), and I'm starting to have mild panic attacks that I'll never come up with the full plot line. I sat down with the computer for almost two hours today, and