Cathy Bryant's Blog: CatBryant.com ~ Journey Blog, page 121

Book Review Sites (or How to Help Authors)

One of my primary purposes in setting up WordVessel was to create a place for Christian readers to find out about new books and the authors that write them. I think I've accomplished that through author interviews and book reviews.



Since taking my first blogging baby steps in October 2008, I've learned that copying and/or modifying the reviews I write here to place on other sites is very helpful to authors. Getting the word out about a new book is one of the most difficult tasks an author fa...

AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Christa Allen (& Book Giveaway!)

WordVessel proudly welcomes author Christa Allen. Here's her bio:



With the exception of having spent some years in Texas, I've been a lifelong Louisiana girl.  I spent most of my growing up summers curled up in a wingback chair reading books that transported me to magical and fascinating places.  After college I started teaching high school until the mommy years. I have five children, who are now 32, 29, 26, 26, and 24, a son-in-law, and two precious grandgirls ages 4 and 2.  Twenty plus ...

AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Christa Banister (& SIX Book Giveaways!)

I'm delighted to welcome author Christa Banister to WordVessel! Here's her bio:

Christa Banister is a full-time freelancer writer, specializing in music, movies and books-related reviews and celebrity interviews and is the author of two novels, Around the World in 80 Dates and Blessed Are the Meddlers. Based in St. Paul, Minn., she also weighs in on various aspects of pop culture on her personal blog.



How did you come to be a writer?

From a young age, I've always been a curious person wit...

TEXAS ROADS Now in eBook Format! (& eBook Giveaway!)

Just had to send a quick shout out! Texas Roads is now available in eBook format via Smashwords! YAY! (Can't you just sense the jolts of electricity sparking through the air?)   =)



(For those of you stumbling across this site for the first time, Texas Roads (2009 ACFW Genesis finalist) is a Christian love story about a disillusioned widow and her search for home. The heroine's story mirrors my own desire to put down roots, and the spiritual truth I learned in the process.)



Several diffe...

Independent Publishing - It's Not For Everyone

I made another new friend this week! (Don't you just love the interactivity in cyberspace?) Missy at Are you there God? It's me. is using a quote of mine about what I like about social media. Check it out!



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One of my goals on this blog is to be transparent--to share who I am without fear of rejection or reprisal--to be open. Those of you who read my post on Writing For Him on December 21, 2009 know that the decision to go the independent publishing route with my book TEXAS ROADS w...

SPIRITUAL WARFARE: The Breastplate of Righteousness

"Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place..." ~Ephesians 6:14 (NIV)



In our series on the armor of God, we've talked about the importance of standing firm as soldiers of the kingdom and girding ourselves with truth. Today we'll move to the next weapon: the breastplate of righteousness.



The breastplate is a defensive weapon that protects the vital organs. Without it in place, the enemy has access to our life, and won'...

Winners, Updates, Blog Award & More!

UPDATES:



God never ceases to amaze me. Everywhere I turn, He's opening yet another door. In my mind-numbing sleep deprivation of last weekend (thank you, final edits!), I neglected to mention some wonderful opportunities that have come my way.



First, the blurb about Texas Roads is up at the Christian Romance Magazine. You can see the page here. I hope that as some of you read the book, you'll take the time to post your reviews.



Also, after my interview on the Blog Talk Radio show of Red Ri...

Thoughts for 2010

A writer friend sent me this e-mail the other day. I couldn't resist passing it on to all of you. As my friend says: "It's just too stinkin' cute not to share!" =)





May your accessories always harmonize with your natural beauty!



 

May you always make the right moves.





May your cup runneth over with love.

 





 

May ...

Formatting A Book For Smashwords

Since I've spent a big part of my week trying to read up on and re-format my manuscript for Smashwords, I decided to write a post on my experience so far, just in case some you might be interested or curious.



First, what is Smashwords? Mark Coker, founder, says: "Smashwords publishes and distributes ebooks. Authors and publishers retain full control over how their works are published, sampled, priced and sold. If an author wants to charge one dollar or ten thousand dollars, or give it away...

How I Created My Book Trailer

On a tight budget for the release of my first book, TEXAS ROADS , I opted to create my book trailer myself. And thought it took me an entire night (Yawn! Yes I did stay up all night to get it done...), I enjoyed the process and I'm tickled with the results. In case you haven't seen it yet, here it is: (I know, I know...shameful plug...) =)













Here are the steps I took to create the trailer: (Oh, and BTW, you could use these same steps to create a video for any event--wedding, anniversary, b...