Holly Michael's Blog: Writing Straight, page 28
July 24, 2014
Facebook Book Page
Many authors have author Facebook pages, personal Facebook pages, but this morning I was invited to “like” a “Book Page.” Maybe it’s customary and I’m just not with it, but I hadn’t yet seen a Book Page for one specific book. Seems like a great idea because you can streamline information, updates, and chatting just about one specific book. I like the idea.
So…since I just launched my novel, Crooked Lines, I made a sweet Facebook page for it, called Crooked Lines, A Novel.
What do you think? https://www.facebook.com/NovelCrookedLines
If you like it, “like” it! Please.
If you’re an author, do you have a Book Page for each book?
July 23, 2014
NFL Aspirations and Novelist Dreams: Follow the fairytales as they come true
Just over two years ago, I published this blog post, one of my firsts. Jake and I had big dreams. NFL Player and Novelist. We’ve held tight to those dreams and we made it. Jake’s an NFL Player (Please pray for him. He starts camp today). Though as dreams go, it’s not always an easy pathway. He was on a few practice squads and cut a few times before getting on the regular roster with the San Diego Chargers (#81). And me? Yes, I’m officially the author of a novel, now published. Check out my Crooked Lines Page to the left. And for a bonus, Jake and I got a contract from Harvest House to write a devotional. More updates on that later…final stages of edits now. It’s been a lot of work and we’ve come a long way and have a lot of work still to be done, but we’re pushing onward! Thanks for coming along with us on our journeys.
Originally posted on Holly Michael's Writing Straight:
I don’t remember the dream, only the worried face that popped into it. Jake. My four-year-old. Why was his face in my dream? Minutes later, a tap on my shoulder woke me.
“Had a bad dream, Mom,” Jake said.
I lifted the covers, pulled Jake close, and kissed the top of his head, amazed at this strange connection that allowed my son’s fears to travel from his dreams into mine.
Mom’s have connections like that with their children. Sometimes a prickle of worry regarding one of my kids will flash in my mind like a sudden rainstorm pocking up a calm lake. I stop, drop, and pray. Most times, I discover those feelings were on the mark, and my child needed prayers.
Jake had dreams of becoming an NFL player. What little boy doesn’t? Then as a sophomore in high school, he was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes. Jake refused to accept it as an obstacle. He wanted to play football on a college…
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July 22, 2014
DEBUT NOVEL!!!
On the shores of Lake Michigan, Rebecca Meyer seeks escape. Guilt-ridden over her little sister’s death, she sets her heart on India, a symbol of peace.
Across the ocean in South India, Sagai Raj leaves his tranquil hill station home and impoverished family to answer a higher calling. Pushing through diverse cultural and religious milieus, he labors toward his goals, while wrong turns and bad choices block Rebecca from hers.
Traveling similar paths and bridged across oceans through a priest, the two desire peace and their divine destiny. But vows and blind obedience at all costs must be weighed…And buried memories, unearthed.
Crooked Lines, a beautifully crafted debut novel, threads the lives of two determined souls from different continents and cultures. Compelling characters struggle with spirituality through despair and deceptions in search of truth.
July 21, 2014
Crooked Lines! Coming Sooner Than I Thought!
New Release Date! This Saturday! July 26th, my first Novel – Crooked Lines – will be available on Kindle and paperback through Amazon! Woohoo!
So much going on. Also, have a deadline (thirty days!!!) for the devotional book my son Jake and I are writing together, contracted with Harvest House. Busy time. Jake, #81 San Diego Chargers is going into camp in two days and I’m gong into editing mode.
Keep us in your prayers! And follow me on Facebook. I’ll invite you to my release party, this Saturday!!
Dan Walsh Excels Again: This Time, a Christian Psychological Thriller!
Best Selling, Award-winning author Dan Walsh has a new book out. Check it out on our site, INDIA’S CROWN (India’s Crown In Christian Literature Excellence.) If you haven’t visited this site, please do and comment for a chance to win a copy of his book.
Originally posted on India's Crown in Christian Literature Excellence - ICICLE:
We are happy to welcome Dan Walsh to ICICLE this week and know you’ll be blessed to get to know him better! Thanks, Dan, for being our guest and sharing with us.
My pleasure, thanks for having me.
Can you tell us, when did you first know you wanted to be a writer? Was there one of those AHA moments?
Definitely a special moment. It happened in 11th grade. That was kind of a “fork in the road year” for me. I took a creative writing class as an elective, and it turned out to be my favorite class in high school. I got nothing but A’s. After the class was over, my teacher took me aside and said, “You really are a gifted writer. You could do this as a career if you want.” That had a profound effect on me.
I thought I’d be writing novels for…
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July 18, 2014
Friday’s Prayers for Prisoners (7/18/2014)
I stopped by Larry’s Blog and found this wonderful post about praying for widows in India. My novel, CROOKED LINES, to be released August 3rd has half of the novel’s setting in India. Having traveled to India many times, I understand the plight of widows. While in India, just ten days after the tsunami, we were in the home of a school headmaster and a small barefoot little girl wearing ragged clothing came in asking for help. After the child left, we asked about her situation. The headmaster told us that the girl’s father died a few months back, and according to village traditions, the mother had to shave her head (so no man would look at her) and stay inside the house, in mourning, for one full year. The woman could not go out and work to support her children, or even go out to shop. Yes, widows in India need your prayers. Thanks for the post, Larry.
Originally posted on Larry Who:
I was raised in a farming community in rural Northern Illinois where farmers helped their neighbors. If a farmer became ill, his neighbors helped take care of his livestock, planted or harvested his crops, fixed equipment, or whatever had to be done until the farmer was back on his feet again.
If the husband died, the neighbors helped the widow transition through her grief to her new life. Whatever needed to be done, the farmers helped her out. All of this was a part of being a good neighbor.
This has been a part of my cultural mindset since my childhood.
Let’s look at India:
For over 40 million widows in India, life is a desperate struggle for survival. They’re blamed for their husbands’ deaths, they’re forsaken by their families, shunned by their friends, and despised by their communities.
One in four homes in India is home to a widow.
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Blurbs driving me crazy…
Ohhhh, the dreaded back cover blurb. Writing the book is the easy part compared to head-breaking blurbs and the horrible one-page synopsis. I am finally saying THE END (unless someone finds a glaring error) to the blurb for Crooked Lines, my first novel, debuting August 3rd, 2014!
Here’s the blurb:
Two continents. Two cultures. Two souls seek hope and a future.
On the shores of Lake Michigan, Rebecca Meyer seeks escape. Guilt-ridden over her little sister’s death, she set her heart on India, a symbol of peace.
Across the ocean in South India, Sagai Raj leaves his tranquil hill station home and impoverished family to answer a higher calling. Pushing through diverse cultural and religious milieus, he labors toward his goals, while wrong turns and bad choices block Rebecca from hers.
Traveling similar paths and bridged across oceans through a priest, the two desire peace and their divine destiny. But vows and blind obedience at all costs must be weighed…And buried memories, unearthed.
Crooked Lines, a beautifully crafted debut novel, threads the lives of two determined souls from different continents and cultures. Compelling characters struggle with spirituality through despair and deceptions in search of truth.
Here’s the cover:
July 12, 2014
Crooked Lines Book Cover Reveal Party Game!
Welcome to my website, reader friends. Simply put the puzzle together and find a scripture reference. This scripture reference will be your guide to write a paragraph on the verse itself. One will be chosen out of all comments for a prize and all will be published as a testament to the faith in Christ. Best five will be featured in the print version of a magazine called, Koinonia. Enjoy! (Then hurry back on over to Party Central for more fun). Click on the play button and have fun! PS…if you can’t read the text, it’s Romans 8:28.
CROOKED LINES COVER REVEAL! THIS IS IT!
CROOKED LINES COVER REVEAL
Drum roll, please!!!!!!
Ta da!
As author of the NOVEL, Crooked Lines, (Available August 3rd), I am so very blessed to have my cover designed by DogEared Design, amazing graphic artist Kirk DouPonce.
Crooked Lines: Two continents. Two cultures. Two souls seek hope and a future.
Two continents. Two cultures. Two souls seek hope and a future.
On the shores of Lake Michigan, Rebecca Meyer seeks escape. Guilt-ridden over her little sister’s death, she set her heart on India, a symbol of peace.
Across the ocean in South India, Sagai Raj leaves his tranquil hill station home and impoverished family to answer a higher calling. Pushing through diverse cultural and religious milieus, he labors toward his goals, while wrong turns and bad choices block Rebecca from hers.
Traveling similar paths and bridged across oceans through a priest, the two desire peace and their divine destiny. But vows and blind obedience at all costs must be weighed…And buried memories, unearthed.
Crooked Lines, a beautifully crafted debut novel, threads the lives of two determined souls from different continents and cultures. Compelling characters struggle with spirituality through despair and deceptions in search of truth.
The theme of the novel is from the maxim: God Writes Straight Through Crooked Lines. Here’s what Father Michael (based on a dear priest friend in India) says: However life gets entangled, entwined, God straightens the lines because He loves us. We only see it all clearly looking back at the path we have traveled on.
ABOUT THE COVER
First off, I loved Kirk’s use of colors and light. Great job! The first draft didn’t have the Taj Mahal, but since it’s such a well-known symbol of India and half of the story takes place in India, I asked Kirk to add it. We worked out a few more details and then, it was perfect!
The girl standing in the water looks like how I imagined Rebecca, who just weeks after her confirmation in her white cotton dress, expresses this in the first paragraph from the Novel, Crooked Lines: It didn’t occur to me at the edge of the pond that I’d broken the sixth commandment, actually committed murder. I was busy working out a deal with God, swearing to Jesus I’d become a nun if He helped me breathe life back into my baby sister’s limp body. At the time, it didn’t matter that I wasn’t Catholic.
A few of Rebecca’s scenes take place on the shores of Lake Michigan, just a couple miles from her family farm in Wisconsin.
Sagai’s first paragraph begins with a boy, the same age, in a hill station in Tamil Nadu, India, conflicted with his higher calling and his need to care for his family.
So ready for August 3rd, my launch date!
If you have any questions about the novel, please ask.
Thanks for coming by and checking it out. I’ll keep you updated with links when the book is launched.
Writing Straight
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