Cara C. Putman's Blog, page 71

Writing Lessons from the Mini

Today I’m in ACFW board meetings, so here’s one of my posts on how writing and running are similar. What have you found that is like writing?

If you read Wednesday’s post, you’ll see a common theme with different applications. One thing I’ve learned is that little in my life ever falls in one category. God often uses lessons from one to teach me principles that can be applied in other areas.

Writing and running are similar? @cara_putman thinks so. #amwriting
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Saturday I ran the Indianapolis Mini-Marathon and being me, I looked for lessons and principles. Here are a few I extrapolated out as applied to writing…

1) Be prepared. Eric didn’t know that the T-ball game would be canceled, but it was. He ran 10 miles without training, but imagine what he could have done if he’d kept up with it — even on a reduced basis. Read books, join organizations like ACFW, and hone your craft. You never know when an editor or agent will want to look at your writing. Will it be ready?

2) Stick with it. I did not want to run the mini. By Friday and Saturday morning I’d about talked myself out of it. Now, I can’t wait to sign up for my next one — though I still have no desire to run a marathon! I could have talked myself out of it — after training since January. But sometimes we have to stick our heads down and do the work. Write 500 words a day consistently and at the end of a year you’ll have a book. The reward can come from that alone.

3) Live in community. If we didn’t have a community, we wouldn’t have had anyone who was ready and willing to step in and help with the kids. Join ACFW, a local writing group, or online crit group. When with others you’ll learn more about writing, form fast friendships, and develop the community you’ll need to write for the long term.

4) Walk a self-disciplined life. None of this would have been possible if I hadn’t worked for 16 weeks to train. Running on days I wanted to and didn’t. But as I ran day after day, I built up the base I needed to shave 5 minutes off my time from two years ago. My average mile pace dropped to 10:30! Now to hit 10 minutes a mile next time In writing, it’s by being disciplined and writing when I’m not sure I want to, that I over time write book after book.

Monday Meditations: Finding God in the Pauses

Tomorrow I head to ACFW, which means I’m a little swamped. So today I’m digging into the blog archives. This post is from 2012. As my fall is racing away from me, I found it poignant to look back at this post. In many ways, life is filled with seasons of waiting and pausing.

It’s so hard to savor those seasons. It’s often only in the looking back that I see God’s hand and wisdom in the pause.

So often we fight pauses… @Cara_Putman asks what if we embraced them in our lives?
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A pause is a temporary stop or rest, but so often I focus on it as a hesitation because of fear or uncertainty. What if I could see it as that temporary stop? A moment to breathe because God knows activity is about to ramp up?

That possible end to 2012 summer plans? Led nowhere except two months in Germany. It was an out-of-this-world family experience. A highlight of my professional career.

That disappointing news from a publisher? I still get it. I still have to rework proposals. ALL. the. Time. But this month I start writing a book with my dream editor and publisher.

So let’s hear it for pauses, and the wisdom to look back and see why God hit pause…

In January, I received disappointing news from a publisher. It was one of those good rejections…the kind that said we’d love to work with you, but this book isn’t quite right yet. Lots of great feedback — which is so valuable. But still it was a no. A no that hurt after I’d let my heart hope that this was the right time.

Then a couple weeks ago, it looked like summer plans that we’ve had in the works since last fall were falling through….one of those God has to intervene or this is dead. I could see dreams spiraling toward death as I sat at my computer…stunned and if I’m honest…crying. Something I don’t do. Really.

I stared at my computer screen and kept asking God what He was up to. Then I had to go to church to lead a women’s Bible study — the timing was so ironic. After that I took a walk through the neighborhood, with more questions.

I’m still not 100% sure what God was and is up to. But I can tell you this…I have found a peace in the process.

He went out and killed one of His cows for us — you know one of those cattle on the thousand hills that He owns. That resurrected the summer plans and family dream while adding to the already pretty incredible testimony that will join the story.

Then I’ve got a proposal that’s about ready to go out with a couple of my favorite writing buddies. This project could be such a blast and ties back to my favorite time period. I wouldn’t have had time to pursue that if I’d been finalizing a contract.

God has reminded me through this process that He knew this spring was going to be crazy for us as a family and me personally. Teaching two new classes at the community college adds a level of complexity. Then there’s homeschooling. Gymnastics and the competitive season. Leading a Bible study at church. Dreaming. Trying to keep my head above water. Marketing my three spring releases.

Maybe He built this pause in to my schedule because He knows what happens otherwise. I won’t say no. Instead, I’ll find a way to do everything. So for now He built in a pause and I’ve reached a point of peace with that pause. I can’t wait to see what He has on the other side of this.

How about you? Do you ever since God building pauses into your days? How do you respond? Joy? Questions? Quiet faith?

 

A Happy Ramble… not the kind you think!

I’ve always longed to travel, dreamed of it. And every once in awhile, God sends an opportunity my way that just makes me smile.

The first week of this month, I was in York, England for a professional conference. Eric and I had a direct flight in and out of Edinburgh (Hugely less expensive) so added a couple days to the end, so we could explore that beautiful city, too.

It was a time filled with conference sessions and relaxing. Ambling and rambling around cities just to see what we could discover. Staring at menu after menu until we found one that looked just right for that meal. (By the way, if you’re ever in York, we highly recommend the Nook. Fantastic food! and great atmosphere!)

Sometimes a #writer has to explore. @cara_putman shares photos from #England & #Scotland.
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So today I thought I’d share a few of our photos from the trip. One of the things Eric liked to do was ask what I thought the story was behind different people and places. I guess he’s trying to get me ready to write this next book! I hope you enjoy these pictures as much as we enjoyed taking them. And be sure to go to the end where you can enter a book bundle giveaway I have right now over at my blog.

York Minster: a church has been here for almost 1000 years and 50% of Britain’s medieval stained glass is in its windows. Stunning! But don’t skip the undercroft…

The easy part of our ramble up toward Arthur’s Seat in Edinburgh. This was a recommendation and so GLAD it was. Breath-taking views.

Just one of the many flowers I photographed. So delicate and hardy at the same time.

Eric taking a picture of me taking a photo of him. Yep, we did that. It’s also in York, such a beautiful, OLD town.

Holyrood Palace where the Queen stays when she’s in Scotland. We didn’t take the tour, but it is beautiful on the outside.

One more view from the hike to Arthur’s Seat. If you’re ever in Edinburgh, you must do this, without the crazy detour Mapquest took us on.

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ACFW Conference Mix & Mingle

The ACFW Conference starts next week. Each year Laurie Tomlinson hosts a mix & mingle, so attendees can get to know each other before we arrive. Here are the questions and my answers!

Name: Cara Putman

Location: Lafayette, IN

What you write/tagline/trademark: Contemporary Suspense and WWII Historicals — Stories that reemphasize that God never leaves us no matter how bad life seems.

Place in the book world: I’m getting ready to sign the contracts for books 22 and 23.

On a scale of hugger to 10-foot-pole, please rate your personal space: I spend the week squealing and hugging. It’s like a grand family reunion.

The unique talking point that will get you going for hours:  College football! (Go Big Red!), my faith, and good books.

Headed to @ACFWConference? Join the preconference mix & mingle…
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Loved ones at home you’ll be missing: My husband and four kiddos. The kids range in almost 15 down to almost 5, and they keep our family hopping!

Conference goals we can pray for? My goal is to serve with an open heart. Please pray that my eyes will be open for what God has for me next, but that He would also help me see the people who need a prayer and hug.

Anything we can celebrate with you? That one of my new contracts is with my dream publisher and editor!

One or two ways we can help you build your platform? You can like my author page on Facebook and sign up for my email list by clicking here! (I will NOT share your email with anyone and will only send an email with the very most important news.)

Are you coming to conference? You can join the fun, too!

In case you’re new here and have no idea what this is all about, it’s just a little link up with some questions that help us get to know each other before conference. Laurie Tomlinson loved the opportunity to meet people before she meets them in person, especially the first year in Indianapolis when I was a newbie   There is a little link-up at the bottom of her post with links to different people going to conference and their own get-to-know-you questions.

Here’s what to do:

– Copy/paste and fill out your own answers (you don’t have to answer all of them!) in a post on your own website and paste the URL to that specific post (not your homepage) using this handy link-up tool. Just click on the blue button below that says “Add your link”. If you don’t have a website, feel free to answer the questions in the comments below!

– Make sure to link back to this post after you fill out your answers so any of your readers who are conference attendees can participate, too! The more, the merrier.

– Click through the links below to get to know other conference attendees before Dallas!

I can’t wait to meet you all at conference!

5 Steps to Creating Your Writing Ritual

As I peel the veil separating the writing process from the finished book, people often ask what my writing ritual is. I have to laugh, because I think it often looks like this photo depicts. “Five more minutes. Mommy needs five more minutes.”

Any work at home mommies relate?

I’d like to say that my desk always look like it does at the bottom of the collage. Unfortunately, when I’m in the middle of writing, it looks like the top version. So do I have a writing ritual? Not really.

#amwriting and need help making it happen? @cara_putman offers 5 writing rituals.
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Here’s what I do have:

Find a place to write. Most of my writing occurs at my desk in my bedroom. I have a hutch on the desk (and the floor around my desk) to hold my research materials. If I’m writing a historical, I’ll often have 5 or 6 go-to books that provide the rich details I like to incorporate in my books. Contemporaries don’t always require that level of information, but if the suspense thread is strong, I’ll still have source materials.
Be flexible about that location. When I really need to grind out words, I have a favorite Panera that I escape to. The staff are wonderful, the tea flows freely, and I can focus without the every five minute distractions. I have also been known to hide at the law office — scaring the cleaning service more than once with my late night entries.
Identify signals that tell you it’s time to write. If I’m writing a historical and contemporary at the same time, I will use music to signal to my brain which era I’m in at the moment. Swing tells my mind we’re in the WWII era. Country identifies more contemporary times.
Identify how to beat writer’s block. If I get stuck, I’ll change the location I’m writing at. I may also pick up a good novel, watch a movie I adore, or get out a legal pad. It rarely takes many paragraphs before I’m back into the story and ready to write.
Have fuel readily available. My go-to snack food is almonds and in the right season peppermint Hershey’s kisses. I don’t know why, but I love those two things. When I’m at Panera, it’s an asiago cheese bagel and ice tea. Little things that help me stay in the chair and focus.

If you’re a writer, do you have writing rituals? What are they?

And don’t forget you can read the first chapter of Shadowed by Grace and watch the videos on why I wrote about the Monuments Men here.

 

 

 

Fiction Friday: Tiffany Girl

When someone told me to read Deeanne Gist’s a Bride Most Begrudging, she insisted it would show me that historical Christian romance could be rich, lush, and fresh. That friend was right. Deeanne has been a go-to author for me for awhile. I love most of her books, but it’s been awhile since one captured me.

She’s at it again. @Cara_putman #giveaway of #Chrisfic bundle. #amreading
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Tiffany Girl did just that.

In Tiffany Girl Deeanne is back to writing the rich, conflict laced romances that I adore. In this one I also got to learn about a fascinating time period — when women crossed picket lines so that Mr. Tiffany’s stained glass could fill a display at the Chicago World’s Fair. The story stretches over time as the hero and heroine wrestle with their expectations, realities and wounds that may keep them apart. An interesting mix of supporting characters keep the pages hopping. But the heroine steals the show. Tiffany Girl is a story I will return to!

I’ve got another bundle of great books that I’m giving away this week. These are by some of my favorite author friends. You can’t go wrong reading a book by Lisa Wingate, Beth Vogt, Tricia Goyer, or Karen Witemeyer. They are each superb in their own way. I can’t wait to mail them to one of you!

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5 Reasons I love books!

I love books!

As part of our move, I gave away boxes of books as we packed. Then as we unpacked, I’ve given away more boxes. It pains me because these books are like friends. I know the authors, I love the characters, and I have to believe I’m sending them on to better friends. The latest boxes have gone to a church library that had grown a wee bit dated because of a lack of new books. That has me giddy as I think about all the authors who will be discovered by these new-to-them readers.

That got me thinking about why I love books. Why is reading like an addiction to me? I have to read just like I have to breath. It’s just part of who I am.

1) I love books because they transport me to another world. When I open the cover, I can disappear into another time and place. I love the smell, the feel, the experience of reading.

2) I love books because I always learn something. I’m one of those life-long learners. While I don’t love reading non-fiction (maybe because I read so much of it to the kids), I do like to learn something while I’m reading. A good book lets me do that.

3) I love books because they make me more sympathetic toward other people and the situations they are living. When I read, I am thrust into the head of a character who may be experiencing life in a way far different from mine. That increases my EQ when it comes to seeing someone else’s perspective. That’s a good thing.

4) I love books because they create a shared experience. There’s nothing quite like talking about a good book with another book lover. Learning about how they viewed a story, characters, etc. I’m always amazed at what they may have seen that I never in a million years expected to see. I am enriched through that experience.

5) I love books because they expand who I am. I’m currently reading Anne of Green Gables aloud to my children. I adored Anne with an E as a young woman, and now I get to share that delight with my kids. At the same time I’m rediscovering the language and way of writing that had me so entranced by the book as a young teen. I am Anne with an E. Growing up I was Anne to my friend’s Diana. It shaped our friendship. And that shaped me. All because I read a book and fell in love with a character.

I could go on and on about why I love books, but now I’d love to hear what you treasure about books.

Fiction Friday: Married ’til Monday

Denise Hunter writes emotional romances. Married ’til Monday perfectly fits that model. In Married ’til Monday the reader gets pulled into Ryan McKinley’s broken marriage — he didn’t want it to end…in fact he’s bought his ex-wife’s dream home in some delusional attempt to live the dream. Abby is getting ready to move far away in what she thinks is her dream job. But then she has to go home. And Ryan has to come with her. Because her parents don’t know they are divorced. 

Book Bundle #giveaway and review of @denisehunter latest swoon-worthy romance from @cara_putman
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And so the framework for the romance is established. Ryan and Abby are both broken, and healing between them isn’t possible until each takes steps toward personal healing. I wanted to cheer for and encourage the characters, especially Abby, as they must choose which paths to take. It is a story of choice and pain that so many can relate to…yet ultimately it is a story of restoration of what has been horribly broken. Of the healing of a soul that has never been truly loved and doesn’t know how to respond to love. It is a story of healing and hope in a hopeless situation. And because it’s a Denise Hunter book, it’s also got the perfect kiss.

As I’ve been unpacking I’ve discovered a slew of books I would love to give away. Be sure to enter the form below for the first stack! It’s a nice mix of authors and genres. Then come back the next couple weeks for more stacks of giveaways. Here are the books in this giveaway…

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9 Essentials for Moms or the Grace to Mother Well

When I had the idea for this post, I had grandiose dreams of spinning out a though-provoking and challenging post. One that would encourage all of us to aspire higher. To dare to be the mothers who live out the fruit of the Spirit as we parent the little people God has gifted to us.

 

9 Essentials for every mom? Or how about relying on #grace as we #parent.
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But instead, I stand before you as a mom who doesn’t always have it together. A mom who is all too often short on patience. The moment I think I’m making great strides forward is the moment something will happen, something minor, and I snap. All out of proportion to the event. All because I am woefully lacking in kindness. Or my love cup is so empty I have little to offer my kids.

Yes, all of us should strive to live lives that offer our kids the fullness of Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Self-Control and the fruit I can never remember, but my 7 year old can sing to me thanks to Sunday School. I do long for that.

But the reality is I fall far short of it. On my best day, I am a poor reflection of what God offers my children. He is the perfect Father. He is the one who will always be there, discipline perfectly, reward appropriately, and develop the character that each of my children will need to be the people God has called them to be in the time and world that He chose for them.

Until then, I am a caretaker in need of fountains of grace. Grace that acknowledges I am all too human. Grace that admits I will never be the perfect mother no matter how much I long to be. Grace to admit that each day I can try to follow Christ a little more and in that following maybe, just maybe, I’ll be molded more into His image and bear more of His fruit.

But until then, I will rely on His grace and mercy. And I will trust God to fill the gaps and cracks that I cannot. And I will depend on the knowledge that no matter how much I love my children, He loves them infinitely more. And if all they learn from me is that one fact. If they experience that to the depths of their souls, then that is all that really matters.

CFBA: Cold As Ice

Cold as Ice

Sydney Lane Press

by

M.K. Gilroy 

I love books that take you inside the crime world with feisty detectives leading the charge. I’ve enjoyed each installment in MK Gilroy’s Kristen Conner series, and this one grew on mea as I kept reading. The plot is complex, with multiple characters telling the story from their viewpoint. That may be what kept me a bit disengaged from the story at first. Because the Russian mafia is a key player, there were multiple Russian characters telling pieces of the story in short bursts. They blurred a bit in my mind. But as the story settled down to a couple Russian characters and Kristen’s story, I found I couldn’t put the book down.

Kristen is a work in progress. Rough around the edges and hard as nails, she doesn’t trust many people, and change is happening all around her leaving her slightly off-balance. Add a trained killer on her trail and a romance snafu, and this is a story that picks up speed as it goes. All in all I enjoyed this book and think it will strike a chord with those who love slightly gritty crime novels.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Detective Kristen Conner is back on a new murder case. She’s still fighting with her sister—and no surprise, someone new wants to kill her!

He was a pillar in his Chicago neighborhood: popular school teacher, devoted father and husband, political activist on behalf of underprivileged children—and a master gardener who liked to plant flowers in his neighbor’s yards. What wasn’t to love about him? Who would want him dead?

When Detective Kristen Conner lands the case she knows from day one who the key suspect is. That’s simple. The person most likely to kill you is someone close that you know and love. But the wife? She was always at her husband’s side and just as passionate about his causes as he was. No way could this loving wife and mother of three be a killer. Right?

Mix in her on-again, off-again relationship with FBI Agent Austin Reynolds, a quick trip to New York City where Kristen helps her media-star sister for a new apartment—only to discover the body of a man who appears to have been executed by a professional killer on a run through Central Park—and Kristen Conner is once again swept into a world of danger, intrigue, and a confusing love life.

What she doesn’t know just might kill her.

If you would like to read the first chapter of Cold as Ice, go HERE.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Mark won’t claim he has done it all in the world of publishing, but he has packed boxes, edited manuscripts, made sales calls, created marketing plans, directed design and illustration, started companies, consulted, agented the works of others, and written advertising and catalog copy. He’s authored, compiled, and ghost written books that have landed on an array of bestsellers lists and sold millions of copies. His first ghost writing project, The Wal-Mart Way, was done for Don Soderquist, Sam Walton’s longtime right-hand man.

In early 2012 he put on a new hat as a fiction author. His debut novel, Cuts Like a Knife, was released in April 2012 and was met with rave reviews from USA Today, Fresh Fiction, Publishers Weekly, and other leading national reviewers. His second novel, Every Breath You Take, second in the Kristen Conner Mystery Series, released in Fall 2012 to similar acclaim. Kristen Conner returns in Cold As Ice, which releases in Fall 2014.

Gilroy has extensive writing credits. He scripted and served as creative consultant for a two-hour training video that was honored with the Award of Excellence by the International Television Association. He has compiled and written close to fifty books and penned hundreds articles and curriculum pieces for a variety of periodicals and publishers.

Gilroy and his wife Amy reside in Brentwood, Tennessee. Their six children are Lindsey, Merrick, Ashley, Caroline, Bo, and Zachary—the youngest has now headed off for college, so he and Amy are officially empty nesters.