A Novel Creation www.WatersWords.com

My husband died in October of 2014. Three weeks after his death, my oldest daughter and I attended a workshop called “Grieving Through the Holidays” at a local church. We were grabbing for any help we could find to get us through this most difficult time of our lives. The session was fine –though perhaps too soon for us to fully grasp everything. Our emotions were raw. Our tears pooled near the surface. Ever present. At the end of the session, one of the volunteers came to pray with us. The three of us held hands and bowed our heads. This woman we didn’t know began whispering prayers of God’s tender mercy over us. She prayed for our healing. She prayed for our family. She prayed we would feel God’s presence and power wash over us as we went through the grieving process. She prayed. We listened holding tightly to each other’s hand. Thank you Google Images Then she left the patterned prayer and religious sounding rhetoric behind. She prayed that whenever we were torn or ...

As promised, the third Wednesday of the month I feature a fellow author. Today I had the joy of interviewing Renee-Ann Giggie. Two years ago, Renee-Ann appeared as a guest blogger on A Novel Creation talking about indie publishing. We met at my first-ever writing conference and have supported each other in our writing efforts ever since. Networking. Powerful stuff. Me: How did you come up with the title for your newest release? (I’m grinning here.) Renee-Ann: Well…I had a contest and if memory serves me right, YOU won. (She laughs) My novels are standalone, but each of the titles are similar as though they were a series. The first was Stella’s Plea , the second is Emma’s Prayer , and the next will be Charlie’s Plight . Me: I did. I won! I wasn’t looking for praise there, but I do think the contest was a great way to connect your readers to your book. What led you to become an author? Renee-Ann: My mom was a newspaper reporter so one could say I inherited the ‘writ...

Connecting With Other Writers I post quite often about the benefits of connecting with other writers. Critique groups, gatherings of those who write in your genre, experienced writers and published authors sharing the ins and outs of their craft with those of us still plodding along… it is powerful stuff. I belong to an organization called the American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW). You may recall I had the joy of attending the national conference of ACFW last September. That is a wonderful opportunity in itself, but once a month those of us living in Ohio get together to share our own writing experiences. I’ve made some great friends through the Ohio chapter. Hats off to Tamera Lynn Kraft! This year, under the direction of Tamera Kraft, we have an interesting program agenda. We will be looking at everything from screen writing to children’s literature. We’ll explore formula writing, indie publishing, marketing and more. I’m excited. I love having a once-a-month shot ...

Last week I asked readers to let me know what they would like to see from my blog. While few responded on the post itself, I heard from several people via Facebook and email and through face-to-face interactions. Interesting. Maybe I should write a post on how to “leave a comment.” Actually, I don’t mind. It’s fun to have someone strike up a conversation at church on Sunday morning with the words, “I’ve been thinking about your blog…” So what do my readers think? It turns out, they like it when I am transparent. In everything. Here are a few comments I heard this week: “My favorite posts are the ones where you share your heart.” “I like the ones about writing, but mostly when you let us know you don’t know it all!” “I like the ones about your family.” “My favorite interviews are the ones where you make me feel like I’m in the room with you. That’s cool but I think it would be really cool if you’d do them on video or something.” “The ones that make me cry are t...