Musings Has Moved!

I've switched my blog over to my website. I'll be posting my blog updates at www.kathleenfuller.com. Thanks for making the move with me!

Chapter-A-Week Book Club—an Excerpt from A Miracle for Miriam (An Amish Christmas)

Chapter-A-Week Book Club features two excerpts a week from CBA authors. This week Siri Mitchell and I are featured. There are two ways to read the excerpts—on facebook or by joining the yahoo group. You can also read dozens of other excerpts in the archives. It’s a nice preview of upcoming releases, or a way to “try out” a book before purchasing. So to get a sneak pick of A Miracle for Miriam, click on one of the above links. Thanks for checking it out!

What I've Been Reading This Summer

It never seems like I have enough time in the day, but I always try to find time to read. Here are some of the novels I've read the past couple months, plus books I'm currently reading.

Tour de Force by Elizabeth White
A Claim of Her Own by Stephanie Grace Whitson
The Big Picture by Jenny B. Jones
In Between by Jenny B. Jones
On the Loose by Jenny B. Jones
Plain Perfect by Beth Wiseman
Plain Pursuit by Beth Wiseman
So Not Happening by Jenny B. Jones
The Inheritance by Tamera Alexander
Beyond this Moment by Tamera Alexander
The Noticer by Andy Andrews
Zora and Nicky by Claudia Mair Burney
It's Not About Him by Michelle Sutton
Michal by Jill Eileen Smith
Daisy Chain by Mary DeMuth
A Gift of Grace by Amy Clipston
Betrayed by Amy Clipston

Reading:
Love Finds You in Revenge, Ohio by Lisa Harris
By Darkness Hid by Jill Williams
Plain Promise by Beth Wiseman
Taming Rafe by Susan May Warren

Plan to Read:
Look to the East by Maureen Lang
Thirsty by Tracey Bateman
Haunt of the Jackals by Eric Wilson
That Certain Spark by Cathy Hake
I'm So Sure by Jenny B. Jones
Just Between You and Me by Jenny B. Jones
Talking to the Dead by Bonnie Grove

Wow--I better get busy reading! What great books have you read this summer?

Favorite Games

I love games. Maybe its because I have a pretty strong competitive spirit, or that I enjoy having fun with friends (or in the case of solitaire, myself) but I'm thisclose to becoming a game addict. So this morning while I was playing Farkle on facebook--that site is both haven and hell for those of us gamers--I wondered if I was the only one who had a problem saying no to games. I also wondered what your favorite games are. Here's a list of my top five. Its no coincidence that they're mostly word games.

1) Dutch Blitz--this game is a blast. It's an Amish themed game played with two to four players. Its a mix of Solitaire and Speed. Maybe someone else who's played it can explain it better. I've been playing this for years thanks to my friend Kim, way before I was interested in the Amish. You can purchase the game here.

2) Scrabble--I'm a word geek. I have to love this game.

3) Boggle--I fell in love with Boggle when I was a kid. Another game to please the word geek in me.

4) Yahtzee--no words, but no complex rules or math gymnastics either. My favorite kind of game--simple

5) Gin--I can play Gin all day long.

What are you're favorite games?

Perseverance!

This morning on the way to church I was listening to 80s on 8 on satellite radio. On Sunday mornings they do a rewind of American Top 40 for that week back on in a particular year during the 80s. One of American Top 40s standard features was an inspiring, behind the scenes/trivia like segment where host Kasey Kasem would tell a little story about a particular artist on the countdown. The story I heard this morning was a strong reminder to never, ever give up.

Back in 1959, a young songwriter began writing and submitting songs to Berry Gordy, the founder of Motown Records. Motown was in its infancy and open to new writers. Gordy, who had written a few hit songs himself, knew what he was looking for. In his view, a song was either a "hit", or it was "garbage". From 1959-1961 this new songwriter submitted 100 songs to Gordy, and he called each one of them garbage. When the songwriter submitted his 101st song, Gordy finally proclaimed it a hit. And it was, for a group called The Miracles. "Shop Around" was Motown's first hit.

The songwriter? Smokey Robinson, who went on to have an illustrious career as a songwriter and singer.

But what if Robinson had given up on the 20th song? The 35th? Or even the 100th? Robinson's dogged pursuit of writing a hit song is a reminder of how important perseverence is. It's absolutely necessary in publishing. But having perseverence is important in other careers, not just the arts. No matter the career, never give up on your goals or your dreams. If you give up you'll absolutely fail. If you persevere, chances are you'll succeed, and succeed big.

Five Reasons Historical Romance Novelists Should Attend the ACFW Conference

The annual American Christian Fiction Writer's Conference is set for September 17-20 in Denver, Colorado. While that may seem a ways away, its really around the corner, so if you're planning to attend, you should register and book your flight ASAP. For those of you on the fence, especially historical romance novelists, allow me to shove you off that fence by giving you five reasons to attend the conference.

1) Historical novels are on the rise again. When I first started writing nearly ten years ago, contemporaries and chick-lit were all the rage. Most editors weren't interested in looking at historicals, unless they were set in the prairie between 1850 and 1890, and even then an unknown author would have a tough time selling a manuscript. But as with many things in the publishing biz, tastes are cyclical, and there's renewed interest in historicals from different time periods and countries--Biblical, Regency, Victorian, Georgian, and the ever popular Americana.

2) Networking, networking, networking! Regardless of the genre you write in, the ACFW conference provides countless opportunities to rub elbows with published authors, agents, and editors who freely give their insight into what's selling and what publishing houses are looking for. It's the best way to find out the most inside of inside information.

3) Mentoring and Critiquing. Attendees have the opportunity to sign up for one-on-one critique sessions with a multipublished author. Several of these authors have published historical romance and are open to giving their feedback and expertise in the genre. To find out is giving paid critiques visit this page.

4) Late Night Chats. These are totally awesome. Editors and agents will be holding late night chats Thursday and Friday where they'll be giving the straight scoop about the business, what houses are looking for, and what they're looking for in particular. You'll also have the opportunity to ask burning questions, such as "Are you looking for historical romance set in Byzantium?" The one drawback is that you can only attend one chat a night (so many editors/agents, so little time), but you can get with a group of your friends and divide and conquer, then meet later over a latte and share what you learned.

5) You'll be sorry you missed it. I can say this with surety--I had planned to attend the conference, and had even registered for it, but ended up having to cancel. But I'm definitely going next year--I refuse to miss out on the fun again!

For more information about the ACFW conference, visit the ACFW conference section on the website.

Book Winner Giveaway!

The winner of So Not Happening is Oklahoma Girl! Please visit www.kathleenfuller.com and go to my contact page to send me your snail mail address. Congratulations, and thanks to everyone who entered.