Many thanks to Cindy Ervin Huff for inviting me to participate in this blog tour!
Cindy Huff has been freelancing for over thirty years for children
and adults in both the Christian and general markets. She has 100+
writing credits in both fiction and non-fiction. Her unpublished
Historical Fiction
Secrets and Charades received the
Editor's Choice Award at the 2014 Write-to-Publish Conference. It is
now in the hands of awesome editors. She is the President of the
Aurora, Illinois chapter of Word Weavers and a member of the
Christian Writer's Guild. Cindy loves making new friends and
helping other writers. Visit her on any of the links below.
Connect with Cindy!
Writer's Patchwork Blog:
www.jubileewriter.wordpress.com
Facebook:
www.facebook.com/cindyehuff
Twitter:@CindyErvinHuff
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Each member of this blog tour will answer the following four questions. Today is my turn to share with you!
What am I working on?
I am working on three things. The first is marketing my tween devos which will release October 7, 2014. I am super excited about this opportunity from Zonderkidz. Stay tuned to this blog and my Facebook page as we get closer to the release date!
My second focus is a young adult novel. Starting it was the response to a challenge from several people who care and are invested in my writing career. (You know who you are.) Once I sat down and started writing, I found myself hooked on the characters and the story line. I can't elaborate much more than that right now.
Third, I am working on a chapter book (think early elementary readers). It combines the heartfelt, yet humorous, real-life struggles of a boy, his dog, and his best friend. I so wish I could tell you more! Let's hope that this is on the bookstore shelves soon. I would love to hear your thoughts.
Three very different focuses - right? That's okay. I like it that way!
How does my work differ from other genres?
I think that my devotion writing for tweens differs from others in the same genre in its format. I love to see what kids are reading. Then, I try to find commonalities between those books. My tween devos are similar in format to other popular tween books that incorporate a variety of ways to engage readers.
Here is how the publisher describes the one for boys:
Dare U 2 Open this Book is not your typical 90-day
devotional for guys. It’s an all-out open space for you to explore and
learn more about yourself and your faith with prompts to get your mind
thinking and your creative ideas flowing, turn your thoughts and
emotions into dynamic doodles, fill in the prayer blanks, solve puzzles,
and more.
Dare U 2 Open this Book challenges guys to follow Jesus. Best. Idea. Ever.
Why do I write what I do?
That might best be answered with
why I write.
I love writing for beginning readers because they are so excited about learning to read for themselves. I blogged about it
here.
Writing for middle grade is just as dear to my heart. Tweens are at a challenging age. In more and more situations, they must choose to follow what they have been taught or what the world is offering. Read more about why I write for middle grade
here.
How does your writing process work?
On a writing day, I like to follow a certain order of work. I wouldn't call it a schedule because it might begin at a different time each day and the components might last varying times. Nonetheless, the order of the day is what helps me stay on track and accomplish as much as I can.
I begin with my own quiet time (reading the Bible and praying). This is also a part of my writing time for two reasons. I believe that God has a plan for my day (and yours). Focusing on His Word and praying helps me get in tune with his idea of what my day should look like. Because I write devotions for kids, lots of ideas for those come up during this time as well. Okay. Confession time. You know the spiral notebooks that they sell very inexpensively at back-to-school time? I use one of those for notes and devotion ideas from every one or two books of the Bible. Yep.
Next I try to focus on actual writing. It might be working on a proposal or writing something like a manuscript, article, or a blog post. This comprises the bulk of my writing time.
At the end of the day, my mind is tired (so is the rest of me). I use this time to research churches and Christian schools that might be interested when I have an author event their a specific area.
I hope that those answers explain a little more about my writing. Thanks again, to Cindy for including me in this blog tour. Next Monday, I am excited to hear from
Karen Whiting and
Cleo Lampos.
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Karen Whiting is an international speaker and award-winning
author of seventeen books. She’s the former television host of Puppets On Parade. Her newest books are
Nature Girl: a guide to caring for God’s creation and The One Year My Princess
Devotions. Her upcoming releases are The One Year Devotions for Active Boys and
Hope From His Heart (a devotional for women).
Karen loves to let creativity splash across the pages of her
writing as she encourages families to thrive, treasure one another, and connect
to God.
Connect with Karen!
Pinterest
www.twitter.com/KarenHWhiting
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Cleo Lampos is a retired teacher who has developed her writing and speaking skills into a ministry. With 26 years of special education under her belt, she enjoys preparing for lecture series based on the lives of teachers. She brings one granddaughter to Open Mic at the local library where they participate in the fun. The Teachers of Diamond Projects School is a series of novels about urban teachers that she has written. Teaching Diamonds in the Tough is her narrative nonfiction based on her years of journaling. One historic fiction, A Mother's Song, is a tribute to the mothers of the orphan trains. All her books are published by Oak Tara.
Connect with Cleo!
Are you looking for something fresh and new for the toddler girl on your list? I have the privilege of reviewing a new board book for little girls that just released this month. The Sweetest Story Bible for Toddlers by Diane Stortz is a beautiful solution for gift giving, and since it just released, that special little girl won't already have it. Let me explain why this book is such a perfect gift.
