Yesterday I received a contract from Elk Lake Publishing for a children's book I first submitted to them a year ago. I am ecstatic! I worked harder on these approximately 800 words than about anything I've ever worked on, or at least any other 800 word group I've ever worked on. And I am sure the real work is only just beginning. Elk Lake will be my third publisher with Write Integrity Press and Olivia Kimbrell Press being the other two. I's so happy to join the Elk Lake Family!
A few things have happened in my writing life since my last post.
The big news is that Shirley and I will be writing a second book in a new two-book devotional series that will be coming out next year. We contracted with Entrusted Books in '22 for the first one. That manuscript is now written and turned into our publisher. We pitched a follow up book to that one making it a two-book series and our publisher gave us the green light to move forward. Though we have not signed the contract yet, our publisher did give us tentative release dates. The first will come out in March of '23 and the second in either fall of '23 or spring of '24. You will be hearing much more about these two books in days to come.
The second news is that I will be teaching a workshop on magazine writing at the MidSouth Christian Writers Conference on Friday March 17th. The conference should be great, and I am so looking forward to attending an in-person conference again.
And speaking of writing for magazines, I got word that an article I wrote about Louisville baseball player, Felton Snow, will be published in the Kentucky Monthly magazine in April. Felton was a player and coach in the Negro League in the 1930's and '40's. In his years as a coach, he coached some of baseball's greats including Satchel Page, Jackie Robinson, and Roy Campanella to name just three. After he retired from baseball, he worked in a barber shop in Louisville until his death in 1974 and was then buried in an unmarked grave. Last summer the city of Louisville along with certain sponsors, gave him a beautiful marker as well as a celebration of his accomplishments which included the Louisville miner team, the Bats, retiring his number and hanging a jersey with his number in his honor at the stadium. In writing that article I went to the cemetery where he is buried and snapped a picture of his new marker. That is the picture at the top of this post.
A new year has dawned. I know we're all thankful 2020 has moved on and given way to a new year. I, like most of you, am praying this year brings good surprises and not bad ones. For starters, I pray this year brings a decrease in the Covid virus, so that cases, hospitalizations, and especially deaths drop significantly and we can get back to a more normal life that might even include the ability to travel again. This virus wrecked havoc among my family and friends like I'm sure it has many of you. My older sister's entire family caught it last spring but none needed hospitalization, my brother and father caught it in the summer and both ended up hospitalized. We thought we were going to lose my then 91 year old dad but by God's grace he pulled through. A friend from my college days was not as lucky. She lost her son to the virus in the summer. And the virus rages on still. *sigh*
So yes, that is my number one hope and prayer for 2021. I have many writing things to keep me busy and to look forward to in the coming year. Here are some of them:
My first devotional assignment for "The Quiet Hour" published by David C. Cook is included in their current winter issue and I have another coming out in an issue later this year. I just submitted my third seven-day assignment for them that will be in their summer '22 issue. I am a regular with them now and love it! I also have individual devotions in the winter and upcoming spring issues of "The Secret Place".
I will have two new books releasing this year--one in the spring and one in the fall. They are the last two books in the year-long Glimpses of God series. As soon as I have the spring cover, I’ll share it with you.
And I will be teaching two workshops at the MidSouth Christian Writers Conference March 19-20. It will be all online this year. I encourage you to sign up if you are a writer or interested in becoming one. My workshops will cover devotional writing as well as freelance writing.
In addition to these activities that I know of I'm sure more will pop up during the year. I am constantly writing and submitting things. Right now I have several partial books on my computer that I write on pretty consistently (switching from one to the other), I stay active with a couple of local writing groups, I have a few friends I mentor in some way or another, and I write and submit freelance articles, stories, and devotions regularly.
Oh, and one more thing. The kindle version of my husband's memoir, A Stand for Truth that I co-wrote will go on sale in a week or two in honor of its one-year release anniversary. Stay tuned for that!
