August updates, an announcement, and new goals

August ended up being a busier month than I expected. But it was a good month and I got a lot done.

Updates

In August, I orchestrated a couple of blog tours for some clients which was fun and I was thankful for their business. I also finished as much of the rough draft of Savior, Like a Shepherd as I decided to. I wasn’t sure how to write the end, so I left that for the typing up phase which I have been working on the last week. I am now about 3/4ths of the way through that process with the goal of finishing by Saturday so I can send the manuscript to my beta-readers.

I also published my third novella of the summer (and personal favorite), Blessed Assurance. If you haven’t had a chance to see anything about it yet, scroll down to yesterdays post and meet the main character, Adelaide Brown.

Besides some real life things, I think that’s about it for what happened in August. So now I can share with you the exciting news I found out on Wednesday night!

Announcement!

Do you remember my third novel, Amazing Grace? Well, way back last fall or winter, I entered it into the Reader’s Favorite contest. On Wednesday night, I was browsing through the 2016 winners when I saw a familiar cover:

Yes, my book was chosen as a Finalist in the Christian-Historical Fiction category. It may not be as high up there as the Gold, Silver, Bronze, or Honorable Mention, but it’s the first award I’ve won, so I’m pretty excited about it! And I get a fancy new sticker to put on my cover. Any ideas on where I should put it?

Goals

This September is going to be pretty busy what with Bible Study starting up again, a new novel to start, a Facebook party I’m doing with a friend, a short story to publish, two book fairs and a mini-conference to attend. So yeah, goals are good for me to stay motivated. That and deadlines, but I won’t post all of those on here. I do have a couple of ways you can keep up with my progress, though, if you’d like, so click on the links if you are interested in a few of the more nitty-gritty details.

• Get Savior, Like a Shepherd ready and sent to beta-readers
• Start He Hideth My Soul rough draft (handwritten)
• Get Faith is the Victory ready for publication
• Edit All The Way (if time)
• Get everything together for book fairs (Sept. 18 & 24) and conference (Sept. 24)
• Don’t go crazy (or is it too late for that?)
• Plan Truth through the Ages Facebook Party with Amanda

So, what do you think? Am I crazy? Probably, but what do you expect from a writer? These two graphics kind of sum up a writer fairly well, I think.