Book Review: Beyond Hope's Valley by Trisha Goyer

The third in Trisha Goyer’s Big Sky Trilogy, Beyond Hope’s Valley doesn’t disappoint the reader who is looking for the continuation of Marianna Sommer’s story. At the end of the previous book, we knew Marianna would be returning to her Indiana home, leaving her parents and younger siblings in Kootenai, Montana, and her future seemed set. But when she arrives in Shipshewana, she realizes her time in Montana has changed her, and she sees her home community through new eyes.

As Marianna and Aaron make plans for their future, questions continue to arise, leaving Marianna unsettled and unsure. Will she live the life she had planned, or will a new future open up for her beyond this valley?

I enjoy Trisha Goyer’s books very much, but this one was disappointing. The conflict between Marianna and Aaron seemed shallow and rushed, and her portrayal of the Shipshewana Amish community didn’t ring true – one of the pitfalls of using a real place for a setting in a fictional work.

Don’t let that dissuade you from reading this book, however – the end of Marianna’s story is a sweet conclusion to this trilogy.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher for my unbiased review.

Debra Dixon's GMC

I love reading craft books for writing.

What can I say? I love studying.

Currently, I’m on my second time through Debra Dixon’s GMC: Goal, Motivation and Conflict.

This is a book that is written in such a straight-forward way it’s easy to understand.  Basically, the author maintains that each character in your story should have concrete goals (what they want), motivation (why they want it) and conflict (what’s keeping them from getting it). She uses well-known movies to illustrate her points, and it’s worthwhile to watch those movies (she encourages you to do so in her introduction).

 

I initially read this book a year ago when I was developing the characters for my first book. Even in the early drafts I was getting comments like “these aren’t cardboard characters,” and I know it’s because I used Debra Dixon’s GMC chart to develop all of my characters, not just the main, point-of-view characters.

So tell us, what are your favorite craft books?

You can buy Debra Dixon’s GMC here. You’ll find a much better price than on Amazon.

The Next BIG Step!

 I don’t know exactly how many steps it takes to become a published writer, but I do know I recently took a huge one – 

I am now...

                  (drumroll please!)

…an agented author!

(We will pause here for cheers, whistles and Snoopy dancing!)

It all started when I received the sage advice (first from Tina Radcliffe and then from Julie Lessman, two of the authors from Seekerville) that it was time to get an agent.

Hah! Easier said than done!

First of all, I needed to write a query letter.

No, scratch that.

First of all, I needed to understand what a query letter IS. (See the results of that part of the journey here)

Next, I needed to write a query letter.

                    Not just A query letter – I needed to write MY query letter.

Because the query letter is your foot-in-the-door, smile-on-your-face first impression.

Then I needed to polish my synopsis.

Then all I needed to do was put it all together and send it off to an agent!

No – back up again – first I needed to find an agent I wanted to query, research the agent and the agency – make that multiple agents and agencies – and prioritize my list.

There are so many good agencies, prioritizing was the hardest part!

I queried one agent, ended up with a negative result, and put querying agents on the back of the stove.

God was telling me to wait, so I waited.

Then the Seekerville ladies (thank you, Ruth Logan Herne!) had another one of their impromptu contests - -

-          - well, impromptu for their readers. I know a LOT of thought, prayer and planning goes into these contests!

But this contest just HAPPENED to be an agent query contest.

The five finalists were given an opportunity to query an agent that just HAPPENED to be one of the top agents on my list.

And I just HAPPENED to be one of those five finalists.

So, with much trepidation, I sent my query to Barbara Scott, of WordServe Literary (http://wordserveliterary.com/)

knowing I would have to wait several weeks for an answer…

…and got an email back from her in less than an hour!

The rest, as they say, is history.

I can’t tell you how much it means for this newbie writer to have an agent – someone who knows the business, knows the publishing houses, knows the editors, and is enthusiastic about my book. 

Whew! I feel like I have Tim Tebow, Peyton Manning and Roger Staubach all rolled into one as my quarterback!

Sooo….

Lessons learned?

1)      Finish your book! If you’re a new writer, have been working on that story for a while, but you’re still not even close to writing “The End”, sit in your chair and work! If you need some cheerleaders, join the #1K1HR group on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/338770276151416/). Tell ‘em I sent you.

2)      Research agencies and agents – find out who they represent, what kinds of stories they’re looking for – and ask your friends for recommendations. Read the agents’ blogs, their guest appearances on writing blogs, and their bios. Make a list of your top five. Once you’ve queried all of them, make another list of your top five.

3)      Be like a Boy Scout: Be Prepared! You never know when God is going to send opportunity to your door, so be prepared to answer that door when He does. Write your query letter. Write your synopsis – better yet, write two. Have a one-page and a three-page both ready. You can then expand or contract your synopsis easily to fit the requirements of the opportunity.

4)      Don’t wait for opportunity to come knocking – pray for God to show you His time for you to send out that query!

5)      When you get that call or that e-mail, don’t faint. The floor is hard, and you’ll just worry the dog.

6)      Call your husband and crit partners with the news before the excitement wears off.

7)      Start on your next book, if you haven’t already!

Happy Writing!

Book Review: The Doctor's Lady by Jody Hedlund

Historical fiction means much more when it’s been inspired by a true story, and that’s just what Jody Hedlund gives her readers in The Doctor’s Lady.

It is 1836, and Priscilla White knows she has been called to be a missionary teacher in India. She is just as sure that God has called her to remain single, but the Mission Board has decided young, single women are not fit for the dangerous mission field, and have turned down her application.

Dr. Eli Ernest is also bound for the mission field – as a doctor to the native tribes in the newly discovered northwest. He has spent a year among the tribes in Oregon, and longs to return, but the Mission Board supporting him has determined that he must take a wife along, or not return at all.

In order for both of them to fulfill God’s call, Priscilla and Eli decide to marry – in name only. But even as they start their journey west, have the seeds of romance already been planted?

Jody Hedlund was inspired by the story of Narcissa and Marcus Whitman, missionaries to the Nez Perce Indians in the early 1800’s. Mrs. Hedlund drew extensively from the Whitman’s diaries for her story, giving the incidents along the way the true flavor of authenticity.

The Doctor’s Lady is Mrs. Hedlund’s second book (her first was her award-winning The Preacher’s Bride, 2010), and I hope we will be able to enjoy many more offerings. Her next book, Unending Devotion, is due out September, 2012, and is available for pre-order now.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher for my unbiased review.

Progress! Slow, but steady...

Last week I wrote "The End" on Love Believes All Things!

But if you look at my progress meter, I'm not quite to the end of the book, am I?

Okay, okay, you caught me. I wrote "the end" on the first draft. I took my characters from the beginning to the end of the book - no, I'm not going to tell you what happens yet - but I still have a lot of filling in to do to round out Ruthy and Levi's story.



I need to develop the secondary characters...

My heroine needs a mentor. She really does. Someone who can point out just how hard her poor broken heart has become.

And if her heart can't soften - if she can't forgive the ones who have treated her so badly - how can she open it up to love our hero?

Another secondary character I need is a friend for my hero. He's such a nice guy, but almost too nice. He needs someone who will challenge him to act when he needs to act.

So now that I'm working on all this stuff, the word count will be increasing more slowly...but it will increase.

Stay tuned!

Speedbo 2012 is up and running!

Have you heard about Speedbo yet? No?

If you have ever thought maybe, just maybe, you'd like to get that story out of your head and onto paper (or into the computer) someday, here's your chance.

Speedbo (aka "Speed Book") participants set a goal and write.

All through March we're writing.

Your goal might be 50 words a day or 1000 words a day. Maybe your life is frantically busy and you only have one day a week - that's fine.

Set a goal. Plan to meet your goal.

Make your goal...

Specific
Measurable
Achievable
Realistic
Time-bound

And then head over to Seekerville.net to join in the fun. Sign up and you'll be eligible for prize drawings, and hang around all month for the great tips and encouragement from the Seekerville community.

What have you got to lose? You have ZERO words now, right? Any progress from here on is a start on your story!

* * * * * * *

Of course, now you want to hear about my own Speedbo goals and progress, right?

My word count goal for the month was 55,000 words.

Gulp.

I wanted to push myself, stretch myself...and finish my WIP.

And I made this goal before we planned an out-of-state trip during the last week of March.

So how am I doing?

Well, since March 1st I've added 14,254 words to my WIP, so I have just over 40,000 words to go!

I need to be SMART though, right?

I write 5 days a week, and on that schedule I only have 10 more days to write before we leave town.

I normally write 2500 words a day. 

Do the math. 

I can either push myself to write the 2500 words a day while we're traveling, or I can change my goal, or I can try to increase my daily word count.

Or I can do all three.

I'll keep you posted!

Meanwhile, you can watch the progress of "Love Believes All Things" on the nifty word counter on your right (I started the month with 30,000 words already written).

And no, I don't really look like a prune. Or a grape. Or a California Raisin.

(Now that song is stuck in your head, isn't it?)
(And if it isn't, then enjoy your youth!)

Book Review: Along Wooded Paths by Tricia Goyer

Along Wooded Paths continues the story of Marianna Sommer and her family after their relocation to the Amish community near Kalispell, Montana.

Marianna has delayed her return to Indiana, reluctant to leave her family, the Montana community and the closer relationship with God she has found there. Another factor is her friendship with the Englishcher, Ben. She knows her friendship with him is endangering her heart, but how can she turn her back on such a good friend who introduced her to God?

Meanwhile, Aaron Zook has tired of waiting for Marianna to return to Indiana and become his wife. The cabin he has built for the two of them is completed and waiting for her and he wonders why she has delayed returning home, but he only knows that she has decided to stay in Montana longer. He makes the trip to visit her, and after being injured in an accident on the trip, stays with the Sommer family during his recovery.

We see Marianna’s attraction to Ben, which blossomed and grew during the first book in this series, reach a turning point as Marianna considers the changes loving an Englischman would make in her life. At the same time, Aaron’s constant, familiar presence reminds her of the dreams she had before she met Ben. Which direction will her heart lead her?

This is the second book in Tricia Goyer’s “Big Sky Novels”.  I’ve enjoyed both books offered so far, and am waiting anxiously for the third book, Beyond Hope’s Valley, coming out in April 2012.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher for my review.