In Magnificent Company (and ACW Birthday Scavenger Hunt)

By Rose Dee

The first Australian novel I read was Return to Baragula by Mary Hawkins. I loved reading about her Aussie characters in a place I knew and loved—my home. It delighted me no end to discover Christian novels set right here in Australia, and written by an Australian.

I have been hooked on our homeland writers since reading Return to Baragula. Australia has produced some magnificent storytellers, and in this post I would like to pay homage to those taking part in this ACW scavenger hunt anniversary celebration—and to encourage Australian and New Zealand readers to experiment with some local writers.

It isn’t easy being a faith-based writer in Australia. Limitations in population and a fluctuating interest in home-grown stories have often left me questioning why I am writing in this niche market. But then I look at my peers and I know I am not alone. We all have the calling to write Christian stories, regardless of how the world sees our success. We all know it is what the Lord thinks that counts. We are the body, and the support I have had from my writing friends has often supplied the faith juice that has kept me going.

I’ll never forget writing The Greenfield Legacy. I wondered how four very different authors would amalgamate a story worth reading. Yet we were able to mesh our styles and ideas together so beautifully that it literally fell into place. Before they were my co-authors, I was a fan of each of these writers. I remember sitting up until all hours of the night marvelling at the twists and turns in Paula Vince’s Best Forgotten, and since then have done the same with her new release, Imogen's Chance.

She’s not the only author who has influenced and encouraged me as a reader. Jo-Anne’s memoir, Soul Friend, made me cry happy tears—several times. Carol’s beautifully told stories give the world a taste of where we have come from and how our heritage has shaped our culture.

Ian and Ray add diversity to our group, forging new ground and paving paths for us all. Andrea has captivated the young adult market with her work, and her new release Too Pretty holds pride of place on my Kindle. Rita’s historic novel, Signed Sealed Delivered, takes us back to our very beginnings both as a new country and as a people who look to God. And Jeanette encourages us all. Facebook can be a lonely place, but she will always be the one person to like the author posts I wonder if anybody else sees. She is the best social media friend, and a greatly appreciated one.

As well as our group having fabulous writers, there are those I have learned from. I savour Anne Hamilton’s wisdom, and grow each time I soak in the knowledge she shares. Iola has been an angel in disguise to me. Her editing skills are finely tuned, and she shares them with all of us. She is the one person who I know ‘gets me’, who challenges me to be a better writer.

Our group would not have formed had it not been for the passionate energy of Narelle Atkins. She has worked tirelessly for all of us. Her help has often left me full of hope and thankfulness. I rejoice when I see her novels in print, as she’s bringing contemporary Australia alive to US readers.

I remember my very first online chat in the US—Jenny Blake was there, holding my hand and being my friend in an unfamiliar place. She has done so much to support and uplift every Aussie author who has come her way. Dorothy’s blog is one of the best I have ever seen and she has supported and loved us all through the years. I can’t wait to see where her writing will take her. Rel and Ellie are also terrific promoters of Christian fiction, while Dale writes stories that tell the world who Aussies are.

I am in magnificent company, and I hope that if you have read to the end of this post you will take the time to click on the blog link attached to each author’s name and check out each individual I have mentioned, and the ones I haven’t—Melissa Gjisbers, Lucy Thompson, Hazel Barker, and Catherine Hudson. I’m looking forward to reading the work of these pre-published authors in the near future. We are part of the contingent that makes up this Australasian Christian Writers body, and I am so thankful to be a part of it and to be celebrating our first anniversary with you all.

As part of the anniversary celebrations I am giving away a $20 voucher from Deeper Shopping in the USA and a $20 voucher from Koorong in Australia. All you have to do is leave a comment for me below. Please specify which giveaway you'd like to enter in your comment. Deeper Shopping and Koorong provide local and international shipping information on their websites. The winners will be announced on September 9.  a Rafflecopter giveaway

ACW SCAVENGER HUNT CLUES FOR FRIDAY (FINAL DAY):

Clue 13 from Rose Dee: Which international online Fiction Magazine does Rose contribute to each month? http://www.rosedee.com 

Clue 14 from Narelle Atkins: What is the name the doctor hero in Narelle's latest release, The Doctor's Return? http://www.narelleatkins.com 

Clue 15 from Dale Harcombe: What is the name of the country town Abby moved to with Joel after her marriage? http://www.daleharcombe.com/

You now have all fifteen clues for our ACW Scavenger Hunt. We hope you're enjoying the hunt and locating the answers to all the clues. The contest rules are listed in Monday's post. Please remember to comment on Monday's post, complete the online form (see above) and your Rafflecopter entry. Rafflecopter lists all the options for gaining extra entries in the drawing, including commenting on the posts this week. 

The Scavenger Hunt closes at 2pm on Sunday, September 7 (AEST). The winner will be announced on Tuesday, September 9. Good luck!

Happy Birthday ACW! (and ACW Birthday Scavenger Hunt)

by Anne Hamilton

Birthdays, like New Year’s Day, celebrate and memorialise appointed times. They stand out in the roll of weeks and months, giving us a chance to reflect on the joys and sorrows of the past, but also on our hopes for the future.

ACW group at 2013 CALEB Conference, Left to Right: Catherine Hudson, Rose Dee, Kerry-Lee Harney, Narelle Atkins, Jo-Anne Berthelsen, Anne Hamilton, Jenny O’Hagan, Iola Goulton, Ray Hawkins, Mary Hawkins, Dorothy Adamek

They give us a chance to pause in our busy schedules and honour another. So, since it seems strange to honour an organisation, let’s honour those involved:

• The founders: Narelle, Jenny and Dorothy (Dotti)
• The writers who’ve blogged
• The visitors who’ve commented
• The authors who’ve been interviewed
• The story-tellers whose books have been reviewed
• The gift-givers who’ve offered prizes
• The publishers who have taken so many risks on books in this difficult time of transition

Most of all, let’s honour God and give thanks to Him for the favour He’s shown to us in the past year. He’s been awesome!

The sheer delight of birthdays has never been captured better, at least in my view, than in Christina Rosetti’s A Birthday

My heart is like a singing bird
               Whose nest is in a water'd shoot;
My heart is like an apple-tree
               Whose boughs are bent with thickset fruit;
My heart is like a rainbow shell
               That paddles in a halcyon sea;
My heart is gladder than all these
               Because my love is come to me.

Raise me a dais of silk and down;
               Hang it with vair and purple dyes;
Carve it in doves and pomegranates,
               And peacocks with a hundred eyes;
Work it in gold and silver grapes,
               In leaves and silver fleurs-de-lys;
Because the birthday of my life
               Is come, my love is come to me.

May Love Himself come abide with you this birthday!

Anne Hamilton is a big fan of Christina Rossetti. Several of her books, including Many-Coloured Realm and God’s Panoply have extensive quotes from Rossetti's poetry.





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ACW SCAVENGER HUNT CLUES FOR THURSDAY:

Clue 10 from Anne Hamilton: What is the essential meaning of submit in Hebrew? 

http://fire-of-roses.com/wp/ 

Clue 11 from Ray Hawkins: What book title am I holding in my hand on my Home page? http://rayhawkinsauthor.blogspot.com.au 

Clue 12: from Andrea Grigg: Which city and country was I born in? http://www.andreagrigg.com/   

We hope you're enjoying the hunt and locating the answers to the clues. The contest rules are listed in Monday's post. Please remember to comment on Monday's post, complete the online form and your Rafflecopter entry. Rafflecopter lists all the options for gaining extra entries in the drawing, including commenting on the posts this week. 

The Scavenger Hunt closes at 2pm on Sunday, September 7 (AEST). The winner will be announced on Tuesday, September 9. Good luck!

All About Dotti and ACW Birthday Scavenger Hunt

Rita here. Today I'd like to introduce Dorothy Adamek. An Australian writer of Historical Romance, she lives at Crabapple House with her Beloved and their three children, twenty fruit trees and Gilbert the cat. A graduate of La Trobe University, Dorothy studied Literature, History and Education. She taught secondary school English and English as a Second Language.

Romantic shot of Dotti and Her Beloved

Dotti, you are a regular blogger. What is it called and what would you mainly talk about? Does it have a theme?

Hi Rita. I’ve been writing at my blog, Ink Dots, since 2009. I started journalling my writing adventures and sharing some of the historical details I’ve unearthed in my research. I chose the name Ink Dots in salute to olde worlde writer's ink, and picked up the dots from my nickname, Dotti. Ink Dots represents what I write ~ Historical Romance ~ The Heartbeat Of Yesteryear. 

Currently, I post twice a week. On Mondays I interview an historical romance author and most weeks the author generously offers one giveaway copy of their latest release. I love promoting other authors this way, and some return to Ink Dots every year (or sooner) to celebrate a new release. 

On Friday I’ve been following my 52 Author Dates challenge. Each week I step away from the writing desk to stretch myself as an author and experience various tasks/excursions I may have otherwise avoided. (I’m a chicken when it comes to swimming in cold water and entering wild places like thousand year old caves.) These challenges are designed to give me a taste of emotions my characters may face in the life I create for them. Following the author challenge has helped Ink Dots grow a faithful readership of those who visit every week to keep up with the fun. http://dorothyadamek.blogspot.com.au


Rita: Every time I've visited I find something that intrigues or amuses me. I don't always comment, Dotti, but enjoy my peep just the same.

I do believe everyone who has ever read your blog gets the feeling you're more than 'slightly' interested in history, as a pre-published writer, tell us what era you love and why? Also which settings are you likely to choose for your novels?

Dotti: I’m a serious fan of most things olde worlde. The Australian colonial era is my favourite. Anytime in the 1800s draws me and I’m currently working on a 3 book series set on Phillip Island in the 1870s. I’m also working on a goldfields series set in Ballarat in the 1850s, with yet another project set in the 1840s. You can read more about why I love history on my About and Australia Pages at Ink Dots. (Ah, I'm with you on that. Two of my last books have an Australian setting.)

Rita: Not all writers find support in this special calling. How are you finding this? Friends? Family?

Dotti: I’m surrounded by tremendous support as a writer. My family cheer ‘loud and proud’ and tell their friends and colleagues about my writing. God has blessed me with many kindred spirits in the book world who understand the peculiarities of the writing life. Readers and writers alike pray for me each day and share the writing road with all its dips and peaks. And I’m blessed to be able to return the gift of praying for my supporters, too. I know this is something not every writer enjoys and I don’t take it for granted. If there’s a writer reading this now, weighed down by little support or discouragement, please message me. I’d love to pray with you. In many pursuits, prayer is the foundational work and writing is no different.

Rita: You've been travelling around lately. Would you share where and any 'take away' thoughts?

Dotti with James Scott Bell, RWAust '14

Dotti: I’ve enjoyed two conferences and one intensive writing retreat in the last month. Together with thousands of romance authors, (waving at Narelle Atkins and Mary Hawkins) I attended the Romance Writers Of America national conference in San Antonio, closely followed by the Romance Writers of Australia conference in Sydney. As always, the conference experience delivered inspiration and the much needed opportunity to examine industry trends and meet with industry professionals. I highly recommend writing conferences for the enormous learning opportunities. Two of my favourite workshops this year were, ‘Write Faster-Write Smarter’ and ‘How the world's best storytellers do it. Pixar's Secrets.'

Dotti's Immersion Master Class with Margie Lawson

In between conferences, I attended a Margie Lawson Immersion Master Class, also in San Antonio. Margie Lawson teaches her own brand of deep editing in small groups of 6 or 7 and I never come away from this kind of writing retreat the same. If there’s one resource I’d share with a fellow author, whether beginning or well established, it’s the benefits of what Margie Lawson offers from her web community in the form of online classes, lecture packets and writing retreats. http://www.margielawson.com/

Rita: It's been so interesting to find out a little more of what makes you 'tick', Dotti. (Incidentally, our heroine of Green Gables, Anne, always asked that her name be spelled with an 'e' but in Dotti's case that is reversed. So from now on, Dotti, the 'e' I always used is now forever banished!)

Dotti: Thanks for interviewing me today, Rita. It's been fun answering your questions. I look forward to welcoming new Ink Dot's friends. Come and say G'day.

Rita Stella Galieh is a scriptwriter and co-presenter on Vantage Point, a 5 minute program broadcast throughout Australia. She has contributed to several US Anthologies by Adams Media and has two Historical Romances published by Ark House Press. Each year she and her husband minister in Buddhist Government schools, prisons, hospitals & churches in Thailand.

Things can change in a heart beat.
http://inspirationalromance.blogspot.com
Follow me on Twitter @RSGalieh

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ACW SCAVENGER HUNT CLUES FOR WEDNESDAY:

Clue 7 from Dorothy Adamek: What is the real life setting of Dotti's Australian romances? http://dorothyadamek.blogspot.com.au/

Clue 8 from Rita Galieh: What is my mother's maiden name? http://www.ritastellagalieh.com/ 

Clue 9 from Paula Vince: What is the name of my most recent novel, released just this year? http://justoccurred.blogspot.com.au/ 

We hope you're enjoying the hunt and locating the answers to the clues. The contest rules are listed in Monday's post. Please remember to comment on Monday's post, complete the online form and your Rafflecopter entry. Rafflecopter lists all the options for gaining extra entries in the drawing, including commenting on the posts this week. 

The Scavenger Hunt closes at 2pm on Sunday, September 7 (AEST). The winner will be announced on Tuesday, September 9. Good luck!

ACRBA Tour Rebecca's Dream by Carol Preston (and ACW Birthday Scavenger Hunt)

  

1st - 5th September 2014

Australian Christian Readers Blog Alliance

Is Introducing

Rebecca's Dream

(Even Before March 2014)

By

Carol Preston

About the Book

     
Rebecca Oakes is thirteen years old when her mother, Suzannah, dies in the small town of Marengo, New South Wales, in 1873. With her older brother and sisters soon involved in their own lives, Rebecca is left alone to care for her ageing father. But Rebecca has a dream for her own life. She wants to make a difference to the world around her; a world where it is hardly possible for a woman to get an education, where women have no rights, no vote, no voice. Rebecca will have to fight the systems of her time if she is to achieve her goals. She must find the courage to stand against sexual and religious prejudice, and resist the pressures of even those close to her, in order to make her way towards her dream, influenced by one man who hates her, who will do anything to thwart her plans, and another man who loves her, and will do anything to make her happy.

Rebecca’s Dream is the second book in the Oakes Family Saga. Background notes and discussion questions are available for book clubs.

About the Author

Carol lives in Wollongong with her husband, Neil. She is a psychologist and has a part time private counselling practice, as well as being an author and speaker. Carol enjoys spending time with her children and four grandchildren, as well as bushwalking, gardening and holidaying overseas with her husband. One of her hobbies over many years has been family history research. It was this research which started Carol on the journey of writing novels.
   

Her first trilogy is about the Oakes Family; Suzannah’s Gold, Rebecca’s Dream and The Price of Peace, which takes the reader from 1838 when her great great grandmother, Suzannah Casey was transported from Ireland, through to the end of the First World War when Suzannah’s children and grandchildren are involved in the battle, not only to survive the war but to survive the waiting at home. The first two of these have recently been re-released by EBP. Carol’s fourth novel, The Face of Forgiveness, is about two young women who are transported to Australia in 1839. The most recent of Carol’s novel is a series based on her mother’s family, which begins with the First Fleet of convicts to Australia. These include Mary’s Guardian, Charlotte’s Angel, Tangled Secrets, and Truly Free.

For more information about Carol’s books and her other interests she can be contacted on her website: www.carolpreston.com.au, on her Facebook author page: www.facebook.com/writingtoreach or her Amazon author page: www.amazon.com/author/carolpreston

Interview with Carol Preston

Can you tell us something interesting readers may not know about you?

Perhaps some might not know that I am a psychologist and have been in private practice for the past 16 years. I draw a great deal of inspiration from many of my clients who show so much   courage and resilience in the face of trauma and struggle. 

Where did you get the inspiration for your novel?

The inspiration for this novel and my other novels comes from my family history research, where I became enthralled and proud of the many stories of our early Australian ancestors who battled through incredible hardship and overcame enormous challenges to survive and to build the country we know and love.

In your research did you find any interesting titbits that surprised you?

I had many fascinating discoveries when I did my family research during the 1980s and 90s – not the least of which was that on my mother’s side our ancestors go back to the first fleet of convicts sent from England to the colony in 1788. I also discovered interesting elderly relatives who I’d previously never met, and after my novels were published I was contacted by numerous people who were also distantly related and were excited to read about our common ancestors.

What would you like readers to take out of reading your novel? 

I’d love my readers to have a greater sense of Aussie history and also some insight into the Aussie psyche which has developed in the descendants of our early settlers. I’d like my readers to find my characters engaging and inspiring, and most of all I want them to enjoy the stories.

A fun question to end, If you were to recommend somewhere in Australia or New Zealand for readers to visit where would it be?

Of course, I would recommend the south coast of New South Wales to my readers. It is not only rich with Australia’s early history, but one of the most beautiful parts of the world with its golden beaches, bushland and fascinating small towns such as Berry and Jamberoo.

Where can we find you on the web?
My website is www.carolpreston.com.au
Readers can also find me on my author page on Amazon  www.amazon.com/author/carolpreston or on Face Book  www.facebook.com/writingtoreach

 

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ACW SCAVENGER HUNT CLUES FOR TUESDAY:

Clue 4 from Jeanette O'Hagan: Name one of the main characters in Akrad's Children. 

http://jeanetteohagan.com/ 

Clue 5 from Carol Preston: What is the name of the main character who is an ex-convict in Susannah's Gold? http://www.carolpreston.com.au/ 

Clue 6 from Iola Goulton: Name an Australian author who has worked with Iola Goulton at Christian Editing Services. http://christianediting.co.nz

We hope you're enjoying the hunt and locating the answers to the clues. The contest rules are listed in Monday's post. Please remember to comment on Monday's post, complete the online form and your Rafflecopter entry. Rafflecopter lists all the options for gaining extra entries in the drawing, including commenting on the posts this week. 

The Scavenger Hunt closes at 2pm on Sunday, September 7 (AEST). The winner will be announced on Tuesday, September 9. Good luck!

ACW Birthday Celebrations Scavenger Hunt and $150 Gift Card Giveaway!

Stock image used with permission from TheMins

Narelle here. This week marks our blog's first anniversary and we're celebrating with an extra special birthday giveaway. One lucky reader will win a $150 Gift Card. Read on to discover how to participate in the ACW Scavenger Hunt and enter the Gift Card drawing.

We started our blog a year ago with group goals and a vision for the future. Our goals included:

• Promoting Australasian Christian books and authors to a local and international audience. 
• Providing insightful reviews of Christian books. 
• Providing quality writing craft blog posts for aspiring authors.
• Creating a Facebook group that connects writers, readers and builds community.
• Working in partnership with Australian Christian Readers Blog Alliance (ACRBA) to promote ACRBA book tours. 

ACRBA organises free blog tours for Christian fiction, non-fiction and childrens books. ACRBA members who blog regularly can request free review copies (print and/or electronic) and post a review of the book on their blog during the ACRBA tour week. 

ACRBA has created a new membership category called Friends of ACRBA. These members can support the authors and ACRBA by posting the ACRBA tour post on their blog. The only criteria for joining Friends of ACRBA is to have a blog and there's no minimum posting commitment. This category could suit the following people:

• Current ACRBA members who aren't meeting the minimum 2 posts per week criteria on their blog. 
• Authors who can't request review copies of books through ACRBA from their publisher due to a financial interest reviewing conflict. 
• Bloggers, including authors and readers, who want to support authors but don't write or post reviews on their blogs.

If you have any questions about ACRBA or Friends of ACRBA, please ask in the comments below and check out our the post on Why Join a Blog Alliance?

http://australasianchristianwriters.blogspot.com.au/2014/01/why-join-blog-alliance.html 

More information on the ACRBA membership criteria can be found here.

http://acrba.blogspot.com.au/p/requirements.html

ACW Birthday Scavenger Hunt - Win a $150 Gift Card!

Today we are starting our ACW Scavenger Hunt that will run over 5 days, September 1-5. You'll find a list of clues at the end of each post. The answers are on the ACW blog member's website that is listed with each clue. The grand prize is the $150 Gift Card (in Australian dollars, converted to USD for Amazon and NZD for Soul Inspirationz) that can be redeemed at one of the following stores:

• Koorong (Australian readers only)
• WORD (Australian readers only)
• Soul Inspirationz (New Zealand readers only)
• Light the Dark (worldwide, flat $5 Aust dollars shipping to anywhere in the world)
• Amazon.com (worldwide)

The Scavenger Hunt closes at 2pm on Sunday, September 7 (AEST). The winner will be announced on Tuesday, September 9. 

Scavenger Hunt Entry Rules:

1. Complete the Rafflecopter entry below.
2. Complete the online form below with your personal details and all the answers to the clues. We respect your privacy and your information will not be shared.
3. Leave a comment on this blog post, Monday September 1.
4. Extra entries can be gained, up to a maximum of seven, by: following @ACWriters on Twitter, tweeting the giveaway, following the ACW blog, and leaving a comment on the blog posts each day from September 2 - 5.
5. Only entrants with all the correct answers will be eligible to win the Gift Card. If no entrants meet this criteria, the entrants who scored the highest number of correct answers will be entered in the drawing.
6. The Scavenger Hunt closes at 2pm on Sunday, September 7, 2014 (Australian Eastern Standard Time, AEST).
7. The winner of the grand prize, $150 Gift Card (Australian dollars), will be announced on Tuesday, September 9, 2014.

Good luck! Don't forget to leave a comment on today's post, complete the online form and complete the Rafflecopter form to enter the drawing. 

As an extra special gift, we're giving away a $10 (US dollars) Amazon Gift Card from Amazon.com to a reader who leaves a comment on today's post. The $10 Amazon Gift Card giveaway closes at midnight on Sunday, September 7 (AEST). The winner will be announced on Tuesday, September 9.

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ACW SCAVENGER HUNT CLUES:

Clue 1 from Jo-Anne Berthelsen: What is the name of my first non-fiction book? 
http://www.jo-anneberthelsen.com/

Clue 2 from Ian Acheson: What is the name of the award Angelguard recently won? http://ianacheson.com/

Clue 3 from Mary Hawkins: What is the title of my book where the heroine's name is Brenda Sparks? 
www.mary-hawkins.com

You'll find the next group of clues in tomorrow's post. Good luck!