2021 is the fifth year that I’ve kept a file on my top Christian reads for the year. You can follow my reviews on Goodreads or BookBub. I found it difficult to choose ten fiction books this year and so will (as I’ve done in the past) add in some non-fiction. These books aren’t listed in any particular order. 1. The Silk Merchant of Sychar (Cindy Williams) I love Biblical fiction if it is Biblically accurate and takes us into…
Mensen stellen ons teleur, maar wat als God ons ook teleurstelt? Bij fysiotherapeute Esther MacDonald gaat alles voor de wind. Ze verwacht ook niet anders, want haar vader, de voorganger van megakerk Victory, heeft als motto; “Volg Jezus en wees gezegend!” Op haar achtentwintigste stort haar leven in. Iedereen stelt haar gerust, God zal het ten goede keren. Maar wat als dat niet gebeurt? Heeft ze God beledigd? Heeft ze te weinig geloof? Welke prijs moet ze betalen voor het…
How to enter 1. Answer the question – this ensures real people are entering! The question needs to be answered in the multiple choice drop-down section within the giveaway app NOT in the comments below the post. 🙂 2. Then you’ll be prompted for FIRST name and email 3. Search for email and confirm entry (check your ‘spam’/’junk’ folders). *** Entrants keep forgetting this step and so don’t see the email telling them they’re a winner. 4. THEN you’ll be…
Books can be read in print or as an ebook or even large print, but there are also those who love to listen to their books. Early recordings In 2018, I embarked on the steep learning curve that is learning how to narrate an ebook and also do all the technical side of recording and editing. I am grateful for a friend who loaned me the equipment and helped me with the technical side while making sure I could do…
Prologues – do you love them or hate them? All five of my novels have had a prologue and each has had a different purpose. Prologues for book 1-2 The prologue for the first novel, Grace in Strange Disguise, was designed to throw you in the action and then go back in time leading you towards the emotional impact of the prologue (which happened at the 1/4 point). The prologue for my second novel, Grace in the Shadows was designed…
Sydney has been in lockdown due to Covid-19 for several months. This has enabled me to work through a long to-do list of book-related things. One of the things has been to make sure that my novels are available in large print. If you have ever considered ordering my books for your local library – now would be a great time to do it and ordering in large print would be a huge help. Most libraries allow you to suggest…
I have just had another phone call with yet another innocent wanna-be author. Another person launching into a new business but being too independent. Jane* (pseudonym) has written a book and wants to get it published but like many first-timers her expectations of having a book published are way out of date. She has romantic notions of a publisher just waiting for her manuscript to drop across their desk. The publishing world has changed Most first-timers do expect that the…
Christian fiction vs non-fiction My first two books were non-fiction. The second book was about Bible storytelling which I’ve been using since 2004. The more I have seen how people respond to the stories, the more I’ve become convinced of the power of story. It is no real surprise then, that I would eventually write fiction rather than simply non-fiction. Novels allow me to make an impact on many people who will never pick up my non-fiction books. I don’t…
After three years of publishing fiction, I finally have enough novels in a series to make a box set. Yet another new thing to learn in this long journey called ‘self-publishing’. WHY BOTHER? One of the main challenges facing self-published authors is being ‘discovered’. This doesn’t simply mean becoming popular but more importantly, people actually knowing our product exists. One way to increase the likelihood of your book being spotted is to produce the same book in multiple formats. For…
The new author scenario Book launch day arrives. The new author is beside themselves with excitement, but they probably don’t know that their expectations aren’t realistic. Self-published authors will be able to see their online sales day by day but traditionally published will often have to wait three months to see the first figures. Once the sales start, they hope for reviews (5-star ones, of course), and nowadays we also want to build our newsletter subscribers and often imagine a…