Friday Fun and Author Spotlight: Katie Ganshert

Angie here! Another fabulous week at the Alley has come and gone. I am so thankful to have such great support from our Alley Pals, and to always learn from my dear Alley Cats as they share pieces of their journey on this road to publication.

Week in Recap:
Our week started with an oh-so-fun topic-KISSING-as Pepper Basham shared about her time on a kissing panel (yeah, you really need to check out the post, Kissing Panel Notes: #smoochy#smoochy)

Laurie's post's Write That Story Anyway is a great reminder to hold our stories dear, even if they aren't on shelves yet. All you writers out there with a heart story that just might not fit the market mold...yet...(me!) should check out her post.

Now for our Author Spotlight:

I am so excited to welcome a fellow Midwesterner, Katie Ganshert to the Alley today! She has been such an encouragement to me at ACFW over the years. And this year, she won a Carol for her book, The Art of Losing Yourself! It was such an exciting moment, and her heartfelt acceptance speech resonated with me greatly. 

Katie, tell us about your award-winning book, The Art of Losing Yourself. What inspired you to write it?

It’s a story about half-sisters, Carmen Hart and Gracie Fisher. From the outside looking in, Carmen has it all—the perfect marriage, the perfect image, the perfect job. But from the inside looking out, her world is falling apart. Her dear aunt has dementia, and that same aunt’s pride and joy—a beloved motel called The Treasure Chest—is in serious disrepair. Not to mention Carmen’s silent battle through infertility, and the toll it’s taking on her and her husband, Ben. This is Carmen’s world when 17-year old runaway, Gracie Fisher, enters the scene. Gracie is caught squatting at The Treasure Chest, and Carmen is left with no option but to take the troubled Gracie in.

It’s a story inspired by the passage in Ezekiel 37, when God shows the prophet a valley filled with dry bones and asks, “Son of man, can these bones live again?” God’s asking the same question here, only the dry bones are more metaphorical—a woman’s faith, a woman’s marriage.

It was impossibly hard to write at times, but I’m so glad God called me on the journey.

Such a powerful passage, and an amazing testimony to God's call to write. What are you reading right now?

I can never only read one book at a time. Right now, I’m finishing up Eleanor and Park on audio. I just started Joanne Bischoff’s The Lady and the Lionheart. I’m also reading Knowledge of the Holy by A.W. Tozer, and The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander.

Love that you read more than one book at a time. I am the same way. 

Ok, now for some fun questions, Alley-style...

What is the most random thing in your bag?

Three small Star Wars-inspired Angry Birds. I have a 7-year old son.

Your movie snack of choice?

Popcorn, of course! At least, when I’m at the theaters. If I’m at home watching a movie, I almost always get Culvers frozen custard.

What's your favorite recent discovery?

Jane.com! Oh. My. Word. It’s an app you can download on your phone and it’s dangerous as all get out. Basically, it’s the best (and worst) thing ever for people who like cute clothes and bargain deals but HATE shopping. Every day you will find new boutique clothing items (plus accessories), all super budget friendly. The problem is, the items go fast, so if you see something you love, then you have to be a quick decision maker. It’s maybe not the best thing for impulsive shoppers.

If you could go back in time to the beginning of your writing journey, what advice would you give yourself?

Enjoy the early part of the journey. You may think all your dreams will come true when you sign the contract, but really, it’s just a new type of challenging, with all the familiar insecurities and unknowns (granted, they may shape-shift a bit), but with more stress! As cliché as it sounds, it truly is about the journey, not the destination.

This is such wise advice for aspiring writers and newly-contracted authors too! :)

Thanks, Katie, for being a guest today! We are so excited about your Carol win!

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Award-winning author, Katie Ganshert, graduated from the University of Wisconsin in Madison with a degree in education, and worked as a fifth grade teacher for several years before staying home to write full-time. She was born and raised in the Midwest, where she lives with her family. When she’s not busy penning novels or spending time with her people, she enjoys drinking coffee with friends, reading great literature, and eating copious amounts of dark chocolate. You can learn more about Katie and her books by visiting her website or author Facebook page.

The VALUE in VARIETY

When I started writing "seriously" back in 2007, I had this tunnel vision of what I expected to write.

I wanted to write full-length contemporary romance for one of the top-ten Christian publishers.

Nothing less. Nothing more.

Not picky, right?

It's amazing at how much the publishing landscape has changed in the last 8 years since I took that original leap at following my dream of being a published author.

There are SO many more choices and options than there were then, and more and more authors are seeing value in embracing the changing landscape and being on the frontline vs dragging behind, resistant to change.

And I'm not talking just about indie-publishing, even though that is a definite change.

Authors TODAY are looking at a lot more than just writing what they've already written.

Publishers are encouraging novella prequels or sequels to help promote their books and build readership. Authors are seeing value in indie-publishing their backlist or publishing those books-in-the-closet that would never see the light of day otherwise as they aren't considered marketable by traditional publishers. Some authors are choosing to be hybrids (raising my hand!) and others are ditching traditional publishing and going indie with both feet and not looking back. (and quite a few of them are making bank off that decision!) From short-stories to non-fiction to children or YA fiction, there are SO many more options available today.

A few example:

Jody Hedlund's novella Out of the Storm was a prequel published before her newest Lighthouse series was released. It's currently FREE on Kindle and includes a preview to the first book in the series, Love Unexpected.

Katie Ganshert has dipped her toe into indie publishing with her first YA novel, The Gifting!

Susan May Warren recently published 3 of her previously published novellas from her early days in a novella collection called Somewhere, My Love.

And a new trend over the last year that is quickly picking up traction are group novella collections! A great example is a team of indie-authors who published Splash! a collection of contemporary Christian romance novellas by 9 different authors - releasing June 23rd and available for pre-order now! They usually sell the collections for a small price of 99 cents, but the volume of sales on top of the exposure for marketing make this an interesting new idea! I myself am going to be a part of a Christmas collection come this holiday season!

There are so many other examples, but this was just a small sampling.

The point is -- your publishing experience doesn't have to be limited to one thing anymore. In fact, it is looking more and more like it SHOULDN'T be anymore too.

What about you? Have you thought about outside-the-box publishing options? 

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Krista is a follower of Jesus, a wife, a mother, and author of Sandwich, With a Side of Romance, A Side of Faith, and A Side of Hope. She blogs about finding JOY in the journey of LIFE at http://www.kristaphillips.com. She is represented by Sarah Freese of Wordserve Literary.

Spring into Reading with These April Releases

April doesn't only bring showers, but also some great story-adventures! Great stories and great storytellers are blooming, so check out our list of a few April releases!

 






Kathryn Cushman















The amazing Kristy Cambron

Another beautiful story by Katie Ganshert

Deeanne Gist

Dee Henderson

a debut novel by A.J. Cattapan







And there are SO MANY MORE!! To discover which new releases are com

What's Up the Street Next Week - ACFW Edition

I think sometimes God looks down on His kids who are enjoying their gifts and just grins.
Like this weekend in Indianapolis.
Lots of people are celebrating the gift of writing He's given them.
So we're going to post some fun pics of today so you can join in the celebration.

Pushing around our charming hop-along

Amy and Kristin Billerbeck

Look who arrived today!!! Krista!

Ashley is showing off her 'colors' with Lindsay Harrel and Amanda Luedeke

Pepper is having a bit of 'hat envy' with the fabulous Edie Melson

Casey and Pepper

So much fun getting to be together

But just to let you know how very serious we are, Amy has a warming for you (think romantic SUSPENSE....with chocolate ;-)

"Don't scrimp on dessert"

ICRS Through the Eyes of a Newbie

ICRS…. Hmm? What is that, exactly? Retail, my friends. More specifically the International Christian Retail Show.

It makes sense for those of you who are published writers, or perhaps an author up for a Christy Award to make attending ICRS a priority.

Being a newbie, and a relative nobody in the book biz, you might be wondering why I went. My lovely unpublished manuscripts were not on display, I most certainly wasn't up for any kind of prestigious award, and I often got these double takes at my ID badge, as if people were wondering… “Should I know who you are?”

Nope, not yet folks, but stay tuned. :)

All that said, my experience was amazing and I thought I’d share 7 reasons why I think going to these shows is an excellent use of your time and finances.

1.  Get the 411. Whether we are published or not, we (us writers) are in the book business. There is so much to explore. And what better place to do just that, than in the Booksellers Marketplace!

2. Swag! As in FREE books! How can you go wrong there!

3. Celebrity sightings. Not only do you get to geek out (love you Katie Ganshert) when you meet a #1 New York Times Bestselling Author, you can get an autographed copy of their book. Did I mention, for free? Let's face it, each of us are inspired by other great writers. It's always an honor to get to tell them how much their stories have blessed us.

4. Elbow rubbing. Since there are so many authors floating around you are bound to bump in to some you know or just admire. And since the atmosphere is so laid back, even more so I thought than conferences when it can feel pretty awkward or intimidating to walk up and interrupt an author, it is surprisingly easy to actually TALK with people at ICRS.

True story: I was lucky enough to walk the floor with Susan May Warren, one of my absolute favorite authors and a dear friend. Talk about a backstage pass! We ended up chatting with this well known screen writer and his buddy in the MOVIE biz! These are great connections to make. And yet, not the kind of people you bump into at a writers conference. (But don't skip the conference either! Oh, shoot, now I'll need to do another post. 10 Reasons Why You Should Attend a Writers Conference. Coming soon!)

5. Face time. What better way to remind those wonderful editors that you are still breathing, and yes, still checking your inbox regularly than to see them in person. Introduce yourself. Put a face with a name. Better yet to put a personality behind that name and become someone they can recall, or even see themselves working with. (Manners and appropriate conduct are a given.)

6. Fellowship. One of my favorite things about ACFW is that I get to meet up with all my amazing writer friends and spend some time with people who actually understand my crazy writer brain. ICRS is like adding another playdate. We even had a prayer room this year, led by the fabulous Rachel Hauck, myself, and an awesome local worship leader and close friend, Alyssa Schweich.

Did I mention that agents tend to frequent these types of shows? It’s always nice to get to have a coffee with your agent and catch up in person. It was one of my favorite things about ICRS this year. And I even got a highly coveted kilt shot to treasure forever. :)

7. Dressed and pressed in your Christy's best. It’s like the Oscars of Christian Fiction. Yes, I suppose when I walked in and saw all the tables were reserved for specific publishing houses (all of which I have no affiliation) I may have, for a few panicked moments, felt like a the new kid cruising the lunch room for a spot for a stray. But what an amazing experience to get to see a heavy hitter in the industry, Lee Hough, given the Lifetime Achievement Award. Get to hear my agent give a beautiful and charming keynote address about the power of story. Get to see my friends and their outstanding books receive recognition. I loved every minute of it!

There is an old saying, something like… Surround yourself with Greatness to achieve Greatness.

Go to ICRS. Put the cart before the horse and map out the steps ahead on your journey to publication, and bestseller lists, and awards. Go. See. Dream. You won’t regret it!

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Amy Leigh Simpson writes Romantic Suspense that is heavy on the romance, unapologetically honest, laced with sass and humor, and full of the unfathomable Grace of God. She is the completely sleep deprived mama to two little mischief makers and would challenge anyone to a cutest family contest. Represented by Chip MacGregor of MacGregor Literary Inc.

12 Days of Christmas....ALLEY STYLE!

On the first day of Christmas, The AlleyCats could see......
The first Cat to fulfill her writing dream.



On the second day of Christmas, The AlleyCats could see.....
Two cats a-stylin'
And the first Cat to fulfill her writing dream.





On the third day of Christmas, The Alley Cats could see.....


Three hungry pals,

two cats a-stylin', and the first Cat to fulfill her writing dream.

On the fourth day of Christmas, The Alley Cats could see....
Four looney tunes,
three hungry pals, two cats a-stylin', and the first Cat to fulfill her writing dream.

On the fifth day of Christmas, The Alley Cats could see....
FIVE Agented gals
Four looney tunes, three hungry pals, two cats a-stylin', and the first Cat to fulfill her writing dream.

On the sixth day of Christmas, The Alley Cats could see...
Six voices singing,
FIVE Agented gals,
Four looney tunes, three hungry pals, two cats a-stylin', and the first Cat to fulfill her writing dream.

On the seventh day of Christmas, The Alley Cats could see...
Seven Seekers Smilin'
Six voices singing,
FIVE Agented gals,
Four looney tunes, three hungry pals, two cats a-stylin', and the first Cat to fulfill her writing dream.

On the eighth day of Christmas, The Alley Cats could see....
Eight Cats a-meetin',
Seven Seekers smilin', six voices singing,
FIVE Agented gals,
Four looney tunes, three hungry pals, two cats a-stylin', and the first Cat to fulfill her writing dream.

On the ninth day of Christmas, The Alley Cats could see...
Nine pals a-posting
Eight Cats a-meetin, seven Seekers smiling, six voices singing,
FIVE Agented gals,
Four looney tunes, three hungry pals, two cats a-stylin', and the first Cat to fulfill her writing dream.

On the tenth day of Christmas, The Alley Cats could see...
Ten who write for Jesus,
Nine pals a-posting, eight Cats a-meetin', seven Seekers smiling, six voices singing,
FIVE Agented gals,
Four looney tunes, three hungry pals, two cats a-stylin', and the first Cat to fulfill her writing dream.

On the eleventh day of Christmas, The Alley Cats could see....
Eleven Carol winners,
Ten who write for Jesus, Nine pals a-posting, eight Cats a-meetin', seven Seekers smiling, six voices singing,
FIVE Agented gals,
Four looney tunes, three hungry pals, two cats a-stylin', and the first Cat to fulfill her writing dream.

On the twelth day of Christmas, The Alley Cats could see...
Twelve new months for blogging,
Eleven Carol winners, ten who write for Jesus, Nine pals a-posting, eight Cats a-meetin', seven Seekers smiling, six voices singing,
FIVE Agented gals,
Four looney tunes, three hungry pals, two cats a-stylin', and the first Cat to fulfill her writing dream.

Merry Christmas!! From our Alley to yours :-)
Angie, Ashley, Casey, Cindy, Julia, Karen, Krista, Mary, Pepper, and Sherrinda

Characters: The Love/Hate Relationship Readers Have With Them

I have a secret favorite past time I'm not sure I've ever shared with anyone.

Shhhhhhhhhh.....

Okay, here it is:

I have an insane curiosity for reading readers reviews of books, both on Amazon and on Goodreads.

They are intriguing, especially the "bad" reviews. BOY can those things be brutal.

Now, I'm not obsessed with this, but as I ready myself for the onslaught of "reviews" both good (hopefully!) and bad (I'm a big girl!) it helps me brace for the experience.

Many times, the "complaints" are in direct opposition to the "good" reviews, which makes it even more interesting.

There are so many other fun notes about reviews to post, but today, I want to focus on a fun difference of opinion I see quite a bit.

It's the fun Love/Hate relationship readers have with our characters.

An example in a debut novel by one of my SUPER awesome author friends.

Katie Ganshert's new release Wildflower from Winter got a review with this note, "While the characters were described well, I didn't relate to them..."

Yet, she also go another one with this statement, "Bethany is a wonderful multifaceted character that I easily identified with..."

And even in my very small handful of reviews I've already received on my to-be-published novel, Sandwich, with a Side of Romance, I've seen differences in opinions.

"Maddie was more annoying than adorable"

vs.

"I loved the conversations Maddie had with God. (I’ve had many similar ones with Him myself.) These conversations are where most of the inspiration comes from in this story; Maddie’s ‘requests’ and God’s answers. Her requests were a bit cheeky yet realistic, His answers were as you’d expect. This was definitely a light and refreshing way to give the reader some food for thought."

But these difference in "relating" or "liking" our characters isn't relegated to debut novelists like Katie and I.

Even the amazing Francine Rivers has reviews that talk about how her characters are "flat", yet has hundreds to thousands of reviews gushing over her phenomenal writing and telling how her characters have impacted the reader's lives.

HERE is the thing about characters in relation to our readers-- Get ready for this, it's a really deep revelation!


Some readers will love them.
And some readers will hate them.


I know. Profound, huh.

So what do we do as writers? We can't please everyone, so how do we know WHO to please, and how do we make sure we please as many as possible.

1.) GOD TRUMPS ALL. At least for me, God is my 1st and most important audience. This doesn't mean my character has to be perfect or overly religious or anything like that. But God can use our flawed characters for his glory, and my prayer is always that God is pleased with my writing.

2.) DO YOU LIKE YOUR CHARACTER? This almost goes without saying, but sometimes it's easy to get wrapped up in your character that you need to take a step back and make sure you, the writer, would love/relate to the character if you were the reader. 

3.) KNOW YOUR GENRE. Different genres have different "requirements" so to speak about characters. Someone who writes Amish romance will have a slightly different set of readers to please than someone who writes romantic comedy.

4.) DON'T FORGET YOUR MOTIVATION. You can still have flawed, realistic characters in your novels... as long as they have appropriate motivation for their flaws and actions. We need to understand why they are how they are, and be able to root for them to conquer their flaws.

5.) REDEEM YOUR CHARACTER. For every annoying/unlikable trait your character has, add one or two endearing ones. The more unlikable the trait, the more endearing ones they need. It is easy to get so caught up in making a realistic character with flaws that people can relate to that we forget that our readers need to be able to root for our main characters.



Not everyone is going to like all of your characters. That's a fact we need to accept right now. But that doesn't mean we don't try to make our characters capture as many readers' hearts as possible.

And for the record... the readers who didn't like them? They aren't wrong. It is their opinion... they have their own personality that draws them toward certain types of characters. Have you ever read a book that had rave reviews and you were like, "Eh, yeah, not my cup of tea"? I think we all have.

The customer is always right... and so is the reader!

Discussion: What are some flawed characters you've read that you have still loved? What are some FAVORITE characters in books you've read? How do YOU try to write dynamic characters who will click with the most readers possible?

What's Up the Street for Next Week?

Who else is oh-so-glad to see May here? I love this month for so many reasons, but one of the best is the new and DEBUT novels that have been releasing this month by friends from the Alley.

Check out the Sidewalk section this weekend for links to check out parties and spread-the-news blog hops for these fantastic novels.

We're all in countdown mode for Krista's debut novel to hit shelves this fall. The wait will be well worth it, we know!

Check out the coming attractions...

You've got the first line, now you just need a first chapter to follow it up. Pepper has it for you on Monday!


Sherrinda tackles the lies our characters believe on Tuesday.

Mary is all about dialogue on Wednesday with her third installment of why writers should read.


Krista hosts guest debut author Beth Vogt here on the blog on Thursday. You DO turn your real life experiences into your novels, don't you??

Casey is taking over Friday! Stop by for an incredibly entertaining and witty post (probably not, it'll just showcase something she is learning) on the craft of writing. ;-)

Sidewalk Talk...

Katie Ganshert's debut novel hits store shelves on Monday. In celebration, she hosted a blog hop with people's stories of wildflowers from winter. You can read Sherrinda and Casey's posts and check out the rest of the hop here.

Check out the invite to the Debutante's Story Soiree here, going down on May 15th!

Meet Me In St. Louis: ACFW Networking

I have a sticky note app on my laptop, and one of my highlighted sticky notes has been on there since May. It is a prestigious list...the names pop out at me every time I log on, and I get a little nervous. And then I have a string of emails, and I look at those names, and I get super excited! ACFW is a little over two weeks away and I wanted to give some last minute tips (some of which I need to take for myself!) on how to prepare for this social extravaganza.

My sticky note: Agents and Editors to meet...what to do now for those pre-destined meetings:

• Research, research, research: Make sure you know who the agents and editors are and what they represent. Although everyone focuses on their pitches and synopsis, you need to know what the agents and editors represent, who they are, what they are looking for. You can go to the conference page at ACFW and click on Editor Appointments and Agent Appointments to get their write ups. Then, go to their agency's or publishing house's website. Know the authors and the books they represent. Are they a good fit? Can you use those to compare your own book too? 

• Prepare for the lunches: Not only do I have a list of possible appointments, I have a couple of names for who I would like to sit at lunch with. The lunches are c-r-a-z-y! Everyone is rushing to the table they want, to the agent or editor who may ask to hear their pitch...First of all...RELAX! God's got you covered here. If you don't get the person you want, you are still networking...you are meeting more writers, more professionals in the industry, you are learning the ins and outs which is just as important as pitching your novel. However, do prepare for this, know who you want to sit with—and be ready to sparkle if you get that opportunity to give your pitch. Oh, and take your one sheets with you!! The editor I sat with last year, gathered all our one sheets. Who knows if she looked through the pile, but at least I got mine out there. Look at Katie Ganshert's vlog and listen to her tips on the lunches!

My email strings: Authors and Friends to admire and encourage:

• Be sure to find out when your favorite authors are out signing books, and be sure you bring your books with you to get signed! 

• Look up the Carol and Genesis nominees ahead of time. You will see who the finalists are around the conference (they will have it on their name tag...but if you know what they wrote, that's even better!) Congratulate them and cheer for them at the banquet. It's so much more fun if you have a name with a face and you know what they write. You can be the conversation starter when you bump into them in the hall, and also a great encourager! 

• Start contacting all your friends that you want to meet at conference. Find time for coffee breaks, dinners, late night chocolate indulgence (ready my fellow Alley Cats?)... You can get so caught up in your own agenda that you will walk away from conference missing great times with all these people in the blog world and the ACFW crit groups. And, you will be miserable if you don't prepare ahead and show up without any chocolate to share! 

In the end, remember conference is a chance to deepen your knowledge for the craft, and fellowship with other Christians who have the same passion for writing as you. Be confident, be prepared, and HAVE FUN!

Self-Editing Checklist: Voice and Viewpoint

If you've been following along in this series, hopefully your scenes are taking shape with purpose and consistency. This week we'll take a look at voice and viewpoint. So without further ado, here are Points 4 & 5 of my self-editing checklist.

#4 - Is my own voice coming through, or is it contrived? Yes, this is the ever-elusive issue of voice. Everyone says it's the first thing editors or agents notice in a manuscript. I'll admit I was skeptical of this until I became a contest judge this year. The unique voices really did stand out above the floundering ones. But how do we know if our own voice is unique?

While it can often be an intangible thing, a good test is this. Have a friend read your work and tell you if they can hear you saying it. I've noticed this phenomenon with my blogging buddies. Ever since I met them at the ACFW Conference last year, I can hear them speaking the things I read on their blogs. That means it's true to their voice.

For more ideas on developing your voice, check out Cindy's post from a couple weeks ago, as well as these posts on Katie Ganshert's blog. (Awesome stuff there!)

#5 - Analyze the viewpoint. Are the characters too perfect? Are you portraying them as real human beings with real-life struggles? For those who write Christian fiction, is there any Christian lingo or jargon that could be confusing?

This point could spark a whole debate of how much "Christian" a Christian novelist should put in their books, but that's a discussion for another day. The key to this point is knowing where you stand on the spectrum, knowing where your target publisher stands on the spectrum, and then staying within it.

Your homework for the next two weeks, should you choose to accept it: Work through some of the voice exercises in Cindy's post and on Katie's blog, then read your scene and listen for your authentic voice. Analyze the viewpoint in your scene and make sure it falls within your target publisher's viewpoint (and yours too!).

Have you discovered your voice? What are some tricks you've used to discover it? How closely do you pay attention to the viewpoint of your novel?

*Microphone photo by Idea go / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

**Glasses photo by dan / FreeDigitalPhotos.net