Author Rose McCauley Shares Some Thoughts with Us

 My Friend, Rose

One of the best things about writing Christian fiction is the people I meet. Not only readers, but other writers as well. Rose Allen McCauley is one I feel blessed to count among my writer friends. 

Rose has a generous heart and even before she was published herself, she was always ready to support any area writers with her presence at book events and with her encouragement and prayers. She started a blog to give shout-outs to her friends walking the writing trail. 

Now it's her turn to have a few shout-outs herself with her second book, Christmas Grace, now available for readers. Read on to see what Rose says about prayer and how the Lord often gives us the desires of our heart.

Thoughts on My Second Fiction Book Being Published

By Rose Allen McCauley

I want to share a prayer I wrote a few years ago based on this verse: “The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” Exodus 14:14

“Thank You, Lord, that I can be still and let you fight my battles for me. But, just as the Israelites had to step out on faith and leave Egypt behind before You performed the miracle of parting the Red Sea for them to cross, help me to do as You lead.

I wonder if part of “be still” is to help us to listen to You so we follow Your lead daily in whatever task You put before us. As a writer, I cannot expect to be published if I never put words to paper—or my hand to the keyboard. A student cannot expect to pass a test if she never studies. A farmer cannot harvest a crop if he doesn’t first plant it.

We need to listen, then do our best as we follow You, and wait and trust You for the outcome. Then we will know that it is You who has accomplished it and who deserves all the glory. In Your Son’s precious Name. Amen.”

Writing my book Christmas Grace has caused me to think a lot about God’s grace, not just at Christmas, but throughout the year. He gives us the desires of our hearts, and gives us the abilities and health to perform them. If we don’t receive what we desire, then perhaps He has a better lesson for us to learn or to share with others. I am so happy that because of His grace and mercy and love, we can be assured He knows what is best for us, and trust Him for the results.

I give God the thanks and glory for letting me write this story, and pray that the readers will be blessed as they think about and experience His grace.

Check out Rose's New Book, Christmas Grace

Grace Buchanan and Chris Fisher were best friends for sixteen years...until he fell in love with her other best friend, Terrie. Chris and Terrie married after high school, then she died three years ago.

A renewed friendship soon awakens stronger feelings in Grace and Chris. Can they both let go of the past long enough to claim the future God has for them?

Books are available online at Amazon for Kindle readers now and soon will be available in paperback.

More about Rose Allen McCauley:

Rose has been writing for over ten years and has been published in several non-fiction anthologies and devotionals. This is her second Christmas novella. Christmas books are her favorites. A retired schoolteacher who has been happily married to her college sweetheart for over four decades, she is also mother to three grown children and their spouses and grandmother to five lovely, lively kids! You can reach her through her website and blog at www.rosemccauley.com or on twitter @RoseAMcCauley and FB at https://www.facebook.com/RoseAllenMcCauley?ref=hl

Thanks for visiting us, Rose, and for sharing your prayer. 

Now Rose and I want to know do you enjoy Christmas stories? Leave a comment to win a free download of her story if you have a Kindle or a Kindle reading app plus a copy of my Christmas novel, Christmas at Harmony Hill. I'll draw a winner next Sunday.

 

Love at First Sight, Gifts, and Other Blogging Trails

Nine more days to take part in my Celebration giveaways. Either on my website at the The Gifted Contest Page (prizes shown there) or at Fresh Fiction and have a chance to win a lovely journal and pen. The picture of the basket and my book The Believer is the second prize in my website contest. The basket is a one-of-a-kind made locally. Not exactly like the Shakers would have made it since it is decorated with buttons, but the Shakers did make lots of baskets for use in their villages and for sale. 


It fun to give things away to celebrate a new book and another way I celebrate (and give away books) is by guesting on other blogs. I did a lot of that when Words Spoken True was published last February and some of you reading friends followed me around to leave comments and try to win a copy of the book. Well, now you can do it again. I was a guest on Rose McCauley's Blog Friday, and you still have time to comment there to have a chance to win a copy of The Gifted. Since Jessamine has to figure out which gifts are true and worthy in this new Shaker book, that's what I decided to write about with Rose. "What is Your Gift?" It was interesting to me that our pastor preached on how we all have gifts this morning. And no, I don't think he read my post over on Rose's blog. 


"Life is a gift, and it offers us the privilege, opportunity, and responsibility to give something back by becoming more.” ~Anthony Robbins


Then I have a guest blog on Romance at Random all about love at first sight. Do you believe that's possible? Maybe you've experienced it. Or at least attraction at first sight. I was certainly attracted to my husband at first sight and we're still together all these years later. No free book on that site, but you can join in the conversation about whether you think love at first sight is possible. Of course, you can join in the conversation here for that too. And I threw out the question on Facebook a while ago and was already hearing love stories and then one story where the love at first sight feeling didn't lead to enduring love. 


But don't you just love to hear other people's love stories? How they met. How long they've been together. A couple at our church just celebrated their 64th anniversary. We had another couple who made it to 75 years together before the husband passed on at age 95. True testimonies of love and faithfulness. So you can find out how I met my husband if you go check out what I have to say about love at first sight. 


More guest blog posts to come with some of them offering chances to win a free book. A lot of reviews out there too. Ann Shorey, a fellow Revell writer, did one on The Gifted last week. If you want to know her thoughts about the book, go to Ann Shorey's website and you can check out Ann's books too while you're there.


I've got to come up with another guest post for a site called The Romance Dish. What romantic topic would you suggest?


Thanks for reading.  

A Writer Needs to Feed Her Imagination

I talked to a fun bookclub on Monday night by phone. I'm not great at hearing on speaker phones, but I could tell those ladies of the South Zumbra Church Book Club were having a good time. And not just because they were talking to me although I'm sure that put a little extra zing in the meeting - getting to quiz the author of the book they'd read. Actually they picked my book to read because the mother of the beautiful model on the cover is a member of the club and she picked the book. I told her one thing for sure - they couldn't knock the cover. It's perfect for the story. I asked them how they picked their books and they had a dozen different ways. They'd just read Gone with the Wind not long ago and I thought that sounded like a great idea. To revisit some old favorite books. I read Gone with the Wind in one long Thanksgiving weekend when I was 13 or 14.

Is there any better way to read a book than to just lie down on your bed or sit in your favorite reading chair and wallow in the words until you've read every last one? I can't do that very often these days. Too many chores and responsibilities and books of my own I want to write. But I do think it's vital for a writer to read. That's the advice I always give young people, but you know it's good advice for any writer. I've been reading Stephen King's book On Writing. He says nobody can be a good writer without being a voracious reader. He carries a book everywhere he goes and reads in minutes snatched out of a busy schedule. I need to do that. Steal a moment here and there to read more books. A writer needs to feed her imagination and what better way than to read and read some more. Reading brings new ideas your way, and King made the point that all the books don't have to be great. That reading a bad book can bolster your confidence. That nearly every aspiring writer has at one time or another read a book and said "I can write a better book than that." And then he adds that reading a really great book can inspire us to think I want to write a book that good. So it's a no lose situation.

Of course I have to admit I don't stick it out through a book I think is really bad. I close it up and find another one. There are just too many books out there to wade through a book I'm not enjoying. Unless of course it's a research book, then I wade on in. So just a thought or two on reading. What do you think? Do you think you have to read to become a better writer? Do you ever give up on a book and start another one?

Okay here are the quotes I promised last Wednesday.

"You know you're old when you've lost all your marvels." --Merry Browne (Could she have any better first name for that quote? And I don't want to ever lose all my marvels.)

"There are no shortcuts to any place worth going." --Beverly Sills

I hope you are going to lots of places worth going and that even if you can't take any shortcuts that you will enjoy the road and discover plenty of marvels along the way.

One last note - I'll be up in New Albany, Indiana for a booksigning at the Heaven Help Us Bookstore on Saturday between 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. If you're in the area, come on over and say hi. They're celebrating five years of serving the Christian community in that area.

Oh yeah - another really last note - If you want a chance to win my book, The Outsider, go visit Rose McCauley's blog, http://www.rosemccauley.blogspot.com. She does a book give-away every month and this month it's mine. What better way to get a book than free!!