Well! Here’s some exciting news for ya.

I’ve been clicking around the NaNoWriMo site, hemming and hawing about whether I’ll actually get up the nerve to join in the fun. You can sign up now, though the gates won’t open for you to start writing your 50,000-word novel until November 1.

But I discovered the coolest thing — this year, there’s a program for kids! How’s that for a dream assignment for English teachers? If I were in the classroom, I think I’d probably pick my best and brightest students and tell them about this. And of course if I were homeschooling, my kids would have no choice. heh.

Can you imagine how much that would rock your confidence if you wrote your first novel at 13? Yeah, baby. Look out New York City. That would definitely be a better way to spend your time than watching TV or playing video games — almost as good as getting outside and exercising. Balance is good. And for you adults reading this, wouldn’t you love to have a copy of a novel YOU wrote at 13? Or 16?

If you’re interested, click over to the NaNoWriMo Young Writer’s Program and see how you can get your teacher’s kit, full of “goodies and incentives to get your students writing.”

When my kids are older, maybe we can all do this as a family. Wouldn’t that be fun? All of us, pulling our hair out over plots, characters, dialogue — at the same time! Then we could have a family reading. Hmmm…I’m getting all kinds of ideas here.

Now, back to my hemming and hawing about whether I will actually sign up myself …

I had a great time interviewing Allison Bottke for this month’s Christian Women Online ezine, which just came out. It was a thrill for both of us when Darlene decided to run this story on the cover. Click here to read the whole interview.

I read Allison’s lady-lit novel, A Stitch in Time, over the summer when I was recovering from my painful knee mishap. It was such a fun story, one of those books you start telling people they’ve just “got to read.”

So, it was no problem thinking up questions to ask someone as fascinating as Allison, who is also a prolific nonfiction writer and the creative force behind 21 books in the God Allows U-Turns series.

Allison doesn’t know this, but I sat behind her in a seminar about a year ago at the Glorieta Christian Writers’ conference. It was a workshop on book tables — how to display your creativity by offering more than just a stack of your paperback books for sale. The only reason I attended this class is because I had lunch with this funny lady who was teaching it, and she told me I just had to go. So I did, and I learned a lot, in case I ever need to have a book table.

Most of these workshops are attended by wannabes (like me), so I was surprised and a bit awed to see Allison Bottke in the audience. She’s even more striking in real person than in her pictures, and she asked the speaker questions during the class — which I thought was quite humble. Just goes to show how some people never stop wanting to learn and grow.

Allison sent me Before/After pictures of her Weight Loss Surgery. Truly amazing — she lost 120 pounds — much like her character Dee Decker in A Stitch in Time. In fact, her novel shows you more in detail what it’s like to live post-WLS. It gave me some good insight — and I wish I could eat this way all the time now! (Think: very small portions…)

As you can read from the interview, Allison’s outside transformation is nothing compared to what took place on the inside when she accepted Christ in her 30s. Wow. Her testimony continues to make an impact everywhere it’s told.

The rest of the ezine is full of great articles on everything: humorous stories about parenting, housekeeping with a large family, recipes, scrapbooking ideas, an online novel, etc. Fun! One sad piece of news is that the CWO blog is going to be discontinued. Darlene has decided this is not what God is calling her to do now — so she’s helped Iris jump in with a new daily devotional blog, Laced with Grace. It should start October 9th and will feature the inspirational writing of several bloggers.

Allison Bottke is also a blogger at her God Allows U-Turns blog, where she often invites guest bloggers to tell their U-Turns stories.

Note: These links to CWO will stay fresh for only the month of October. If you happen to find this post later, the links will be for the current issue.

Quick! If you’d like a FREE signed copy of Kristin Billerbeck’s latest release in the Spa Girls trilogy, she’s offered free autographed books to the first ten people who respond to her at the Girls Write Out blog. Follow THIS link.

As of 1:30 pm Eastern, there are still three copies up for grabs. So go leave her a comment if you’d like to win a copy of this book!

I read it, and it really had me laughing. You can see my review here at Christian Book Previews. I’m crossing my fingers and so hoping that Kristin Billerbeck will be able to come here and chat with us someday!

Today’s my one-year blogging birthday. My Blogiversary. Yep, it’s been a whole year since the first time I logged onto my new WordPress blog and sent my thoughts out into cyberspace.

Surprisingly, no reporters are banging on my door or calling me to ask me how I feel about this monumental milestone. So, excuse me for being a total geek, but I’m going to interview myself. Something I’ve never done before, but why not?

So, Heather, how do you feel about reaching your first blogiversary?

Surprised. I can’t believe it’s been a whole year since I started blogging. In some ways, I still feel like a newbie compared to everyone else out there. But blogging has become such a part of my daily routine that I can’t imagine not doing it.

What was your first post about?

It was called Come On In, and I wrote this:

First of all, you don’t have to be a mom to come on in and visit. What I’m interested in is hearing your views and opinions on topics that relate to families. We may not all have the same backgrounds or lifestyles, but when it comes to children, we have an incredible amount in common.

I’d love for this to be a forum where it’s not just my voice you’re reading. So, I’ll be looking out for interesting ideas and opinions to share with you. My passion is to encourage and inspire others through helping them connect to what they need.

I feel pretty much the same way now. Except I know some of my readers, which makes writing a lot more fun!

Why did you decide to start blogging?

It all goes back to attending my first writers’ conference, the 2004 Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers’ Conference. I had a one-on-one appointment with a professional writer, and she said I should definitely have a website, but I had no idea what to put on it. I’d been a stay-home mom for 8 years, totally out of the career loop.

At the conference, I picked up a flyer about a writing contest sponsored by Zondervan, and I decided to enter. We were supposed to submit a 50,000-word nonfiction book manuscript, which I did. It was a great experience for me. I didn’t make the list of finalists, but I wrote my very first blog comment in February 2005 to congratulate the winner.

I later went back to visit the Zondervan blog and noticed Stacy Harp of Mind & Media (now Active Christian Media) had also left a comment that she was looking for bloggers to help spread the word about Christian books. So I contacted Stacy, and she called me personally and invited me to join her reviewing team if I’d start a blog. It was exciting to get a phone call from a Christian writer I didn’t know in California!

So, the initial reason you started blogging was to review books?

That was one idea. But I wanted to have a greater purpose for blogging than just writing book reviews. That would get pretty boring for people to read, I thought. So I decided to make my blog an offshoot of the local column I write for West Georgia Ladies Magazine. My column is called “Mom 2 Mom Connection,” and I enjoy seeking ways to encourage women and help them feel connected. I’ve been writing this column since November 2004, also a result of attending a writers’ conference.

What have you learned about the blogosphere that you didn’t know a year ago?

Well, when I first started writing, I didn’t open up for comments. I was afraid of spam and all the unknowns. Then I got an email from a nice lady in Boston, who said she found my blog through the Technorati parenting tag. Wow — I was so encouraged and felt like I had one real reader! Gradually, I opened up my comments, and I’m glad I did. I’ve made so many friends this way. There are some amazing people out there. Through blogging, I have friends all over the world — and I hope when my kids are older we can visit some of these friends!

What are some highlights from your first year of blogging?

I’ve really enjoyed writing essays for the Carnival of Beauty, sponsored by A Gracious Home blog (formerly Two Talent Living). This is where I’ve “met” many kindred spirits who have become friends.

A few months ago, I started writing the “Book Buzz” column for Christian Women Online ezine, which has introduced me to even more wonderful ladies who love to grow in their faith and write. And I have a new outlet for sharing my love of Christian books.

I was also blessed when I hosted the Mother’s Love Writing Contest back in April. What a joy it was to read women’s stories about their moms, and occasionally I discovered comments where the mothers who were written about thanked their daughters publicly. Much healing comes from writing about the good memories and letting go of the bad. There comes a point where we need to forgive and move on, and I think the essay contest allowed some women to do that.

Other highlights include interviewing so many amazing writers, whose books offer the types of resources women need. My list of people I want to interview is so long now!

Do you have any concerns about blogging?

Yes, I do have concerns about my privacy, and especially of my family’s privacy. I just don’t know who is reading this blog, though I try to visit the sites of people who leave comments. Still, I can’t assume that every reader is someone I’d want to hang out with in real life, so for now, I’ve decided not to post pictures of my home or children. I may change my mind someday, but since I don’t blog anonymously, this is what I’ve decided for now. I can’t stand the nasty spam I receive, and I’ve even been verbally attacked for my views on a certain book, so I just try to be wise about things.

What are your future plans for Mom 2 Mom Connection?

I’d like to make this site more user friendly. I’ve gotten some of the most heart-wrenching emails from women, distraught over various issues. I try to write each of them back personally, and suggest a book or a website that may have the resources they need. But I’d like to expand my blog into a website that would make it easy for people to click on the subject they’re interested in. I could offer direct links to books and websites that could help them. It will be a while before I’m ready to do that.

I also will probably take some time off in the spring to work on a book proposal. I’d like to attend another Blue Ridge writers’ conference or ICRS (International Christian Retail Show) next summer, and take a proposal or book manuscript with me. For a nonfiction book proposal, you have to write an outline and three chapters, as well as your marketing plan. For a fiction proposal, you need to submit the whole manuscript. I’m still trying to figure out if I want to write for women only or maybe go back to my long-ago dream of writing for children. When I figure it out, I’ll need some time off from blogging to write.

Any closing words?

Right now, blogging is the easiest way for me to reach out to women beyond my small circle of friends and family. There are so many desperate people in the world. They sit down at their computer and google “depressed mom blog” or “I feel like a failure blog” or “I’m tired of being a mom blog” and they end up at my site (yes, these are actual phrases people have used recently). I don’t have all the answers, but I know they’re looking for hope, which can be found in the Bible.

Christian books can be a gateway for people to enter into God’s Word, whether it’s a fictional story in which a character learns and grows spiritually, or it’s a nonfiction book written from a compassionate point of view. I want to help people find positive ways to cope with life’s daily stresses and frustrations.

Wellness is a whole-package deal — physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. I blog about things we can do to stay well physically at b5 media’s Lively Women, and I blog about everything else here. Of course, I think writing is one of the best things we can do to cope and feel closer to God’s heart — as King David did, when he reached for his pen instead of his sword.

Heather Ivester is a mom of five kids ten and under and the author of From a Daughter’s Heart to Her Mom: 50 Reflections on Living Well. She’s also contributed devotionals, essays, and articles to several magazines and books, including Guideposts magazine and the newly released A Cup of Comfort for Mothers to Be.

What can I say? I took a break from blogging over the summer, and so I also didn’t even read most of my favorite blogs. Which means I somehow missed these AWESOME interviews on Novel Journey with Chip MacGregor. He’s held several key positions in Christian publishing, including being an agent with Alive Communications, an assistant publisher with Time Warner/ Hachette, and now has launched his own agency, MacGregor Literary.

Several bloggers have been buzzing about Chip’s new agency, including Jennifer, Gina, and Mirtika.

Gina Holmes interviewed Chip back in July, and these three posts are some of the best I’ve ever read. So of course I want to link to them and tell you to go over to Gina’s blog and get the whole scoop.

I know I should be embarrassed as a blogger to be so behind that I’m linking to something that came out almost three months ago — but I’m not. No pride at all here — just some great reading I came across. Now of course, I’ve subscribed to Novel Journey’s RSS feed so I won’t miss a single interview.

Monday, July 17, 2006 — Chip MacGregor, Part I
Tuesday, July 18, 2006 — Chip MacGregor, Part II
Wednesday, July 19, 2006 — Chip MacGregor, Part III

If you’re interested in publishing a book, here’s what Chip has to say:

Every book proposal needs three things: a great idea, great writing, and a great author platform. Rarely a publisher will agree to do a book based on just one of those factors (for example, a celebrity book based solely on the fact that the author is well known), but they will often make the decision based on two factors.

So if you’ve got a great idea, by all means begin working to build a great platform, and spend time working on the craft in order to become a better writer. I have often seen pretty good book ideas presented to me that are attached to terrible writing by unknown authors. And the fact is, I can’t buy your book based on the fact that you woke up with a good idea. In my experience, good ideas occur all the time. The rare event is when a writer with a good idea determines to put in the time required and express that idea in a coherent and entertaining manner.

That’s it. There it is — the three things you need to be published: a great idea, great writing, and a great platform. The more I’ve ventured into this world of writing, the more I realize I don’t know ANYTHING. Really, nothing.

The more books I read, the more I realize there is something esoteric about great writing. The only way to learn how to be a great writer is to read everything you can get your hands on — and then try to figure out why some books make you laugh and cry, or change your view about life in some way — and others cause you to yawn, gather dust on your nightstand, or make their way into your box of donations for the Salvation Army.

Another quote:

Again, I feel as though the reason most wannabe authors remain unpublished is because they just aren’t willing to put in the time, to do the hard work and become better at the craft of writing. In other words, laziness will keep you from being a great writer. Given the chance, inertia will dominate. And then you can make yourself feel better by saying, “I COULD have been a great writer, if only I’d put my mind to it.” It reminds me of the high school student who waits to write his paper until the night before it is due. Then he stays up all night, bangs it out, gets a C+, but tells himself, “That’s because I waited. If I would have started earlier, I’d have gotten an A.” It’s a gentle way of lying to ourselves.

If you want to get published, the BEST thing you can do it to become a better writer. As I’ve said a million times, greatness will out. I don’t know of any great writer who goes unpublished.

If you only have time to read one of these interviews, the second post is worth reading ten times and even printing out, if you’re really interested in improving yourself as a writer. Gina asked, “How can an author take their work from good to great?” Chip’s answer included 22 items. This list is a keeper.

If you’re interested in Christian fiction and you’re not already a regular over at Novel Journey, you’re missing out — like me!