One Author’s Journey

#3

 

Elk’s Resolve, Book II in the Nan’s Heritage Series, seemed to fly from my mind, through my fingers, and onto the computer screen. I learned the importance of writing every day. Readers of the first book were ready as soon as the book was ready. Now, I just had to get word to them. I had a clip board that readers signed on my book table at the book events. If they were interested in being part of my “book club”, I sent them notice when the next book was ready to be sent to them via a postcard. This idea worked really well.  

It amazed me more than anyone that I began my third book, Luke’s Legacy.  Somehow, I actually became a writer. I wrote the first book because I heard the saying that everyone has a book inside of them. The second one was written because there were loose ends that needed tied up from the first one. Now, the third was a choice.

As a writer of Christian books, I believe it is important for each book to hold a message as well as to entertain the reader. As I write each book, I feel like I am in school and the Lord is teaching me things I need to work on in my own Christian walk. Nan’s Journey dealt with forgiveness while Elk’s Resolve was about overcoming depression and prejudice. God has no grandchildren was something Luke’s Legacy dealt with. As much as I wanted to make the decision for my children, it was clear that each person must choose for himself.

Portions of the book dealt with things children of Christians have expressed. Things like: “Mama is praying, so everything will be all right.” “I’ll get into heaven on Daddy’s coattails.” “I grew up in church. God knows me.” Sometimes I am afraid that those who have grown up so close to making a decision for Jesus, have a more difficult time realizing their need for Him.

While I was writing “Luke’s Legacy”, our brother in law almost died. He was one of the people who always came close to choosing God, but never felt he could. The doctors were working on his failing body and he felt his spirit leave the confines of flesh and bone. He walked through a door and found miles of desolation. He screamed out to God to save him. Immediately, he was back into his fleshly body of pain. He repented and asked the Lord to save his soul.

After he began recovering, he spent a lot of time crying to his sweet wife about how much he didn’t deserve another chance. He was so grateful that God let him live so that he could get saved. John, my brother in law, spoke at churches and men’s groups all over the panhandle as well as every individual who would listen to him, about this experience. He wanted them to be ready to meet God when the time came.

John died about two years after this experience. I asked if I could include a version of his vision/experience in Luke’s Legacy. I think the inclusion of that portion is why some readers have tagged it as “paranormal”. It was not. John was a changed man after that. He was not one who had dreams or experiences like that otherwise. He was very shy and his proclamation of his experience was surprising to everyone who knew him. He was wonderful and we all miss him.

God has no grandchildren. You cannot be let into the kingdom of God by default. It is a personal decision. Period. I think that portion of the book is the whole reason the Lord led me to write it. I thought my writing journey was over with that title. Little did I know, it had just begun.

How Does My Background Influence My Books?

I enjoy reading and writing Christian Western/Historical Fiction. In my heart I believe the reason for this is that my parents were born in the early 1900's. They and their parents lived much in the 'old timey' way. In fact, my mother and daddy both moved with their families in wagons from one state to another.

My Dad used to tell the story of being a toddler who fell asleep on the end of the wagon. He rolled into the soft tall grass and woke up just in time to see the top of the wagon disappearing over the rise in the ground. He cried and toddled until he caught up with his family.

I grew up with those kinds of stories. My imagination went wild when I was told different events that happened to friends and family. We also watched many television Westerns. That was also instrumental in the stories I write.

One day, I asked my elderly mother to tell me what a typical day was like for her or her mother when she was a child. The list of chores before school was astounding. People in those days had little or no idle time. I like to tell a little about the mundane chores and how they were so much of the daily life of people in those days. The act of priming the water pump or peeling potatoes or gathering eggs find their way within the pages of my books. I think it gives them a homey feeling.

I also love the books of Grace Livingston Hill and Hilda Stahl. The situations the characters found theirselves in were so entertaining. My mother loved for me to read these books aloud to her through the summer. It helped me with my reading skills and provided a great activity that we enjoyed together.

I hope the books I write resonate with readers. Every one of them have a piece of my heart in them.

Voices of the Characters of Nan's Heritage Series - Fred

I am Fred Young. As a youngster I had a happy life. My mother and father were the best there was. I married young and married well. My wife, Claire, was everything a good wife should be. We added a baby girl to our family and all was well.

I went to Bible College and felt the call of God on my life. I was blessed to be accepted to the position of pastor at a small church in my hometown. Everything went well. Our church was growing and I knew that I was reaching the people God intended me to reach.

One Sunday everything changed. My wife and daughter joined me as we found our way to the top of a mountain near Silverton, Colorado. We built a cabin and raised chickens. I ran a trap line and we built a life there. Things happened there and I became bitter.

The bitterness changed me. I became a man that no one recognized from my former days. My life changed so I changed. There is no way that I will allow myself to go back to the man I used to be.

HOT HOT HOT

Yay Summertime!


It is Summertime for sure isn't it. I do want to tell you that I am still living without pain. God is so good! Terry thinks he has the girl he met all those years ago back. I just had to give the Lord another Praise over that. I am so grateful.

Elk's Resolve sales are clipping along. I can't help but daydream about what it would be like to be a best-selling author, but that is in God's hands.
A friend of mine from Australia emailed me the other day. She blogs a lot about books. She reads a ton of them. We "met" when I asked her a little over a year ago to do a blog for me on Nan's Journey. She read it and wrote a very nice review for me. She interviewed me at Christmastime again and has been very supportive and encouraging. She sent this email to a herd of us authors to see if we would like to do another interview and promote our latest books. I jumped at the chance.

I couldn't help but think about how kind and helpful she is to all of us...non-best-sellers out there. I decided to "pay it forward". I sent a similar email to the authors I had in my email list. (If you didn't get this email, you are still invited.) I want to do an interview of each of the responders. I know some pretty amazing writers and I think you will be interested in what they have to say.
Elaine

The first author I want to introduce you to is John Shumaker.
John, I am so happy you took the time to answer a few questions that I think my readers will be interested in.

1. What is your name and the title of your book(s)?

My name is John H. Shumaker. The two books I’ve written are: The Mystery of the Alpha and Omega and The Strategy of Spiritual Warfare Exposed (What Goes on Behind the Scenes and Why).

2. What is one thing you think your readers would like to know about you?
I’ve been a Bible teacher since 1985. My wife, Carol, and I have 5 kids, 10 grandkids, and 3 great grand kids. I’ve been a professional firefighter for 40 years and have started a Chaplain program with the Colorado Springs Fire Department. I’ve also started chapters of the Fellowship of Christian Firefighters and a chapter of Firefighters for Christ. Through Firefighters for Christ I’ve given out over 65,000 cassette teaching tapes and have mailed them world-wide.

3. When did you know that you wanted to become a writer?

I decided to try writing about 3 years ago. I didn’t do this because I felt led to be a writer, but I just wanted to try my hand at it and see where it led.

4. What are your strong points in your writing style or methods?

The books I’ve written can be used for Bible studies. This would include Sunday School, home Bible studies and private Bible study. The strong points of my books is that I use the Bible to comment on the Bible – in other words, going through my books you will explore the Bible in it’s entirety. I also include the Bible verses in my book so you don’t have to set the book aside to look up the reference. In addition I spent about 2 years studying one-on-one with a Messianic Rabbi.

5. Are you a reader? What are you reading right now?
I love to read. My daily schedule is to get up between 0300 and 0330. I spend a couple of hours every day studying the Bible and reading. I’m currently reading Marriage: Fantasy vs Reality.

6. Do you have another book that you are working on and hasn't been submitted for publication? Tell about it.
In my first book, The Mystery of the Alpha and Omega, I took 18 verses from the Old Testament and expounded on how Jesus is revealed in the original Hebrew text. I have found that there are over 570 references in the Hebrew text that identifies Jesus and His role as God and as Messiah. I’m currently writing a commentary on these verses. Due to the size of the book, I’m not sure if it will go to print or not. At any rate, it will be available on my web site: www.jhshumaker.info

7.What are your biggest obstacles to writing and how do you overcome them? The biggest obstacle I’ve found so far is not in writing the books, but in getting them marketed. Since I’m an “unknown” and I don’t have an alphabet to put behind my name, it’s hard to get the books into the hands of people that have the right connections to get the books promoted in Christian book stores. They are currently in Boarders and Barnes and Nobel, but the people that would be interested in what I’ve written about would look in Christian bookstores – not Boarders and Barnes and Nobel.

8. How can readers contact you or purchase your books? Please put your website or blog here.
I can be contacted in several ways:
· E-mail: jhshumaker@comcast.net
· Web site: www.jhshumaker.info
· Phone: 719-337-4545
· Snail mail: John H. Shumaker
P.O. Box 7187

Colorado Springs, CO 80933-7187

Thank you so much John. (His wife is a hoot! I love her so much.) Pictures of his books will not load on this format, so you can check them out at his websites or at http://nansjourney.blogspot.com

See you next week. I hope you enjoyed this.

June is one of my Favorite Months

June is one of my favorite months of the year.
Terry and I really enjoyed the time we spent with our grandchildren. We look forward to the summer visit from our Colorado kids and grandkids.This time we were able to have our Texas granddaughter join in on the fun. I think they have gotten very close to each other and will miss one another very much.

I am trying to get events lined up for the summer. Book signings, speaking, and just keeping in touch with everybody. One of the things I have to keep reminding myself to do is write. Book #4 is started on my computer. I need to get back at it, but stuff happens. You know, important stuff like:
Hugging those grandkids while they are here.

Keeping up with my marketing plans.

and, let me make a confession here...farming. Yes, I am a face book farm town addict. I wonder what they call the 12 step program on a cruise ship for that- "memorial for friends of Old MacDolald"? For subscribers who don't have a clue what I am talking about, you will have to log in to my blog and watch the video I made called "Cruise Ship Blunder". It is the video where I am wearing a dopey hat. (nansjourney.blogspot.com)

Anyway, a friend or two convinced me that farm town was fun. It is. It is a stress reliever as well as a stress producer...kinda like husbands and kids huh! I wish my real garden would grow as well as the one on facebook, but I guess that would mean that I would have to actually plant one. (bummer)

I have Book III of the Nan's Heritage Series written. It is tentatively called "Luke's Legacy". I will level with you. It does cost a good bit of money to get the books published. Although Tate Publishing and Enterprises is not a vanity publisher, they are a partnership publisher. That means that each author contributes money to the publishing of their books. The more books that have sold, the less contribution has to be made for each title. After 5000 copies of the books have been sold, the money I put in to the publishing process will be refunded to me. I said that to say this: I am saving back $1 per book sold to go toward getting "Luke's Legacy" published. Some readers have given a $5 deposit toward their purchase of "Luke's Legacy" when it comes out to speed up the process a bit. When any of my books are sold it does help my credibility with the publisher so I want to thank you for your purchases. I wanted you to know why it takes so long before the next book comes out. I am striving to get the word out and sell as many copies as I can because Book III is my favorite to date. I am sure that if you liked "Nan's Journey" and "Elk's Resolve", you will love "Luke's Legacy". Don't give up on me. We will see it in print sooner than later...hopefully.
Until next time, your taking the time to talk about the books is the best advertisement I could ever get and I thank you for all that you do.
Elaine

Elk's Resolve is Ready to Send Out ...to You!

This afternoon the boxes of "Elk's Resolve" were on the deck when I came home from work. They arrived sooner than I expected and I am very happy about that. Complete your order with the paypal button or send me a message at elainel45@msn.com and let me know how many and how you want your books signed. Of course you can give those instructions on paypal too! It is very easy.
Thank you for walking with me through this process! Just think book #3 is ready to submit for consideration to the publisher. I just need to sell a bunch of these other books before I send it in to them. They need to know that there is a demand for books by Elaine Littau. (smile smile)
Please tell your friends about these books and blog about them...help me spread the word if you like them. I really appreciate it!

"Elk's Resolve" will be in my hands the end of April!

"Elk's Resolve" will be in my hands the end of April!
I will get my copies for sale here and on the Tate Publishing website at the end of April. Order here at the Paypal button to get a signed copy and I will send you a signed and numbered copy of "Elk's Resolve" and "Nan's Journey" if you haven't read it."Elk's Resolve" will be released worldwide in June/July of 2009 to bookstores and amazon.com, target.com, barnesandnoble.com, borders.com...etc.When you read your copy, do me a great favor and write a review on your blog, facebook page, myspace page, and amazon.com. Word of mouth is the absolute best way to get the word out for books. Also, if you have an event coming up that is in need of a speaker...I'M YOUR GIRL! (or old lady depending on who you are...hee hee) Contact me here to set things up.

Tate Audio Sent Me a Sample of "Elk's Resolve" audio version!

The Audio department of Tate Publishing and Enterprises sent me a sample of a portion of the first chapter of "Elk's Resolve" on Friday. I believe that everyone who takes advantage of the free download with the purchase of the paper version will really appreciate the work involved in voicing the book.With the sample the man doing the voice for the book asked for any corrections or input from me for the audio version. He kindly accepted my instructions and we are to speak on the phone soon to be certain that certain words are pronounced correctly. (Would you believe that people have trouble figuring out how to pronounce 'Littau'? Hint: it rhymes with Utah...smile)Things are moving along... I hope you are getting ready to get your hands on a copy of "Elk's Resolve".

Free Audio with Purchase of "Elk's Resolve"

When I printed off the finished copy of "Elk's Resolve" to proof it one more time there was a notice on the back page. I will print it word for word here:

E LIVE

listen-imagine-view-experience

AUDIO BOOK DOWNLOAD INCLUDED WITH THIS BOOK!

In your hands you hold a complete digital entertainment package. Besides purchasing the paper version of this book, this book includes a free download of the audio version of this book. Simply use the code listed below when visiting our website. Once downloaded to your computer, you can listen to the book through your computer's speakers, burn it to an audio CD or save the file to your portable music device (such as Apple's popular iPod) and listen on the go!


This will make "Elk's Resolve" a great value to the readers.

Let me know what you think!!!

Book Launch Party Preparations

The process of publication for "Elk's Resolve" is coming close to an end. Yesterday, I looked at the font size, margin spacing, page number format and everything akin to that for approval. The next step is a mach up will be developed and sent to me for final evaluation before "Elk's Resolve" is put into print. That means that the long wait to hold my "baby" is almost over.

That being said, I want to have a book launch party. Terry and I are planning the details with a lot of input and help from friends and family. Our budget is limited, but we want to do it up right. I will get details on this site as soon as I can about the venue, date, and time. I want everyone who is even interested in "Nan's Journey" or "Elk's Resolve" to feel welcome to come to the party. It will be wonderful to see you there.

Keep on the lookout for more details.

"Elk's Resolve", Book II of the Nan's Heritage Series, will be out within the next few months. Terry and I are very excited about that. In fact, Terry was very involved in the story line and action of "Elk's Resolve'. I really needed him to especially read the fight sequences to make sure that the action was do-able. He also gave me insight to the male character's way of thinking. As a woman I like to hope there are men who think the way women wish men would think...understand? He was invaluable in helping me keep the male characters true to life. I think you will like Book II. The major theme of it deals with overcoming depression...among other things.Book III is about the youngest children of Fred and Nan. I haven't submitted it to the publisher for review yet because I put it in a contest for unpublished manuscripts. Hopefully, I will know the status of "Luke's Legacy" soon. "Luke's Legacy" is a very emotional book. It has it's share of adventure and "hold your breath" moments, but I have to say, writing it tugged at my heart more than anything I have done so far. "Luke's Legacy" burned in my mind long after I finished it. The theme of it is about creating your own legacy. Book IV is in the baby stages. The connection to Nan is: "What happened to the trunk that Mary sent to Boston?" I am not sure it should be part of the "Nan's Heritage Series" because it barely touches Nan's family...we will see as it unfolds.

Progress Continues on "Elk's Resolve" the Sequel to "Nan's Journey"

I am happy to say that the progress on the sequel to "Nan's Journey" is moving along steadily. At this time the script for the "Elk's Resolve" audio book is completed. Terry and I have made our selections on the voice to deliver the story. Also, the book cover selections have been sent to me and I polled our family and some of our friends about their opinion on them. Tate does such a good job that is it difficult to make the selection. Soon I will post the finished product selection for the book cover of "Elk's Resolve".

"Elk's Resolve" is the continuation of the story begun in "Nan's Journey". The question of "What happened to the baby?" is answered and more issues are addressed. The main thought behind this book is dealing with depression, prejudice and demonic attack. Hopefully, the reader will be encouraged and uplifted after finishing the last page of this book.

I don't want to write for the sake of writing. I want to bring hope and help to people who read my stuff. I have been in prayer for everyone who reads these stories, praying that they will find the help they need through our Lord.

Reflection of 2008

My best friend from Jr. High and High School sent me a Christmas card with a sweet note jotted in it. She reminded me that 2008 has been a remarkable year for me. I was struck that she wrote about me instead of herself. (I want to know her things too!) The point is: She spent those several words encouraging me. That is so like her!

Sometimes I get bogged down with talking about the book and promoting, selling, and writing, that I forget how awesome it is that it is published. Man alive, IT IS PUBLISHED!!! If you know me, you know that I'm not all that...but God is! You may not believe in miracles, but I want to tell you, This has been a real life miracle!

2008 has been a year of discovering priorities. What is my platform? What am I trying to say? What is important to me? What will I spend my time on? What will I spend my money on?
Answers to these questions coming soon...I will have to chew on them a bit to put the right words to it.

Libraries and Prisons

Libraries and Prisons??? What are you talking about? I just wanted to say that they are my favorite places to give books to. This morning I gave a copy of my audio book to my local library. I have also given away a bunch of hard copies of "Nan's Journey" to school and public libraries and prison libraries.

There is a process for giving to prisons. You have to find someone connected to a ministry or service to a particular prison that is authorized to take a copy in to the library. If you are reading this and have access to this type of ministry, contact me. We will see about getting a copy into the prison or library you have in mind.

Right now I am in the middle of preparing the manuscript for "Elk's Resolve" for the audio process. It is exciting to see the sequel to "Nan's Journey" come along. It has made it through the first stage of the conceptual edits and now I am waiting for the next editing step. I should get some selections to choose from for the book cover soon. It is a fun process. I will keep you updated. Be sure to check in and not miss anything.

Things are Moving Along

A lot of things have happened in the past week. Terry finished the hardwood floor! I will post a detailed account of that, but right now I want to talk about the craft show. It was sooooo fun! I visited with a bunch of very sweet people who came by my booth. They were very encouraging and many of them purchased copies of "Nan's Journey" to give for gifts as well as signing my list for the pre-orders of "Elk's Resolve". I appreciate everybody who stopped by.

also

My editor returned my marked up copy of "Elk's Resolve" for my corrections. I have until Dec 15 to get it back to her. She was very thorough. I think she is just right for this book. The book cover designer will phone me tomorrow and discuss ideas for the cover of "Elk's Resolve". Things are really moving along.

Do you have any cool ideas for the book cover?

Perryton Satellite Arts and Crafts Show

Sat and Sunday I am going to be at the Perryton Expo Center with my book "Nan's Journey". This is the 40th year for the Satellite Arts and Craft Show. It is a fund raiser for the town's school for the mentally handicapped. This school is awesome in the training it gives for the individuals enrolled.

I am excited to see the people who came by my booth last year as well as new folks. I will have booklets to give away with the first chapter of my next book, "Elk's Resolve", including an order form for pre-orders of the new book and also for "Nan's Journey". I think I am better prepared to answer questions and I also have some hand-outs to give away. (bookmarks, speaker/author brochures, magnets, compasses for the children with my logo on them, the new booklets, and push cards) I will bring my laptop and have my book trailer going until the battery goes out...smile smile.

I have a special sale going on through Jan 2, the anniversary of the release of "Nan's Journey". Come by the booth and visit. Buy books for your friends and family for Christmas. Please consider leaving a review on Amazon.com or another book seller blog (Borders, Barnes & Noble, etc) for a free book. It helps to have a lot of reviews on a book seller site because people wonder what is up with a book that has people talking about it. If you can't do that, please tell people about my books. "The Shack" became a best seller because people talked about it and bought it. It was self-published by an unknown author, but God used people to promote it. It is an awesome book. (controversial, but awesome because even if you do not agree with the doctrine, it makes you think about what you really do believe.)

I hope to see you soon!

Depression

One of the things that "Elk's Resolve" speaks of is depression. I am interested in what you have to say about it. You don't have to use your actual name.

1. In what way have you been impacted by depression?
2. What things helped you overcome it?
3. Are there indications that a person feels when a bout is coming on?4. Do you have any other information or thoughts on this subject?

Wheatheart of the Nation Celebration and Pioneer Fun at the Museum of the Plains

August 23, 2008 was a great day for me. (It did get very hot, even in the shade, but it was great!) After the annual parade honoring the birthday of Perryton, TX, The Museum of the Plains on highway 83 had a great day of fun for families and friends.

I am impressed with the size of our museum. There are a number of buildings and exhibit halls. My book table was in front of the "General Store" building. Thankfully, it had an ample porch that provided shade all day. I truly enjoyed visiting with the people who stopped by to look over the general store exhibit and my book, "Nan's Journey". I had a drawing for a free book at the end of the day.

The winner of the drawing/free copy of "Nan's Journey" is Vanessa Lester. I will be mailing it on Tuesday of this week. Congratulations Vanessa!

I gave away a ton of toy compasses with the "Nan's Journey" logo on them to the children. They seemed to really enjoy getting something for free! Another freebie I gave away was a folder with the first chapter of "Elk's Resolve", the second book in the Heritage Series. I gave around 60 of those away. There is an order form for "Nan's Journey" and the first batch of pre-released copies of "Elk's Resolve" in the folder. If you are reading this and wish to order either of these books, leave a private message in the guestbook.

I could hardly believe that after living here all my life, there were so many people I didn't know. We are a small town... Oh well, I did get the opportunity to meet a number of them and everyone was very kind. That is one of the perks to living in a small town, right!

The museum had a hamburger feed, local singers and a great band. There were a dozen or so vendors selling jewelry, metal work, balloons, face painting, etc. Bouncing games for the children were a hit as well as a cow milking contest. My personal favorite was the team of large work horses and wagon rides for everyone. If you missed it this year, make plans to come next year.