New Bible Verse ~ Sunday, December 30th

New Bible verse posted as of Sunday, December 30th. Have a great week!

Ephesians 4:25 (ESV)

Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. 

God Bless!
T Denise Clary

Merry Christmas!

From my family to yours...

wishing you a very merry Christmas ~ 2012!

Isaiah 9:6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 

The Family with Santa 2012
(From left to right: Kian, Joel, Chloe, Tia, and I)

New Bible Verse ~ Sunday, December 23rd

New Bible verse posted as of Sunday, December 23rd. Have a great week!

James 1:12 (NIV)

Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love Him. 

God Bless!
T Denise Clary

New Bible Verse ~ Sunday, December 16th

New Bible verse posted as of Sunday, December 16th. Have a great week!

Proverbs 28:6 (ESV)

Better is a poor man who walks in his integrity than a rich man who is crooked in his ways. 

God Bless!
T Denise Clary

Video: The Rise of Self-Publishing

For anyone looking to dive into the self-publishing industry, here is a motivating video to encourage your endeavors.Wishing all aspiring authors (like myself) much success! 

Watch the video, "The Rise of Self-Publishing" from the CBS News Sunday Morning show, below.

God Bless!
T Denise Clary

New Bible Verse ~ Sunday, December 9th

New Bible verse posted as of Sunday, December 9th. Have a great week!

James 1:19-20 (NIV)

19 My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, 20 because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. 

God Bless!
T Denise Clary

FREE WEBINAR: 7 Secrets for Effective Author Websites

**FREE WEBINAR**

"Seven Secrets for Effective Author Websites"

What: Seven Secrets for Effective Author Websites Webinar
When: Tuesday, December 11 at 8:00 PM EST (7pm Central, 6pm Mountain, 5pm Pacific)
Who: Published and Unpublished Authors
Cost: Free

Click on this link WEBINAR to be directed to Literary Agent Rachelle Gardner's website, where you will be able to register.


God Bless!
T Denise Clary

New Bible Verse ~ Sunday, December 2nd

New Bible verse posted as of Sunday, December 2nd. Have a great week!

Jeremiah 23:23-24 (ESV)

23 "Am I a God at hand, declares the Lord, and not a God far away? 24 Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the Lord. Do I not fill heaven and earth? declares the Lord." 

God Bless!
T Denise Clary

Linking today with Jumping Tandem

for some Sunday inspiration.

Join us!!! Click below.

New Bible Verse ~ Sunday, November 25th

New Bible verse posted as of Sunday, November 25th. Have a great week!

Proverbs 20:22 (NIV)

Do not say, "I'll pay you back for this wrong!" Wait for the LORD, and He will avenge you.

God Bless!
T Denise Clary

IT'S THANKSGIVING! GIVING THANKS. . .

HAPPY THANKSGIVING to you and your family! I am truly blessed, and thankful for so many things: My wonderful family, friends, and my online community 'family' who have been overwhelmingly supportive. Above all, I am thankful to our Heavenly Father, with Him all things are possible and have been possible!  Have a fantastic Thanksgiving day!!

1 Chronicles 29:11-13 (NIV)

Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power

and the glory and the majesty and the splendor,

for everything in heaven and earth is Yours.

Yours, O Lord, is the kingdom;

You are exalted as head over all.

Wealth and honor come from You;

You are the ruler of all things.

In Your hands are strength and power

to exalt and give strength to all.

Now, our God, we give You thanks,

and praise Your glorious name. 

God Bless!
T Denise Clary

New Bible Verse ~ Sunday, November 18th

New Bible verse posted as of Sunday, November 18th. Have a great week!

Mark 11:25 (NIV)

And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.

God Bless!
T Denise Clary

New Bible Verse ~ Sunday, November 11th

New Bible verse posted as of Sunday, November 11th. Have a great week!

Isaiah 56:1-2 (NIV)

This is what the Lord says: "Maintain justice and do what is right, for My salvation is close at hand and My righteousness will soon be revealed. Blessed is the one who does this - the person who holds it fast, who keeps the Sabbath without desecrating it, and keeps their hands from doing evil."

God Bless!
T Denise Clary

Five Reasons Why You May Never Get Published

Five Reasons Why You May Never Get Published

Literary Agent Steve Laube, with the Steve Laube Agency, recently blogged about reasons why a person may never get published. I thought I'd share this informative information in hopes that you find it helpful. I know I did! Click on the link below to access the article at his blog site:

Five Reasons Why You May Never Get Published

God Bless!
T Denise Clary

First Ever Book Review From My Dog, Sammy!

First Ever Book Review From My Dog, Sammy!

Storybook: Teddy & Stanley's Tall Tell

I came across this story as I was combing the Internet and updating myself on the latest news. Apparently some British experts have created a storybook, Teddy & Stanley's Tall Tell, just for dogs to help keep them calm and relaxed. How clever and cute, right?! I thought I'd try it out on my dog Sammy, the video clip that is, to see if he'd have any response to the sounds the gentleman in the video was making.

As the video played, to my surprise Sammy started making whining sounds. I thought this really couldn't be happening...was my dog actually responding to the sounds being told in this story?? NO WAY!! 

The story continued and Sammy let out yet another whining sound. WTH!!? He then proceeded to get up from his slumbered position, walk over to me, and placed his two front paws on my legs. Turns out Sammy just wanted to go outside to relieve himself. LOL!

So was Sammy's reaction just a coincidence?? Did the sounds of this book really trigger a response? Perhaps, perhaps not. LOL. After all, he had not moved from his position for a couple of hours until the sounds of the video started playing. Uhmmmm, very interesting! So I concluded the following FIRST EVER book review from my dog Sammy; based on his behavior of course:

Sammy's Review of Teddy & Stanley's Tall Tell: "The book was good enough, or bad enough depending on how you look at it, to make me want to leave the room to relieve myself!" HaHa!! ;-)

God Bless!
T Denise Clary

New Bible Verse ~ Sunday, November 4th

New Bible verse posted as of Sunday, November 4th. Have a great week!

1 John 3:1 (NIV)

See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know Him. 

God Bless!
T Denise Clary

New Bible Verse ~ Sunday, October 28th

New Bible verse posted as of Sunday, October 28th. Have a great week!

Psalm 37:4 (NIV)

Take delight in the LORD, and He will give you the desires of your heart.

God Bless!
T Denise Clary

New Bible Verse ~ Sunday, October 21st

New Bible verse posted as of Sunday, October 21st. Have a great week!

Galatians 6:2 (NIV)

Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

God Bless!
T Denise Clary

New Bible Verse ~ Sunday, October 14th

New Bible verse posted as of Sunday, October 14th. Have a great week!

Philippians 2:5-8 (NIV)

5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; 7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death - even death on a cross! 

God Bless!
T Denise Clary

New Bible Verse ~ Monday, October 8th

New Bible verse posted as of Monday, October 8th. Have a great week!

1 Corinthians 4:20 (NIV)

For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power. 

God Bless!
T Denise Clary

New Bible Verse ~ Sunday, September 30th

New Bible verse posted as of Sunday, September 30th. Have a great week!

Ephesians 4:2-3 (NLT)

2 Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other's faults because of your love. 3 Make every effort to keep yourselves united in Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. 

God Bless!
T Denise Clary

2012 ACFW Conference: Reflections

ACFW Conference: Reflections

 

The truth of the matter, I hadn't experienced many positive aspects in the publishing industry since becoming a self-pub author over a year ago. It almost felt like I encountered more negative aspects of publishing, than positive ones. Mentally overcoming the negatives became as routine as waking up in the morning. That's partially the reason I started my blog; to try to spread a more positive spin on the publishing process that can sometimes be difficult to find on the Internet. 

 

Although the self-pub world is growing at a rapid rate, it still has that stigma that screams, you're not one of them! "Them" meaning you're not an "author" in the true, traditional, and historic sense of the word. At the other end of the spectrum, I was convinced there were too many negative aspects with traditional publishing (or so I was told and made to believe by many in the self-pub world). My mind had already been influenced to believe that traditional publishers were nothing more than a closed-knit community filled with greedy, out-of-touch, and non-caring people. However, this is not at all what I experienced or witnessed at the ACFW conference. I was completely overwhelmed and amazed by the nurturing, kind-hearted, Spirit filled people that I met. I saw an industry that DID care about their authors, AND the industry as a whole (even the self-pub segment of the industry). Yes, I'm sure there are bad apples out there, as is true in any profession. But the ACFW conference really changed my mindset about Traditional Publishing.

 

I had the misconception that a traditional publisher was comparable to the likes of Darth Vadar in the Star Wars movies.  Originally I felt all alone in this industry. I had already somewhat distanced myself from the self-pub community as the negative tone of many authors was too much for me to handle. And I was influenced to believe that traditional publishing was not the best option. But after attending the ACFW conference, I definitely had a change of heart! And thank God for it! I know that it was only the Lord that lead me to the ACFW conference. The conference has forever changed my mindset on traditional publishing and its affiliates. I admit I had anxiety about attending and debated whether I should go. I believed they wouldn't accept me into their world. I was wrong! They not only embraced me, they "adopted" me and made me feel like I was one of them. And not just at the conference, but made me feel like I had been one of "them" all along!!  I left the conference with such a renewed spirit. Full of hope and possibilities about my future in the publishing industry. I continued to thank the Lord for allowing me to see and witness another side that I had neither known, been told, or experienced.

 

Yes, when the enemy comes, the enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10). I am convinced the enemy never wanted me to know about the positive side of traditional publishing. The enemy tried to keep me in the dark. But I thank my Heavenly Father I serve a Master that has conquered the enemy, and all the darkness that comes with him!  

 

I look forward to returning to the ACFW Conference again and again!! I look forward to returning to a conference, and a community of people, where I felt a sense of belonging, a sense of purpose, who were on fire for God, and had hope and expectation for endless possibilities!

 

God Bless,

T Denise Clary

New Bible Verse ~ Tuesday, September 25th

New Bible verse posted as of Tuesday, September 25th. Have a great week!

James 1:2-4 (NLT)

2 Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. 3 For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. 4 So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing. 

God Bless!
T Denise Clary

2012 ACFW Conference: Day 4

Note: I'm a little behind on posting. I made it home from the ACFW Conference completely exhausted. I'm finally rested enough to update my blog.

ACFW Conference: Day Four (Sunday)

The ACFW Conference officially ended  around 11:45a.m. on Sunday. However I had an early morning flight, so I was unable to attend the final moments of Conference. I found myself missing it the moment I left, but I was happy to be going home to see my family and share with them what a wonderful experience I had.

I arrived home and to my surprise, my husband had a full spread (breakfast) laid out on the counter, along with a clean kitchen (confession: I had left it a mess in my rush to get to the airport) and house. Wow! I need to go away more often. LOL! It is such a blessing to come home to such a supportive husband. He is my number one cheerleader . . . and I'm his number one fan!

God Bless!
T Denise Clary

Flying home from Dallas.

Will be landing soon.

 

"Welcome home!"

 

 

Nice spread prepared by my hubby! He's so great!!

 

Lots of food!

 

. . . and more food!

 

. . . and more. . . pancakes!

 

. . . AND waffles!!!!

 

Pancakes and waffles . . .Yum!
In the words of Dorothy from the movie Wizard of Oz, "there's no place like home!" :-)

 

2012 ACFW Conference : Day 3 - Part II

Note: I'm a little behind on posting. I made it home from the ACFW Conference completely exhausted. I'm finally rested enough to update my blog.

ACFW Conference: Day Three (Saturday) - Part II

Later in the evening we attended the Awards Gala. A great night filled with well dressed people, excellent food, and awards given in recognition for the outstanding work of individuals, in their respective fields, in the publishing industry. I didn't stay for the entire Gala because I had an early morning flight, but I lasted through dinner and the announcements of the Editor and Agent of the Year. Nicole Resciniti, the same agent I had pitched to earlier in the day, won for 2012 Literary Agent of the Year. I was happy for her and all the award recipients.

After leaving the Gala, I went back to my hotel room and reflected on what a great time I had had at the conference. I prayed and thanked the Lord for leading me to such an inspirational event with so many wonderful, inspiring, and positive people. I cannot wait to return next year!

Here are some pics from the Gala . . .

I'm relaxed, refreshed, and ready for the Gala. The last event I attended before returning home.

 

Me with Writer Aimee Jones.

 

Writers Aimee Jones Nichole Sims.

 

I'm standing between Author Roseanna M. White (left), and Writer Rachel Wilder, who dressed to look like a character in her book.

 

Author Roseanna M. White (left), and Writer Rachel Wilder, who dressed to resemble a character in her book.

 

Author Keisha Bass volunteered to be door greeter for the Awards Gala.

 

 

Authors Keisha Bass, me, Janice Olson, Patty Green, and Marji Laine.

 

I'm posing with fellow Writer, Peggy Consolver. She was so sweet!

 

Me sitting between Writers Nichole Sims and Aimee Jones.

 

Our fantastic meal for the evening!

 

 

2012 ACFW Conference : Day 3 - Part I

Note: I'm a little behind on posting. I made it home from the ACFW Conference completely exhausted. I'm finally rested enough to update my blog. 

ACFW Conference: Day Three (Saturday) - Part I

 

Day three of the conference was another exciting day of educational sessions, workshops, networking, the Awards Gala, and another interview - but this time with a literary agent.

The day began, as it had been, with the General Session breakfast along with Praise and Worship from the worship team. I was amazed by the continual presence of the Holy Spirit during the morning sessions and never did I leave without feeling refreshed, renewed, inspired and confident!

I took that confidence with me throughout the day. . . well up until the time of my interview with Literary Agent, Nicole Resciniti, of The Seymour Agency, located in Canton, New York. For some reason, about ten minutes prior to the interview, anxiety crept into my mind and body and I began to tremble even worse than I did the previous day. I mistakenly thought that pitching my book idea would be easier the second time around. NOT!! For some reason I was not as confident this time around and initially thought the interview was not going well. I was nervous, trembling, rambling, emotional - yes, I said emotional!. WTH?!?!! I'm not sure what was happening to me! I think all the anxiety that had built up over the past few days, even weeks, preparing for this conference was beginning to show during this pitch session. I was embarrassed!! I kept apologizing. Ms. Resciniti was very gracious and reassured me I had nothing to apologize for. I felt awkward as I silently sat while she read through my manuscript! After a moment of complete silence between us, Ms. Resciniti looked up at me and told me she really liked what she had read. She requested I send her a another copy of the manuscript to her, via email, as well as another manuscript that I had talked about during my bouts of rambling . . . wow, I was actually comprehensible?!?! LOL. Another interview complete without being rejected! Yay!!! I was thrilled . . . and relieved!!

The interview ended and I hurried back to my hotel room to retrieve both manuscripts on my laptop, skipping my last scheduled workshop. After a few tweaks and numerous re-reads, I submitted both manuscripts electronically to Ms. Resciniti. Done. Yay!!!! Now I was able to relax and get ready for the Awards Gala happening later that evening. I didn't take many photos prior to the Gala. The next post, Day Three - Part II, will show the pics from the Awards Gala later in the evening, but for this post, here are a couple of pics.

General Session breakfast with Authors Patty Green, Marji Laine, and Janice Olson.

 

Literary Agent Nicole Resciniti from The Seymour Agency.
(Photo taken from the ACFW webpage)
 

 

 

2012 ACFW Conference - Day 2

ACFW Conference - Day Two (Friday)

 

 

Day two of the ACFW Conference was another jam-packed day filled with Continuing Educational Sessions, Workshops, and networking. It was also one of the most exciting and important days of the conference for me! Why? Because this was the day I was scheduled to have my very first interview to "pitch" my manuscript/book idea to an Acquisitions Editor with Zonderkidz, an imprint of Zondervan. Zondervan, a division of HarperCollins, is one of the largest Christian publishers in the country.

I was a bundle of nerves as I entered the room and met with Editor Kim Childress of Zonderkidz. I only had 15 minutes to convince this total stranger that my book would be a good fit with their company. Although she probably didn't notice (or maybe she did, LOL), but I felt as though my body was shaking throughout the entire interview. I also felt like I stumbled over every word that came out of my mouth. Well, I must have done a decent enough job because Ms. Childress requested a copy of my manuscript and stated that she really liked the entire concept I presented to her. She also stated that she would discuss it with another Editor at Zonderkidz and have someone contact me within six weeks. If I don't hear from someone within that time frame, she advised me to call her directly. Yay!!!!! Words can't even describe how elated I was!!!! I'm not sure how many other attendees she told that to, but the simple fact that I didn't get a rejection and thrown out of the interview was enough for me to celebrate!! Yay! Especially after I tipped the table a bit with my clumsy body after the interview was over and spilled a little of Ms. Childress' coffee! YIKES!! Thank the Lord it was not spilled on her! Let that be a lesson of what NOT to do when you are interviewing with someone really important!!!! LOL!

OK, time for me to finally get some sleep. It has been another long and exhausting day, but I thank the Lord for it! I am truly having such a great time!! Below are just a few pics.

God Bless!
T Denise Clary

Me sitting in a CE course with some Authors that "adopted" me into their group. 
From left to right: Author Keisha Bass, Me, Author Beth Shriver, and Author Patty Green.

 

Keisha Bass and I.
Keisha is one of the Authors featured in "Chicken Soup for the Soul"

 

Acquisitions Editor, Kim Childress, of Zonderkidz.
And NO, I wasn't bold enough to take a pic of her during the interview. LOL. I found this pic from the ACFW website.

 

 

I couldn't resist posting this, lol. Look how well they feed us at this conference!! Our dessert at lunch, and it was delish!! :-)

 

 

 

 

2012 ACFW Conference - Day 1

ACFW Conference - Day One (Thursday)

I didn't get an opportunity to post after my first official day at Conference (which was Thursday) because the schedule here has been so hectic. The typical day at the ACFW Conference starts at 8:00a.m., and depending on if you choose to attend all of the sessions they offer, ends around 9:30p.m., or even later. I can tell you that although I am truly exhausted, I've been having the best time. Actually, this has been the BEST conference I have ever attended. Considering that I have only attended legal conferences (this would be my first writers' conference), I have never experienced anything like it! I have been so amazed and overwhelmed by the energy of this event. Everyone has been so friendly, caring, welcoming, even nurturing, as well as possess such a fire for God.

 

I am going to keep this post as short as possible because like I stated previously, I'm exhausted, and I still want to blog about day 2 (Friday).  I wasn't able to capture, with pictures, all the aspects of the first day at Conference, but I will let the pics I did take tell some of the story.

God Bless!
T Denise Clary

I am sitting in the "First-time Attendees" Orientation meeting. There are a lot of other "Newbies." Yay!! :-)

 

I met and had lunch with award-winning Author, Editor, and Writing Coach, Susanne Lakin. She gave me a lot of great tips and introduced me around to other well-known Authors, Editors and Agents.

 

Attending our first General Session dinner. As you can see, this conference is well attended.

 

Keynote Speaker, Michael Hyatt, at our first General Session meeting. Michael Hyatt is the former CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers.

 

I befriended Hannah, aspiring Author, and a fellow "Newbie." 

 

Powerful and uplifting praise and worship team.