Fourteen gal writers united
In a blog, to which they invited
Others to turn,
To read and to learn,
And to have bookish passions ignited
And so it began...sorta.
Many moons ago after I'd commented on a Seekerville blog post, one of the Seekerville ladies (probably Tina Russo) suggested several of us who frequent Seekerville join together and start a blog. Being the opportunistic gal I am, I thought the idea was fantabulous. So I happily sat behind my computer monitor and waited for an invite.
Waited. Waited. And waited some more.
Finally I figured out if I build it they will come. Sometimes I am slow on the uptake, which is why I'm still waiting for my oldest son to give me a Facebook tutorial. By the way, did you know Cheetos contain no real cheese? Shocking, I know.
Anyhoo, I knew first we needed a foundation. So I opened my Bible and did the spiritual thing of randomly paging through it while praying for divine insight. My about-to-give-up eyes fell upon a title above a section of verses: Called to Blessing. YES!
See, not only does God call us to blessings, He calls us to bless others. The verses that followed the title spoke to my heart's desire for the group.
"Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as [sisters], be tenderhearted, be courteous; not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing." 1 Peter 3:8-9
When first asked what our purpose was, I told the gals "our focus is on sharing our passion for writing and faith and how they aren't two separate things." As you--our little inkites--get to know us through this blog, my prayer is you will recognize that focus in each of our lives. Well, at least what you can see of our lives via the internet. Please don't focus a satellite camera on my house. Who knows what my kids have left in the backyard.
So who are we? Well, in no logical or pre-planned order...
Dina Sleiman is a wife and mother of three. She loves creating and is passionate about all of the Christian arts. Her primary goal is to serve God and live a spirit-led life. She is currently seeking a publisher for her first inspirational medieval novel, Dance of the Dandelion.
A well of ink sits
Awaiting inspiration
Dip deep in the heart
Writing has become a passion for Jill Nutter who lives in Cincinnati, Ohio with her husband of twenty-eight years, two teenage daughters, her mom, and a menagerie of six pets. She's a full-time counselor and mental health advocate who loves England's Regency era, humor, mystery, and television shows such as Castle, NCIS, and Monk. Jill got hooked on Sherlock Holmes as a kid after reading, The Hound of The Baskervilles.
As a child, Jennifer AlLee lived above a mortuary and had to be very quiet when services were going on downstairs, thus solidifying her life-long love of books and writing. Jennifer now resides in the grace-filled city of Las Vegas, Nevada, with her husband and teenage son. Her next novel, The Pastor’s Wife, releases in February 2010 from Abingdon Press.
A self-avowed #1 Jane Austen fan, Melanie Dickerson started writing again six and a half years ago. She has written four novels and her two medieval romances have finaled in numerous contests. Melanie is a wife and mother of two daughters. Check out her blog for reviews of the latest Christian fiction releases.
To survive high school, Susanne Dietze wrote herself and her friends into Regency-set stories where bullies got their comeuppance, dreamy boys came calling, and every day had a happily ever after. In the zillion years since then, her love of history, humor and romance has not waned, and now she writes stories in the hopes that God will use them to edify and entertain others. She lives in a book-filled house with her pastor husband and two children.
Anita Mae Draper writes romances set on the prairies. Being born in a logging camp in Northwestern Ontario, Canada seems to have instilled the spirit of adventure in her. She joined the Canadian Armed Forces at seventeen and married her hero in uniform a couple years later. Their 32 year old marriage has produced 4 kids and is still going strong. It provides lots of fodder for her books although their military days are long over. Anita started writing as a young teen but didn’t get serious about the craft until just a few years ago. Pre-pubbed, Anita has completed manuscripts in the secular and inspirational markets in the contemporary and historical genres. She is currently working on a suspense. But no matter what her genre, she always writes about romance on the prairies.
Two years ago Wenda Dottridge took down her shingle as a communications consultant to spend all her theoretical free time writing. She's married to a South African family physician and mother of a girl and two boys. After a lot of roaming about the globe and rural western Canada, her family settled in Calgary, Alberta. Not the warmest place on the planet, but close to the Rockies and charming in its own way.
Connie Marquise was born and raised in that beautiful city by the bay, San Francisco. Hooked on books (especially intrigue, suspense and romance) at an early age, she is still an avid reader in all genres. Writing has always been a passion of hers, whether it was a term paper, a letter or her personal journal. After a ten-year-plus hiatus, she is back penning inspirational romance in Henderson, Nevada, where she lives with her husband, aka her inspiration. She loves traveling, whether it is to Texas to visit her two beautiful granddaughters, to Hawai’i, their favorite vacation spot, or to new and adventurous destinations. Walking, volunteering and working with Riley, her Golden Retriever, at hospitals, convalescent homes and local events are among her most enjoyable pastimes.
D’Ann Mateer is a reader, a writer, and a freelance editor at The Writing Spa. Her favorite stories to both read and write are those that happen in another time and place from the one in which she lives. When she isn’t reading or writing, D’Ann can usually be found alongside her husband cheering their sons from the sidelines or devouring their daughter’s culinary creations.
An only child, Niki Turner found in books an escape route against loneliness, boredom, and nightmares. The Little House series, Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, Heidi, and the Nancy Drew collection kept her occupied. When she ran out of books to read, she realized she could get the same pleasure from writing her own stories. By high school she was tackling novels. She married her high school sweetheart in 1990 and had four children in the next seven years. The demands of parenting, homeschooling, and ministry took precedence over writing. Now, with her children in middle school, high school, and one married and in college, she has dusted off the "pen" and set to work creating inspirational fiction. "If someone reads something I've written, fiction or nonfiction, and it ministers to them in some way or brings them closer to God, then I am a blessed woman!"
Debra E. Marvin tries not to run too far from real life but the imagination born out of being an only child has a powerful draw. Besides, the voices in her head tend to agree with all the sensible things she says. Debra likes to write, weed, and wander and is blessed to have the best family and friends in the world. She’s thankful each day that God is in control, that He chooses to bless us despite ourselves, and that He has a sense of humor.
Lisa Karon Richardson and her family are missionaries appointed to
Gabon in West Africa. If her love of language had made learning French easier she would have been a happy woman, as it is she sticks with writing her manuscripts in English. For the moment she, her husband, and her two children are on leave in the United States and she is
using her time to stalk any editor or agent who might be susceptible
to a snappy tag line.
Susan Diane Johnson prefers to be called Suzie. She wishes there were more hours in the day, so she could do all the things she wants to do. She works in a hospital by day and writes Christian Women’s Fiction and Inspirational Romance by night. Since she’s unable to have as many adventures as she longs for, she satisfies herself by letting her characters have the adventure for her.
Despite rumors to the contrary, Gina Welborn does not like the family cat. She tried. Once. On the fourth Sunday of a month, but, sadly, the liking was beyond her predispostional anti-family cat vibe. When not working on her manuscripts, Gina spends her time pondering important things: what to cook for dinner, what not to feed the cat for dinner, and how to continue the ruse that she is an avid cat lover. Any non-PETA members looking for Gina can find her in Virginia with her youth pastor-husband and their five children and dog...all of whom she happily feeds and waters.
Serious Question of the Day: When was the last time you waited for life to happen, only to realize you needed to make it happen so it could happen?
Non-Serious Question of the Day: What is the color of your toothbrush, and do you always choose that same color?
Leave a comment with your e-mail address included (include spaces or brackets around the "@" sign so Net spiders, etc can't phish your address) and we'll enter you in a drawing for prize or two. Could be a book. Could be a bookmark. Probably won't be a cat, although Gina ponders...
Deadline for entry via the comment section of this post is Sept 3 at Midnight EST.
