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4 Posts of Note on Romance Fiction

 

With Valentines Day just around the corner, I wanted to present these noteworthy posts about romance fiction. Whether you're a reader, writer, or bookseller of love stories, you'll find something of interest below. Enjoy!

1. Love, A More Excellent Way

Learn more about One Thousand Gifts

Blog post by Robin Lee Hatcher (@robinleehatcher)
"Love is what you do when the other person is unlovable," writes Hatcher in this reflection on the costs and joys of love. Read more of Hatcher's post, which was also her contribution to a book called How to Fall in Love like a Romance Writer.

 

2. A Touch of Romance: New Trends & Advice for In-store Promotions

Roundtable interview by Christine D. Johnson for ChristianRetailing.com.
In this interview of value for aspiring authors and Christian booksellers, Johnson interviews several of Christian publishing's experts on romantic fiction, including Sue Brower, Zondervan's own Executive Editor of fiction. Here is one of Brower's many wise dashes of advice:

"Many of our [romance novels] now have discussion questions in the back, and I would encourage the stores to create book clubs or an environment where a book club could meet. Sometimes people don't want to admit they read romance because it's not thoughtful reading when, in fact, it is and what helps that is having these book club questions." Read More

 

3. Interview with Lori Copeland, Romance Author

Learn more about The Christian Faith

Interview by Kim Ford for ChristianFictionOnlineMagazine.com
In this interview Lori Copeland shares wisdom for writers trying to break into the market, and encouragement for writers going through difficult patches. "Do the best you can with what you have," writes Copeland, "and learn to be a lemonade connoisseur. Plenty of lemons will come your way, but stay close to the Father, and through it all you'll have the sweetest of faith, hope, and love to help you reap the rewards God has in store." I love that phrase lemonade connoisseur. Read more of the interview.

 

4. Finally! Some Romance Characters that Look Like Me…

Learn more about Protection for Hire

Blog post by Grace Hwang Lynch (@HapaMamaGrace)
Lynch spotlights three women of color who are bringing diversity to the Romance genre, including Zondervan author Camy Tang (@camytang). Lynch quotes Tang:

"My future editor at Zondervan, Sue Brower, saw the lack of Asian ethnic fiction and the need for it, and she persisted in presenting my story to the editorial and marketing teams until they contracted my series in early 2006. Since then, I've heard from readers both Asian and non-Asian who have really connected with and related to my characters, and I'm very grateful." Read more of Lynch's post.

Postscript

Adam & Eve

This stained glass window portrays what may be the oldest love story of them all.

 

Question for Discussion: Is the story of Adam and Eve a love story?

 

-Adam Forrest, Zondervan


(Image attribution: stained glass window, St. Florentin, France. By Mattana (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons. This post does not represent the views of Zondervan or any of its representatives. The writer's personal opinions are shared only for information purposes. To receive new Zondervan Blog posts in your reader or email inbox, subscribe to Zondervan Blog.)

 

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Re:Word Weekly – 1/13/2012

 

Re:Word is Zondervan Blog's new weekly collection of articles regarding words or the Word. We re-tell these stories because they're exciting, surprising, useful, or nourishing.

Stumbling upon the stories below felt like finding little luminous treasures. We couldn't resist sharing them with you! Enjoy…

View original photo by Rich Tatum

Photo by Rich Tatum, used with permission.

 

 1. The two most disarming words you can use in a tense conversation about Christians, as told by a friend of Philip Yancey (NIV Student Bible).

2. Is Pornography the Same as Cheating asks author Sheila Wray Gregoire? Further Reading: The Good Girl's Guide to Great Sex

3. 10 thoughts on Tim Tebow from Pastor Nathan Busenitz, including "5 Reasons I like Tim Tebow" and "5 Concerns I have about Tebow Mania." (via Tim Challies, Challies.com) Further Reading: Tim Tebow's memoir, Through My Eyes

4. For writers & aspiring writers: Want a birds-eye view of whether your story has forward momentum? Create an "Emote Pacing Chart." (via DiAnn Mills, author of The Fire in Ember)

5. Punchy thoughts on Jesus's masculinity. (via Scot McKnight, author of The King Jesus Gospel)

6. Via Qideas.org – Many non-Christians are more willing to have a spiritual conversation than a Jesus conversation. Wait, is there a difference? Ron Martoia offers a long but worthy piece on natural, conversational evangelism called Spiritual Conversations: Understanding the Cultural Language. Further Reading: The Next Christians Group Study, Being Countercultural Group Study

7. A timely collection of posts about gender, hierarchy, equality, and marriage collected by Rachel Held Evans (Evolving in Monkey Town).

 

- Adam Forrest, special thanks to Rich Tatum.

 

 (This post does not represent the views of Zondervan or any of its representatives. The writer shares these personal opinions for information purposes only. To receive new blogposts in your reader or email inbox, subscribe to Zondervan Blog.)

 

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