Refresh! Interview With Author Joyce Tepfer

Joyce Tepfer, one of the most amazing teachers and story-tellers I know, has recently published Refresh! Teacher Devotions and Training Tips. It is an inspiring book full of ideas and inspiration for ministry teachers and anyone needing a daily dose of motivation.  

Joyce has raised two of her own children as well as served as a Children’s Director for 14 years. She previously served as a volunteer for 14 years in various forms of Kid’s Ministry (such as leading/hosting a neighborhood Bible club 6 years, teaching/training in Early Childhood and junior high/camp ministry as counselor/music/drama).

She has also taught piano lessons to over 75 children and presently serves as Director of Servant Ministries at Shadow Mountain Community Church where she listens to the stories of new members and connects them with opportunities to grow and serve. In this interview, Joyce shares some of her journey of writing Refresh:     Read more

Profiting from Reader Feedback

Last month I worked night after night to finish two sample chapters for a publisher interested in my book proposal. Faithfully, I toiled away—writing, crafting, rewriting, revising, writing, and rewriting some more.

Helper, Missionary, Prophet, Teacher: Write to Serve

A guest post by Dan and Denise Harmer:

His writing has been translated into hundreds of languages, sold more than any in history, and touched untold millions of lives, yet we don’t even know his name. Our mystery servant writer was none other than the faithful amanuensis (scribe) of the apostle Paul. At times this author labored in a dank prison cell recording each word. Talk about a collaboration. The Holy Spirit working through Paul while this guy jots down each line, lifting his feet on occasion to allow the rats to scurry by.

Fast forward two thousand years. I would give away body parts to have a drop of that impact and influence for Christ, yet since the time I first conceived this post, I have realized struggles with my own servant’s heart attitude. My pastor is fond of saying “If you want to check to see if you have a servant’s heart, take note of how you react when someone treats you like one.”

Ouch!

I have the honor, right now, of collaborating with a Marine. An officer serving his second stint in Afghanistan. Read more

A Lesson in Book Contract Negotiations

In the following guest post, Laurie A. Gray shares the lessons she learned negotiating her first book contract. Because writers on their way to publication often forget or ignore the business side of writing, it is helpful when someone like Laurie can share her experience:

The Marriage Code & the Life of a Servant Writer/Speaker Couple

Bill and Pam Farrel are best-selling authors and international speakers.  With 30 book to their credit, inlcuding Men Are Like Waffeles and Women Are Like Spagetti, they are still fired up about helping marriages thrive. What I most appreaciate about this Servant Writer/Speaker couple is their passion to help build strong marriages and guide up-and-coming writers whom they mentor.  With a packed writing and international speaking schedule, Bill and Pam still make time to help those of us who share a calling to serve God and others through the power of the written and spoken word.  In this interview, Bill and Pam share about their writing and speaking life and why they are excited about what their new book, The Marriage Code, will do for marriages around the world.

Why do you see yourselves as servant writers?

Writing (and speaking) to serve isn’t glamorous; but we do it to serve God and others. Maybe this true story will illustrate a typical day in the life of a Servant Writer/Speaker Couple: Read more

A Different Dream for My Child: Jolene Philo Shares

Jolene Philo has written a much needed book to encourage parents and family members of chronically ill children.  A Different Dream for My Child exemplifies the call of 2 Corinthians 1:3-4:

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.

Jolene knows what it’s like to be in the shoes of those she aims to comfort.  In this short interview, Jolene opens a window into the heart of a parent but also the heart of a Servant Writer who’s using her story to serve the needs of others.  Leave a comment or a question for Jolene at the end of this interview and enter to win one of three copies of A Different Dream for My Child.

Can you briefly tell our readers what inspired you to write A Different Dream for My Child? Read more

Interview with Fiction Writer, Melanie Dobson

Recently, I was talking with some college students about their summer fiction reading.  ”I often wonder how the book was born,” said one of them.  I’ve often asked that question myself.  In this interview, we get the chance to find out how a special work of fiction was born from the author herself, as well as what is her mission as a writer.

As you read Melanie Dobson’s interview, can you think of any other questions you would like to ask?  Leave a comment for her below and enter a chance to win a free copy of her novel in the month of Septermber.

Could you tell us about your latest novel?

Love Finds You in Liberty, Indiana is part the new Summerside Press line featuring stories set in small towns across the country. This novel is about a Quaker woman named Anna Brent who runs a station on the secretive Underground Railroad in 1850 until her work is threatened by a slave hunter searching for a runaway girl.

I thoroughly enjoyed researching and writing this book, but even more exciting than writing it was going to Liberty and meeting the delightful people of this town. Several of them welcomed me into their home and let me crawl around in the secret places where the runaway slaves once hid. Read more

Book Beginnings: A Different Dream for My Child

A Different Dream for My Child: Meditations for Parents of Critically or Chronically Ill Children is Jolene Philo’s first book.  In this “Book Beginnings” preview, Jolene shares a taste of what promises to be an inspirational and perspective-changing look at this jouney.

When my editor emailed the final cover design for my book, A Different Dream for My Child: Meditations for Parents of Critically or Chronically Ill Children. I opened it, and chills ran down my spine.

The picture of two hands, those of a parent and child, caused the first chill. For months, a similar image had flashed into my mind whenever I tried to picture the book’s cover. The second chill came when I realized the book title was intact. Because of its length, I expected it to be changed. But the designer arranged the title and subtitle so it flows beautifully.

The tiny teddy bear in the top, right corner of the cover made me gasp and brought on the third chill. The little bear was a dead ringer for the one our son received from a neighbor when, at almost three weeks old, he was released from neo-natal intensive care. The little brown bear had a red ribbon around its neck and music box key poking from its back. When our fragile baby, still recovering from surgery, lay in his infant carrier, we would wind the key and perch the bear in front of Allen. Read more

The Most Important Question We Will Ever Ask

“Why?”

Yes, the most important question we will ever ask is “why?”  Or better yet, “Can you help me understand?”

If you read my recent book review of The Noticer by Andy Andrews, and the subsequent update I added yesterday, you’ll discover that today’s post echoes the central theme of the book: “Sometimes, all a person needs is a little perspective.”

For the last five years, I have been trying to influence college students to question what they see, hear, or read. When we question — in the true spirit of wanting to know and understand — we are willing to withhold judgment until we have a complete picture or a clear perspective.

Today, with Andy’s permission, I want to share a note he wrote back when I asked “why?” At first, I tried to excerpt the note to give you the gist of his response, but then I realized that the sincerity and concern with which he wrote would be lost.  So I include the entire piece.

Why share this personal note? Read on… Read more

Why I Write…

“Words are powerful. They help us process both the joys and the struggles of life. That’s why I write.

Words reflect who we are: parents, teachers, sons, daughters, children of the King. Words revive us when the hard bits of life, the struggles and the sorrows, tempt us to despair. Words allow us to rejoice and to share the lessons we learn in every circumstance, even the hard ones.”

~ Jolene Philo
www.jolenephilo.com

Stay tuned for an upcoming glimpse into Jolene’s first book, A Different Dream for My Child: Meditations for Parents of Critically or Chronically Ill Children, scheduled for release in September 2009 by Discovery House Publishers.

Question: Why do you write? Share your thoughts below.

Related Reading:

1. The Dusty Drawer: A Call to Write

2. Communicating the Vision: An Interview with Kathi Macias

3. From ‘Samaritan Woman’ to ‘Anna’: An Interview with Jeanne Sant

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