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 contract was for my first young adult novel Summer Sanctuary (Luminis Books/Spring 2010).  One of the benefits of signing with a small, independent book company is that I really did have some negotiating power. Read more

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

Next Page »