Counting Blessings...And Making It Count

Yes, I know, it's been ages since I've posted! But I was on vacation, and I made a strict rule for myself this year that I wouldn't do a thing for those two weeks but relax and rejuvenate. The beach is an incredible place to do that!

But I'm back to reality... and back to the blog.

Something that struck me while I was away is how cliche the phrase "Count your blessings" has become. It tends to be something someone says just after you've complained about a frustration, right? For instance, you tell a co-worker that your boss is driving you crazy, and she clucks her tongue and replies, "Well, count your blessings."

It's then that you realize your mind isn't counting your blessings, but rather counting the ways you might be able to "accidentally" spill your coffee over said co-worker's blouse.

When good phrases are used improperly, they get all mashed up in the cliche mill and lose all real meaning. But this one should be pulled out and recycled. It's not a term to be used to chastise someone who is just letting off some steam or to avoid having to listen to someone's problems. It's a phrase that we should consider in our own minds with complete sincerity, because if we don't take the time to notice our blessings we'll never know they even exist.

God tells us clearly in His Word that He wants to bless us, and yet we very often don't feel blessed. Mostly, we feel overwhelmed, overworked, and taken for granted. We don't notice all the little blessings the Lord showers down on us each day. But when we do notice them, we see that they're not so little after all because those blessings show how much we are loved, how much we are cared for, and how little all the other stuff that occupies our mind really matters.

So while I was at the beach these last two weeks, I made a point of going over my blessings at the end of the day. Beautiful weather, good books to read, spotting dolphins, a lightning storm over the ocean, the best fudge I've ever tasted, finding just the right souvenir for someone, laughing, great memories, good restaurants - anything that blessed me in any way, I made note of.

In the grand scheme of things, I deserve nothing. I really haven't done anything for Him but make it necessary that He sacrifice everything to pay the penalty of my sin, and yet He just keeps giving and giving.

And I keep missing it.

So I'm determined to train my mind to see; to stop letting the world and its weight pull my eyes away from what's happening around me everyday. I'm determined to recycle that much-used phrase and make it worthwhile again. I challenge you to do the same.

I just counted about a dozen blessings already today and I've only been up for three hours. Who knows what the rest of the day will bring?!

Books and Cheesecake

Ever look at your work-in-progress and think, "This is all wrong! I need to scrap it and start over"? Been there. In fact, my latest, Catching Moondrops, has made me think that once or twice.

This weekend has been all about writing, trying to firm up the timeline for Catching Moondrops. It's been a crazy ride so far with this book. There are so many things to sew up for the series, and yet I still need to have a strong stand-alone plot. Trying to get things lined up in the right order at the right tempo has been tough!

I've gotten worked up, binged on chocolate, stared at the blinking cursor until my eyes cross - but I've always known deep down it would work out. Each time I rearrange, cut or add to the story I know I'm getting closer to the right formula.

So if you're struggling, take some time to think it over, pray it over. Maybe you do need to scrap it, but the likelihood is... you don't. Maybe all you need is a break, a little change in perspective, another set of eyes, a slice of cheesecake. Whatever. Just take a couple steps back and breathe. Then tinker with it a bit, whether in your head or on the page, and see if the pieces start to fall into the right places. I'll bet they do. And then, I'll bet you find yourself pounding away at the keyboard before you know it.

But if you do, pass that cheesecake over here.

Thanks to everyone who participated in Friday's blog tour for Cottonwood Whispers!

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Thanks for spreading the word!

CWG Contest Deadline!

All right, unpublished authors, it's time to head toward the finish line with that work in progress!

October 1st marks the deadline for the Christian Writers Guild's Operation First Novel contest, and you won't want to miss it! I speak from personal experience... it's a HUGE opportunity. As I'm sure you're well aware, there's a very small crack in that publishing door these days, and slipping your foot in there can be excruciatingly difficult. Operation First Novel gives you the chance to have your novel considered for publication by Tyndale House publishers. It's how I got my shot, and it may be how you get yours, too.

So what are you waiting for? Get that book out by October 1st... and let me know how it goes!

ACFW Conference

If you're a writer looking for a way to learn about the industry, make contacts or polish your craft, writer's conferences are a great place to do all three... and more! The American Christian Fiction Writer's conference is coming up lickety-split (as Jessilyn would say)! Learn more below.


STANDING FIRM...MOVING FORWARD
"Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord,
forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord."
1 Corinthians 15:58 (KJV)
DENVER, COLORADO
SEPTEMBER 17 - 20, 2009

Bestselling authors, publishing industry representatives, and newcomers to Christian fiction writing will gather in Denver at the American Christian Fiction Writer’s annual conference September 17-20 to compare notes, learn from each other, and encourage one another in the pursuit of publishing goals.
This year’s conference theme , Standing Firm…Moving Forward, will especially inspire the full range of talent and dreams in the ever-changing publishing world today.
This amazing conference will feature representatives from major publishing houses like B & H, Guideposts, Zondervan, Harvest House, Barbour, Steeple Hill, Summerside Press, Bethany House, Waterbrook Multnomah, Marcher Lord Press, Tyndale House, and Thomas Nelson, and top literary agents who will meet with writers and identify promising proposals from both new and veteran novelists. Conferees will have access to publishing panels, professional critiques, and customized workshops based on skills and interests.
The keynote speaker is New York Times bestselling author, Debbie Macomber, who has more than 100 million copies of her books in print worldwide.
Learn more about the American Christian Fiction Writer’s Conference by visiting http://www.acfw.com/. Click on the left sidebar on Annual Conference.

Cottonwood Whispers Release

Cottonwood Whispers is officially available so grab your copy today!

Here's what people are saying -

Romantic Times 4-star review:
Strong character development strengthens the storyline and leaves the reader anticipating more novels, hopefully a sequel. Valent is a gifted author with a promising future...

TitleTrakk.com:
In the four years since the events of Fireflies in December, Jessilyn Lassiter has grown into a young woman of seventeen. She’s still the feisty, head-strong character we remember, but almost killing a man and facing an angry KKK mob has a way of forcing a girl to grow up fast.
Read more...

Dallas Christian Fiction Examiner:
Cottonwood Whispers is the latest offering from Jennifer Erin Valent and the sequel to her first novel, Fireflies in December.It’s 1936 and Jessilyn Lassiter is seventeen years old. While the last four years since her family’s encounter with the Ku Klux Klan have been relatively peaceful, this summer brings changes that threaten to tear her world apart.
Read more...

Lori's Book Reviews:
Jennifer Erin Valent, winner of the Christian Writers Guild’s 2007 Operation First novel award winner, does it again. Cottonwood Whispers, the sequel to Fireflies in December, continues the friendship between Jessilyn Lassiter and Gemma Teague. The summer of 1936 brings with it tragedy and heartache that threatens to tear their friendship apart.
Read more...

Armchair Interviews:
Cottonwood Whispers, Jennifer Valent’s second book, is a sequel to Fireflies in December. While this book is a sequel, it easily stands alone, without having read the first book. Author Valent has a wonderful storytelling ability that shines through the pages of this book.
Read more...

Baker Book House:
Cottonwood Whispers by Jennifer Erin Valent is the sequel to Fireflies in December. I am never sure about a sequel by a new author, with great delight I can tell you this is a good one.Our favorite nosy 13 year old is now turning 17 and getting ready for her last year of school. Jessilyn is facing many strange and different things.
Read more...

Monkey Magic

I like monkeys.

I like new shoes and chocolate, too, but that's beside the point. The point is monkeys fascinate me. (And I'm well aware of the fact that I'm using the term "monkey" for animals that may not technically be referred to as such. Let me post my disclaimer here that by virtue of my lack of primate knowledge, I will hereby refer to all monkey-type individuals by said generic term.)

I'm sure up close they smell unpleasant and have things crawling on them that I'd rather not know about, but from my seat at the zoo yesterday, eating my Cheez-its, I was amazed by them. The way they swing around on their apparatus with such incredible ease is a feat that would undoubtedly leave me in traction for six months. Which makes me confident in saying that playground monkey bars are poorly named. There is no human being on this planet that can swing around like those babies.

And the noises they make! We seriously have no right telling kids, "A monkey says, 'Ooh, ooh, aah, aah'". They without doubt do not sound like that. What I heard yesterday was far more phenomenal, and I can assure you I have never heard pipes like that in my life. They could be heard all over the park, hollering back and forth like a primate version of the Jerry Springer Show.

Combined with an occasional cry from a myriad of other animals, I could close my eyes and picture myself in the jungle. There was a slight breeze, water lapping in the moat around the monkey island, and enough bird cries for me to envision Tarzan swinging past me on vines. If it hadn't been for the kids crunching their peanut butter crackers, I would have been sold.

So why do I tell you about my monkey-happy trip to an imaginary jungle? Because that's just what it takes sometimes to get a scene right. When I'm stumped, there's no better way for me to shake off the writer's block than to find myself a good setting and just listen. That way, I can picture myself somewhere other than at my desk in the same place I've worked from a zillion times before.

You should give it a try sometime. Writing about a busy city street? Sit outside a Starbucks in the city. Quiet countryside? Find a nice park. A stormy day? A little more difficult, but it can be done. Get yourself one of those noise machines or a CD of thunderstorms. (Yes, they have those!) Whatever works. But sound is so useful for stimulating an imagination. Just think about how hungry you can get when you hear someone opening a candy bar wrapper.

Or is that just me?

Anyway, the idea is that finding some inspiration in our daily lives can sometimes be difficult so every now and again we have to manufacture our own inspiration. If we're already using said imagination to manufacture a setting in a book, why not use it to manufacture the setting we need to get into the right mood in the first place?

In writing Catching Moondrops, I'm back in Southern Virginia with Jessilyn, right smack in the middle of a long hot summer, and I was recently stumped on a scene that had to take place at night. So I went outside at dusk, closed my eyes and - with the help of some accommodating cicadas, crickets and frogs - pictured that entire scene in my head from start to finish. Then once I had a handle on it, I went inside to my desk, left the light off and wrote the scene in the dark just to keep me in that mode.

And voila! Scene accomplished, just like that. It's amazing what a little of nature's night music can do to a writer's imagination. Makes sense, really, when we think about the fact that the Creator of the universe is also the Creator of creativity. And what a masterpiece of ingenuity this universe is. There's so much out there to spur us on!

Now if only I was writing about monkeys...

A Picture Worth 80,000 Words

When I was young, there was a tree in our front yard that was fully encompassed by a Wisteria vine. The vine was huge, like a tree itself really, and formed a perfect seat up in the tree where I could sit and watch the purple petals fall around me. I loved it!

Which is why the cover of Cottonwood Whispers particularly hit home for me when I first saw it. I could have been that girl sitting under that tree with those cottony tufts floating around me, perfectly happy to sit there and enjoy it. But when I received my first copy of the finished product last week, the cover blew me away all over again.

When I write, I try to make it the best book I can, and it's a wonderful feeling to be confident that those I'm working with are doing the same thing on my behalf. So thanks to Dean Renninger for creating the perfect cover! And thanks to everyone at Tyndale (Stephanie Broene, Sarah Mason, Maggie Rowe and Babette Rea, just to name a few) who worked so hard to make Cottonwood Whispers the best it could be!


Cottonwood Whispers releases September 1st! Check it out online at Christianbook.com, Amazon.com, etc. And watch for it in stores next month.