Community Spotlight 5

Today, I have the pleasure of introducing you to two new members of our community. First up is Maria Morgan. Originally from Michigan, she and her husband migrated to Georgia where they and their daughter are happily serving God and avoiding the deep freeze winters. She blogs at Life Lessons. Maria has had articles published in Christian Womanhood, Up In Cumming and At the Center magazines. Welcome, Maria!

Now meet Jules. She blogs at Big Girl Bombshell where she writes most creatively about her work transitioning from an obsession for food into a healthy lifestyle. Jules, I sense a memoir seed growing in the articles you post. Your creativity is already helping many people see that body size issues are as much about attitude as about the scales.

Jules won our drawing for March. Jules will receive a copy of 24 Hours London from the author, Marsha Moore. (Marsha has a new book, 24 Hours Paris, coming out in mid May.) Congratulations, Jules. Please send me your mailing address so we can send you the book.

Blog stats may not interest anyone else, but I look at the stats for our table at the coffee shop about once every three months. It’s fun seeing a world map with visitors’ stick pins dotted all over the globe. Naturally, most of you come from North America, but some of you - from the United Kingdom, Australia and India - also frequently stop in at the table. Then we have one or two visitors from twenty-two other countries. Thanks to all of you for coming to the coffee shop. It would be no fun at all talking to myself!

As a final note, I want to bring to your attention that we’ve added two new “wheels not invented here” entries. Both of them link to sites offering similar electronic publishing options. The first one Lebrary.com you heard about from David Nicholls in the last post. The other one, Off the Bookshelf.com is located in New York. While both sites offer writers an open venue for publishing their works, the business model for each one is significantly different from the other. Since no one knows what the market may be for these services because they are so new, everyone should read the fine print and ask questions before using them. Having unrealizable expectations can be painful for both the authors and the reputation of the businesses.

Next time, we’ll look at the importance of voice in writing nonfiction. In the meantime, sit back and enjoy a cup of hot green tea, or whatever your favorite beverage happens to be.