Destined Blog Tour - Day One

PATRICIA HALEY is the trailblazing, #1 Essence bestselling author of seven faith-based, novels, including Let Sleeping Dogs Lie, No Regrets, and Chosen. She’s a project manager with degrees from Stanford University and the University of Chicago. She is a born again believer and a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority. Patricia lives with her husband and daughter in Philadelphia.

Visit her on www.patriciahaley.com or become a fan of Author Patricia Haley on Facebook.

Hello Pat, list your published books. List your published books. Destined, Chosen, Let Sleeping Dogs Lie, Still Waters, Blind Faith, No Regrets, Nobody’s Perfect.

Which book did you find the hardest to birth?

Once I decided on my storyline, all of my books flowed during the writing process. I’ve never had writer’s block. However, if I had to select one as the hardest to birth, it would be my second novel, No Regrets. I figured the first book might have been a fluke and was wondering if I could do it again, write another. Fortunately for me I finished number two and five more since then.

Which book is your current favorite?

Of all the books that I’ve written, there is no personal favorite. Like a proud parent, I love each of my literary ‘babies’ in a special and unique way for different reasons. I can, however, say unequivocally that my husband loves No Regrets. The touching ending puts it in the category of a tear jerker, and my husband longs for the day when it will be made into a movie.

How would you describe your writing style?
Easy, modern day storytelling with a clean, faith based twist that always has an element of humor, forgiveness, family bonds, and real life challenges.

Do you listen to music while you write? If so, what kind?
I personally love jazz and listen to Miles Davis, Marcus Roberts, Sherry Wilson-Butler, and sometimes Billie Holiday and Minnie Riperton.

Tell us anything about you as a writer that you think might be interesting or unusual.
An interesting bit of information about me is that I am a huge basketball fan. I can probably name the championship winners all the way back to 1988. I didn’t play on the team during high school but I sure love going to the amusement park or Chuck E Cheese with my daughter and heading straight for the basketball games. Believe it or not, I do win sometimes.

What advice do you have for aspiring writers?
The best way to get started as a writer is to get the first word on the page. Commit yourself to doing the hard work of drafting your manuscript, editing, and improving but never forget to enjoy the journey. Don’t measure your success, financial compensation, or goals with those of other people. Everybody writes for their own unique purpose. Each writer has to figure out theirs.

Writers are often encouraged to write what they know. Have you found that to be the case with your writing? I believe that writers definitely write what they know in the beginning. However, the concept of ‘what you know’ might come from life experience, research, dreams, speculation, stereotypes, stories from other people, and so on. In the beginning, I guess I wrote what I knew to a large degree, but as my grasp of the craft evolved, I learned to focus on creating dynamic characters and let them tell their story, expanding beyond the realm of ‘what I know’.

About the Book

Destined by Patricia Haley is the second novel in the Chosen series, inspired by the popular biblical kings David and Solomon.

Don, the eldest son and rightful heir to the ministry, returns from South Africa after three years of self-imposed exile. With a renewed zeal to reclaim the leadership of his late father’s multi-million dollar ministry, his plans are short-lived when a stock transfer agreement goes wrong, rendering Don powerless. Don’s little brother Joel continues as CEO, careening down the path of personal, professional, and spiritual demise, as he drags the ministry down with him. The only hope to save their father’s legacy is Don’s intervention, and so clinging to his self-worth and faith, Don is torn between fighting for a company he wasn’t chosen to run and fleeing back to his South African refuge, a place where his peace, his growing relationship with Naledi, and his dignity aren’t in question. After much soul searching, Don comes to realize that his destiny is inescapable and that his future lies in his family’s legacy.

Combining spiritual themes with family tension, corporate intrigue, and romance, this series is an exciting addition to the faith-based fiction market.

View the blog tour schedule and read an excerpt at

http://bit.ly/DestinedBlogTour

Daddy's Delight Blog Tour - Day 2

Daddy’s Delight 

KARIA BUNTING is an expository Bible teacher whose mission is to communicate the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ so that people are saved, and disciples are developed. She is the founder of Focused Forward Ministries, a communication and media ministry, and a member of several community and ministry organizations. She also partners with her husband, George, in his management & financial consulting company.

Karia received her master’s degree from Dallas Theological Seminary and a doctorate from Louisiana Baptist Theological Seminary. She’s currently receiving a second doctorate from the University of Texas. She serves as an adjunct professor at Dallas Baptist University and enjoys ministering the Word and its’ principles through her lecture series and power lunches held throughout the year.

Karia and George, her husband of 26 years, live in Dallas, Texas where she teaches the Word weekly in the women’s Bible study at Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship. Mother of three children, Karia is also a mentor to many young women. She enjoys reading, writing, and spending time with family and friends.

Visit her Dr. Karia online at focusedforwardministries.org.

List your published books

Daddy’s Delight:  Embracing Your Divine Design, is my first published book.  

Which book did you find the hardest to birth?

This is my first book, but it was not difficult to birth.  I had been taking notes on the subject of Spiritual Authority while I was working on my Doctorate in Theology, and the exegesis I did for that formed the basis for this book.

How would you describe you writing style?

I am an expository Bible teacher, so my writing style is expository.  What that means is that the framework, or outline, let’s say of my work is from a thorough exposition of scripture.  Then, I apply the Biblical principles to life, and explain the principles through a generous application of anecdote.  On occasion I create stories or characters with whom the reader can relate that demonstrate the principle.   

I suppose when it comes to the short vignettes, and the limited fiction embedded in the text, that was birthed in academia as well.  My second doctoral program is in humanities, and a part of that program is the study of literature, and of course writing plays, screenplays, and that kind of thing.  So, because I have practiced so much screenplay writing the creative side of the brain has been well-exercised!  Thinking of relevant vignettes just came for me, word after word, I think.  I never knew, in those, what the next word I wrote would be.  And those stayed pretty much verbatim, even through the editing process.     

Do you listen to music while you write?  If so, what kind?

Absolutely not!  Friend, I cannot stand to have any sound whatsoever around me when I write.  I am easily distracted.  The click of another keyboard in the room can help me loose a thought.  So I like to go to bed and get up really early in the morning before anyone else is up and write.  Or write when no one else is in the home at all. 

But recently, I have had to learn to do some writing with people are around, and go back and clean it up later.  But writing flows when no one is there,  and that is much easier for me. 

Tell us anything about you as a writer that you think might be interesting or unusual.

There was an old song from, maybe, the 80’s, and the words were,  “She’s strange, and I like it.  She’s strange – just the way she moves….”  I think it was sung by Cameo.  My husband sings that song to me.  And it probably is true.  I probably am strange, but I don’t care, really.  I lose everything .   I couldn’t organize a closet if you paid me.  So when I sit down to write, there is nothing organized about it.  After I make my exegetical outline based on the Word of God, I write whatever comes to mind in whatever order comes to mind, bringing into the manuscript whatever additional scripture  comes to mind.  The structure of the text of the work doesn’t really change from there.  And the structure works, it is clear.    I think I learned that from academia as well.  I have 17 years of graduate study under my belt.  So now, no matter what it is, I just sit down and write.  I’m trying to download all this stuff in my brain, and put it in a place where it can help someone else.    

What advice do you have for aspiring writers?

Read everything, and concentrate on something.  That way, you have more to say than your area of expertise.  You cannot write anything that you are not.  So be more.

And then be relevant.  Whether you are talking about modern fiction, or canonical works like that of Hawthorn,   good fiction is related to what is important to the culture at the time that it is written.  It is also sensitive to the constraints and the imagination of the culture.  What is the culture thinking that it has not articulated?  What are its’ pent up frustrations or fears?  In its’ greatest imagination, what would it do, and about what?  What does it really want?  Really need?  Investigate that, and if you are interested, talk about it. 

Now in inspirational non-fiction, this is the most important thing:  that you love your reader.  Love the reader enough, first, not to waste her time.  If you don’t have anything to add to what has already been said, wait until you do.  Expand your reader’s base of information.    Let their life be impacted by reading your book in a way that it can’t be impacted by any other book. 

If you don’t love your reader, you  can’t help her.   As for me, I pray that I love God’s people passionately.  You may have your own way.  But for me, the book is a means to an end – the end of the reader having a better life.

Love will make me sacrifice my time and sleep.  Love will drive me to give people what they need – what they really need.  Love makes my life not about me.  Being loved by God is how I live – how I get through.  And loving God’s people through my work is what I am called to do.  It has to be that way for anybody God will use to truly change people’s life through non– fiction.    Good non-fiction is love funneled through knowledge by means of language.  

Writers are often encouraged to write what they know.  Have you found that to be the case with your writing?

Yes.  I know the Bible, and that is really all I write about.  Communication of the Word is the point of what I do, without regard to genre.  And this book, particularly, I know not only epistemologically, but personally.  I have lived this book.  I know the Word as presented in this book is true, both because I trust the God who gave the Word, but as you will see as you read the book, because I have lived the principles over the course of my life. They work. 

About the Book

In Daddy’s Delight, Dr. Karia Bunting reminds women that they are God’s workmanship, His masterpiece, His “poema”. That God has intricately woven together every fiber of their being and created each one special and unique. That God, having completed His work of art, gave her to mankind as a gift.

Evident in this great care God took in fashioning woman is the importance and value of each one. So why do so many women struggle with God’s design, wishing they could change just this or that one thing about themselves?

Dr. Bunting challenges each reader to accept and embrace the truth that, regardless of what season of life she’s in, she is God’s masterpiece-not her own work of art. When God sees her, He sees His beautiful creation. A creation that yes, has some wrinkles needing to be smoothed out and yet, is one in whom is His delight to love to perfection.

View the blog tour schedule and read an excerpt at

http://bit.ly/DaddysDelight.

Selling My Soul Blog Tour - Day One

Sherri Lewis’ writing was put on hold while she attended Howard University as an undergraduate, then medical school at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. After working almost fifteen years in the medical field, Sherri left her position as a staff physician at a Georgia Department of Corrections’ Women’s prison to pursue writing and ministry full time.

Sherri is co-founder of the Faith-Based Black Fiction Writers of Atlanta with Essence Best-Selling author Tia McCollors. Selling My Soul is the anticipated sequel to Sherri’s debut novel, My Soul Cries Out. She lives in Atlanta, Georgia.  Visit Sherri online at www.sherrilewis.com.

List your published books.

 My Soul Cries Out, Dance Into Destiny, The List, and Selling My Soul.

Which book did you find the hardest to birth?

 I would have to say that My Soul Cries Out was the hardest to birth. It deals with the controversial issue of homosexuality in the church. It was scary to deal with such a taboo issue and I anticipated all sorts of hate mail after its release. It was also difficult to write because I had to face my own personal prejudices to find the heart of God to be able to write the book.

Which book is your current favorite?

I love all my books because they’re like my children and it’s hard to say I like one more than another. The one that was the most fun to write was The List. It deals with successful single women trying to find their soul mate and is pure comedy mixed with some good teaching on love, life, and relationships.

How would you describe your writing style?

I write edgy Christian women’s fiction that deals with real issues and goes deep into the heart of the characters. It’s not preachy or churchy but displays life lived in intimate relationship with God. I hope that my writing challenges my readers to look at their own lives, their faith, their relationship and intimacy with God and whether they’re living their God ordained purpose and destiny.

Do you listen to music while you write? If so, what kind?

 I almost always listen to music while I write. I usually listen to instrumental jazz or neo-soul music because it creates the perfect atmosphere for creative release. I can’t really listen to gospel music while I write because I get distracted by listening to the lyrics.  

Tell us anything about you as a writer that you think might be interesting or unusual.

I look like a CRAZY person while I’m writing. I could get locked up if I’m writing at one of my favorite coffee shops. I have my iPod blaring and I’m either talking out loud to the characters in my head, staring at the computer screen with my squinted eyes or I’m reading out loud to hear how the story is flowing. I really connect with my characters and let them tell their own story. 

What advice do you have for aspiring writers?

Study the craft. Anyone can tell a story, but it’s those that study the art of writing that can tell a story well. Read every book you can get your hand on about voice, plot, self-editing, characterization, point of view, etc. – all things that will help you tell a story well. Also, if you’re approaching an author for advice, make sure you’ve done some research on your own first. It proves that you’re serious about what you’re doing and makes us more likely to help you. General questions like “how do I get published” or “what advice can you give me about writing” are too hard to answer in an email. Ask a specific question that shows that you’ve done some work. AND, if you go to an author’s book signing or vending table at an event, if you want to ask a million questions and get their advice about writing, at LEAST buy a book to show your support. 

Writers are often encouraged to write what they know. Have you found that to be the case with your writing?  Absolutely. Writing my first three books was like therapy for me. Dance Into Destiny dealt with my own struggle to live a life of purpose and destiny and to pursue my dreams rather than my parents’. My Soul Cries Out was my experience with divorce as a Christian woman. I didn’t deal with homosexuality in my marriage, but the pain of betrayal is the same in any situation. The List was my life as a Christian single on the dating scene and showed how hilarious and painful that can be. Selling My Soul has now become my story. The book is about a woman returning from a missionary trip in Africa. When I wrote it, I had never set foot on African soil. Since I wrote it, I’ve been to West Africa twice and will be leaving again in a few months. To write the book, I did research by talking to missionary friends and reading books about missions. It’s scary how I wrote the book and then lived the experience, feeling a lot of the same things as the main character.

About the Book

When Trina Michaels steps off the plane after her two-year missions trip in Africa, she realizes that other than longing to see her mother and her best friend, her heart aches to fly back to the place that now feels more like home than anywhere she’s… ever lived. And to the man who’s stolen her heart.

Her dream of a quick return to Mozambique fades within hours when Trina discovers that her mother has been diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. Trina is forced to go back to her job as a publicist to cover her mother’s health costs.

She’s assigned a damage control client, Bishop Walker, a megachurch pastor accused of covering up a church sex scandal within his church involving the molestation of young boys. Representing him could cost Trina her most valued friendship, the love of her life, and her soul.

View the blog tour schedule and read an excerpt at http://bit.ly/SellingMySoulBlogTour

Selling My Soul by Sherri Lewis

When Trina Michaels steps off the plane after her two-year missions trip in Africa, she realizes that other than longing to see her mother and her best friend, her heart aches to fly back to the place that now feels more like home than anywhere she’s… ever lived. And to the man who’s stolen her heart.

Her dream of a quick return to Mozambique fades within hours when Trina discovers that her mother has been diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. Trina is forced to go back to her job as a publicist to cover her mother’s health costs.

She’s assigned a damage control client, Bishop Walker, a megachurch pastor accused of covering up a church sex scandal within his church involving the molestation of young boys. Representing him could cost Trina her most valued friendship, the love of her life, and her soul.

Click to read an excerpt:
Selling My Soul by Sherri L. Lewis (excerpt)

Sherri Lewis will having a blog tour. Sign up for updates about the tour by clicking here.

TyWebbin Creations

Today's literary service provider feature is about TyWebbin Creations. I've used TyWebbin for everything and found the owner to be the utlimate in creativity in professionalism. The owner, Ty Moody, has single-handedly created my virtual brand.

Hello Ty, thanks for being a part of this feature. Introduce yourself to the readers.
Tyora "Ty" Moody is a writer, graphic designer and online book promoter. For over ten years, she's specialized in marketing and design for authors and small businesses. As an avid bookworm, she has managed two book blogs, Christian Bookworm Reviews (est. 2002) and Written Voices Blog (est. 2006). She's the Books Editor for WOW! (Women of the Word) Magazine. Ty is a member of Sisters in Crime (SinC) and American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW). She writes romantic suspense and cozy mysteries. Her Christian faith is blended into every project, whether writing or design-related.

Tell us about your literary business.

That's interesting that you ask about my "literary business." I wouldn't call it that because I do on occasion still do design work for small businesses and non-profits. For some reason and only God knows, he steered this little bookworm to work more with authors. There are two key people in my life who set the stage for my working mainly in the literary realm, that's Marina Woods of GoodGirlBookClubOnline.com and Marlive Harris of TheGRITS.com. Both of these two women approached me in 2000 and they opened up a world of opportunities I couldn't have imagined.

Tywebbin Creations is a design and marketing company. On the design side, I do web design and graphic design. For web design, I design HTML-based sites or can set-up a customized blog for an author, whichever they prefer. My graphic design services include promotion items like bookmarks, business cards, postcards and electronic media kits. Last year, I started designing book covers which was something I had many authors ask me about doing over the years. On the marketing side of Tywebbin, I started coordinating virtual book tours in 2009. With the virtual book tours, I promote authors in the various realms of social media.

Who are your customers?
The majority of my customer base has always been authors. My first client back in 1999 was an author. I remember she kept sending me emails asking me did I build websites for others and I was real hesitant back then. I eventually put together the website for her and it's been amazing. Even clients who come to me with ministry-based sites often have a book or two that they desire to promote.

How did you get started?
I've been designing websites since 1997. The first website I started is one that still is online today, www.faithwebbin.net. A year after I started Faithwebbin, I started two other websites, one called DOEnetwork.com and the other AAKultureZone.com. DOEnetwork.com was probably the most popular site and I had met quite a few author and writer friends from the years 1998-2004. I decided in 2004 to let DOEnetwork.com go. That was a hard decision, but it opened up time I needed to let Tywebbin grow.

Like all business, there are ups and downs in publishing. The current economic downturn has caused a sharp reduction in book sales. How does this affect your business?
There has been a slight affect on the web design front. Over the past two years, I have re-designed my packages I offer so that I can fit an author's budget. Back in the day when I used to do a lot of maintenance work, these days I try to set-up sites in a way that allows the author much more control over pages that needed to be updated frequently. I also do more blog design work than I used to since blogs are usually easier and less expensive to set-up.

The virtual book tours are surprisingly popular and I continue to consult with authors all the time. I think it's because I offer quite a bit of services within the packages I offer. I prayed to not undercut my skills and time, but at the same time offer value with the pricing tiers I have set-up. I know how tight an author's budget can be and how hard it can be to balance promoting when you aren't an "online" person.

Share a rewarding or successful literary experience you’ve had recently.
It occurred to me as I coordinated blog tours for two anthologies earlier this year, I needed a way to represent as many of the contributing writers as possible. So, I added video services to Tywebbin. I just have to send a shout-out to the editors and contributing writers of Victorious Living for Women and SistahFaith. I was extraordinarily blessed and ministered to via both projects - and that's not something I expected while editing video late at night.

The experience reminded me of the types of books I've chosen to promote - Christian Fiction and Nonfiction. These books are about ministering, sharing the Gospel and planting a seed in someone who really needs to develop a relationship with God through his son Jesus. Sometimes it's easy to get so busy, you lose sight of your purpose. God's instilled in me technical skills and passion to be used as a vessel. It's a blessing and I pray to continue to always keep that in mind on every project.

Where do you see Tywebbin Creations in five years?
I mentioned above I added new services like the virtual book tours, book covers and video editing. Some independently-published authors have asked me about doing layouts for the inner pages of a book. That's something I have in my future consideration category. There are other areas I would love to explore - like e-books. I can see there is going to be a major shift in publishing with all the new devices like iPad, Nook and Kindle. Each of these devices will need a special way to format the book. I keep my eye on the publishing and online trends daily. It wasn't until 2007 that I really started to understand the value of social media. Life throws changes and curve balls at you and I plan to keep up. Me staying ahead, often helps me keep my clients ahead.

What do you enjoy reading? Any Christian Fiction favorites or recent notable reads?

I enjoy both Christian Fiction and Nonfiction. My favorite Christian Fiction writers are Sharon Ewell Foster, Claudia Mair Burney, Stacy Hawkins Adams and a certain debut novelist, Rhonda McKnight. :) It's no secret, my favorite genre is mystery and suspense. I love to read and write in this genre. Currently, I'm catching up on two of Terri Blackstock's book, Double Minds and Intervention.

I love reading or tacking bible studies from Beth Moore and Joyce Meyer.

Where can writers find you on the Internet?

Last year, I had a crash course on trying to brand myself. That wasn't easy to do since I'm all over the place. LOL! I now prefer to send people to www.TyoraMoody.com. You can pretty much access everything I do from that main page - including Tywebbin.com, my profile on Facebook.com, Twitter.com, etc.

Rhonda, thank you for the opportunity!

Glad to have you, Ty. Please visit Ty's website to see the website designs and graphic design projects Ty has completed. Including my website at www.rhondamcknight.net