New Blood at COTT!

Clash of the Titles is excited to announce that we're adding a brand new staff member to our leadership board. :-)

Everybody…we’d like to introduce you to Joanna Davidson Politano!

Welcome, Joanna!

Bio:
With a journalism degree from Trinity International University, Joanna served as a medical writer in the pharmaceutical industry before branching into freelance work. She then accepted a writing and editing position with a Christian publishing company in Chicago, and currently serves as the editor for their Junior High Sunday school publication. She lives with her daughter and husband in Indiana, where she writes novels based on true stories.

Joanna is a current Double Genesis Semi-Finalist in the Historical category! Asked about her writing journey, this is what Joanna had to say:

"I’ve been writing since I could read, but I can pinpoint the exact moment I began novel writing. It was when my grandma shocked me with the story of our family’s past. How could this have happened in our traditional, predictable, church-going family? At the time, I worked for a pharmaceutical company writing package insert material, but this family story drew me to my computer every night for a year, rattling around in my head until I’d written out the whole novel. I simply couldn’t stop thinking about it. I eventually moved to a job at a Christian nonfiction publisher, but I still spent hours absorbing the stories of the shut-in elderly, or nursing home residents who had lived through eras in our history I could only read about in books.

Fascinated by World War II love stories, family secrets, and amazing stories of God’s sovereignty, I kept returning for more. But I was not just interested in finding book ideas. Honestly, what drove me to write these novels was more than a simple love for story—it was a tenderness I felt for people overlooked by everyone else. These fascinating stories came from nursing home residents who had no visitors, or people confined to their home by age or illness. They’d been brushed aside by everyone—even the families they’d raised.

After introductions and polite small talk, I delved into the question that transformed these visits into unforgettable experiences—“what’s your story?” Their faces lit as they told me stories so rich in detail and real-life experiences it beat out any movie or book.

So yes, I write novels. But really, I hear people’s stories and then write them down to be remembered long after the story teller is gone. When God called me into this life of novel writing, He didn’t promise publication or to impact thousands with the words I wrote. He simply wanted me to see the forgotten people He loved, and to appreciate their lives."

Doesn’t that make you want to know their stories too? Joanna also talked to us about her sweet family and what’s going on in her writing life currently:

"My husband has been my biggest supporter in the whole process. Mainly because he’s blunt enough to tell me exactly what’s great and what’s not, and because he pushes me to finish what I start. We currently live in our house in the woods with our new baby daughter Elena and will be celebrating our two-year anniversary next month. I have no doubt he’s a blessing from God.

I’m currently working on a novel about a finishing school teacher who teaches her students about men rather than elocution. When she realizes her students are headed for the controlling, male-dominated marriages that characterized the times, Orla sets out to teach these girls the truth about how to understand men and how they think. Armed with knowledge, they have a chance at choosing the right man—although not always the wealthiest, as the school boasts—and surviving marriage happily as part of an equal team. But this local expert on men is hiding her own complicated, broken love life to keep her job.

I can’t wait to dive into COTT. With all the contests out there, I love the uniqueness of having readers judge the work. After all, they’re our real audience! I hope to help further the mission statement of glorifying God and to make COTT even more helpful to those who love Christian fiction—both the readers and the writers."

We are so blessed and excited to have you on board, Joanna!

You can leave a message welcoming Joanna in the comments below. And feel free to check out her website at  Joannadavidson.com 

Spotlight on Historical Romance Favorite, Lena N. Dooley

 

Prolific author Lena Nelson Dooley has done it again! She's released yet another stunning historical romance. The COTT Blog Alliance is honored to feature her latest work, Catherine's Pursuit. It is book three in the McKenna's Daughters series and follows Maggie's Journey and Mary's Blessing.

"A heartwarming tale filled with history, adventure, faith, and love." --Lisa Wingate, bestselling and award-winning author of Dandelion Summer and Firefly Island

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Raised by her father, Catherine McKenna has never lacked for anything, surrounded by people to take

care of her every need. On her eighteenth birthday she discovers that not only did her mother die when she was born, but she has two identical sisters. Although her father vowed not to look for his daughters, Catherine made no such promise. Setting out on her own with one clue and her maid in tow, she's determined to find her sisters.

Collin Elliott has seen better days. After losing his ship to a violent and unexpected storm, he is trying to recover--physically and emotionally. When Angus McKenna sends him to find, follow, and protect his daughter, he wants nothing more than to finish his task and return home. Can he help her find her sisters?

And will the discoveries they make along the way teach them both what's most important in life?

PURCHASE ON:

AMAZON

CBD

NOOK

A Blogger's Review of the Catherine's Pursuit:

What a great book! As Lisa Wingate says on the front cover, it is indeed a “heartwarming tale.” The story is fully satisfying (once you reach the end) and provides a complete conclusion for the McKenna’s Daughters series. While I still haven’t had the chance to read book 2, Mary’s Blessing, I did read and greatly enjoy book 1, Maggie’s Journey – incidentally, I think #1 had my favorite cover…but this one is a close second. They’re all so neat! Anyway, back to Catherine…this book isn’t a stand-alone, but even though I’ve missed book 2, I didn’t have trouble following (though there were a few parts that weren’t clear because I hadn’t read it yet). Moral of the story – read both of the first ones before this one if at all possible. There are some series where you would be totally lost if all you read was book 3, but that’s not quite true here. Catherine was a lovely girl and made for a gutsy heroine. I loved the historical detail that seemed to be worked into each scene throughout the book, especially the travel scenes. This is a fascinating story and one I think you’ll enjoy!
-Charity at http://austenitis.blogspot.com

A bit about Lena:

Award-winning author, Lena Nelson Dooley, has more than 700,000 books in print.
Helping other authors become published really floats her boat, with over 20 signing their first book contract after her mentoring. Three of her books have been awarded the Carol Award silver pins, and she has received the ACFW Mentor of the Year award. The high point of her day is receiving feedback from her readers, especially people whose lives have been changed by her books.

The Snowflake Guy

It's a busy day in the Massaro household so I am treating you to a repost of one of my favorite topics:

Today I want to talk about Randy Ingermanson's Snowflake Method.

The what?

The Snowflake Method. Some of you may have heard of it before, but for those who haven’t, let me give you a crash course. (Then go check out the full explanation)!

Okay- what IS it and why should I care?

The Snowflake Method is an organized process for writing a novel. Perfect for split-brains like me. By that I mean that it marries my creative side with my structured, list-loving side. So if you love algebra and poetry (like I do) this will appeal to you.

In fact, I give the Snowflake a big chunk of credit in getting Beauty for Ashes from my mind to the page in the first place. Maybe you can relate to this. See, I had the basic idea for my novel for YEARS before writing it. I sometimes scribbled down thoughts about setting and characters, but always stopped short of BEGINNING THE MANUSCRIPT. It was too daunting. I didn’t have the time. I would drown if I began swimming across the vast ocean of the novel-writing process. Anyone been there? That all changed for me with two things: Stephanie Myers’ inspiring story of “getting it done”, and Randy Ingermanson’s Snowflake Method.

So… how does it work?

Basically, the Snowflake starts with the bare bones of your story and gradually fleshes it out layer by layer, step by step. For example, Step 1 is to spend an hour writing a one sentence summary of your story. Here are my early attempts:

• A man loses everything, including his faith, in a deadly fire and struggles to put the pieces of his life back together again.
• One man’s journey to find peace after losing his family and his faith in a deadly fire.
• When a deadly fire destroys his family and his faith, one man questions whether God has forgotten him, or if He exists at all.
Later, I settled on a much shorter version:
• A young man struggles to regain his faith after losing everything in a deadly fire.

Now, none of these is what I would choose to use now that the book is finished, but it was a good start- and wonderful practice on boiling down the plot. (You’ll wrestle with that job for weeks or even months after the book is written when you want to start querying agents.)

Step 2 has you writing a 3-Act paragraph (just a single paragraph!). This is what I ended up with for mine:

Jonathon Douglas’ future looked bright- he had a beautiful young wife, a job he loved, and a faith in God that couldn’t be shaken- what more could he want? But his life goes into a tailspin when a deadly fire rips through his town and burns his future to the ground. Stripped of everything he ever held dear, he turns his back on God to embrace a life of lonely days and wild nights in Las Vegas. There, Jonathon hits bottom and discovers that God had been with him all along. As he begins to rebuild his life and discover a new future in California, his days of hard living catch up with him and threaten everything once again. But this time he chooses to cling to his faith and trust in God to carry him through.

Keep in mind that I wrote this paragraph long before I wrote the actual story. It’s pretty good! I used much of this same verbiage in my later summary and query letter attempts. The fact that this paragraph is still so accurate speaks volumes to me about the value and efficiency of the Snowflake. Granted, it is way too vague and full of clichés. I know a lot more now than I did back then about writing. But how exciting it was to see my story coming to life before it was even written! There’s no greater motivation than that.

Later in the process, you will take each sentence of that single-paragraph-summary and expand it into its OWN paragraph so that you get a full page summary. Do you see the snowflake appearing?

Interesting! Is there more?

Oh yes! Randy’s method takes you all the way through the entire writing process including scene charting and extensive character development. But what’s great about the Snowflake is that you don’t have to remain glued to it the whole way through. If all you need is a kick-start to get you going, these initial steps are perfect for the job. I started out using the scene spreadsheets he recommends but later let them go, not that I would pooh-pooh them. Once I began getting my first couple of chapters on paper, I just plunged ahead full-steam and no longer felt the need to check in with Randy on what I should be doing next. But if I’d needed to, he would have been there.

So will you use it again next time?

I cannot imagine writing a novel without at least using the basics of the Snowflake. I highly recommend using it if you are stuck on your half-finished novel, or have never started writing because you didn’t know where to start. If you don’t like starting a journey without knowing exactly where you’re going (see me raising my hand?), this is a must-have tool. The basic Snowflake Method article is absolutely FREE on Randy’s website. FREE! So no excuses! If that’s all you have, it’s enough. But he does offer a lot more, and with his track record it’s worth a looksie.

So check out his website, follow his blog, sign up for his FREE e-zine, and please let him know that I sent you!
**

Welcome!

Well, this is really a welcome to myself- a welcome to the world of blogging. I'm just as surprised as you are; I never thought I'd be a blogger, but here I am!

Those who know me well know that over the past couple of years I have been working on writing a novel. What started out as just an interesting story idea has taken on a life of its own and become something I am really excited about. Now that it's complete, I am learning a lot about things like query letters, taglines, agents and editors. It's quite an adventure!

So, this is the place where you can follow my journey as I try to get published. If you are a writer yourself, perhaps you'll benefit from reading about my experiences. If you're a friend or family member, this is the place that will answer the question "Hey, whatever happened with that book you wrote?" From time to time I may even have guest bloggers share their thoughts, tips/advice, devotions, or amusing anecdotes.

Here's to the journey!