Newsletters

SEVEN DAYS FROM CHRISTMAS. . .
And I hope you have all your shopping done so you can relax and enjoy the holiday. Like I said before, worship, spend time with your family, rejoice in the season. Don't be so overwhelmed with details that you forget what is most important.  It's Christmas for Pete's Sake!  ENJOY IT!

Having said that,
Merry Christmas from my family and from Eddie's family to yours.
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PAY CLOSE ATTENTION - DO NOT RESPOND TO ME VIA REPLY ON THIS EMAIL.  Please send any responses to me in a new email to [email protected]. With over 100 people responding the thread grows long and emails are missed. PLEASE ALWAYS SEND ME A NEW EMAIL WITH YOUR CONCERNS OR QUESTIONS.

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Crunch Time. . .
Again, it is vitally important that we collect in all the final payments. Pay Pal is giving me a little bit of a fit right now. I imagine they are weighed down with Christmas sales so generating reports is a little tricky right now. So here is what will happen. If I can't locate your payment, I'm going to contact you. This DOES NOT MEAN YOU HAVEN'T PAID...it just means Pay Pal is struggling right now and can't cough up the reports. It is the SEASON - right?  If you get a note from me. Just respond kindly. Don't be mad at me, or assume the worst. Just know I don't have everything at my fingertips and I want to be sure you are fully registered. I know you'd like to eat while you're there. My off campus folks...you are great. It's finalizing the on campus housing that is a little lost in the shuffle right now. I ask for your grace as I try to complete these tasks for the Cove. If you have not paid and you know you have not paid, please be courteous and do so. If you need the link contact me at [email protected].
Thank you in advance.

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REMINDER:  BADGE OF HONOR BOOK CONTEST

The deadline for our book contest is drawing near. January 20 is the deadline. The winner will have their manuscript placed before the publications board of Lighthouse Publishing for a possible book contract.  What a wonderful opportunity - to be able to slide past editors, agents and paperwork to have an opportunity for your work to go directly to the publications board. Now, it's important for you to know that the publications board may or may not grant a contract. It depends on the book - just as it would with any publisher. But this is a step closer. We have had three authors receive contracts out of the last 4 years. So shine up those manuscripts, and click on the link for your additional information to enter.
http://ashevillechristianwritersconference.com/badge-of-honor-contest/ 

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SEND THOSE BIOS AND JPGS to Cindy Saab
IF YOU ARE NEW TO OUR NEWS LETTERS we need you to send a .jpg and a short bio (under 75 words to [email protected] . This is VERY IMPORTANT. We need your photo and bio along with your email address so that we can complete our roster. This roster will be sent to you just before the conference so you can use it as a networking tool and familiarize yourself with your peers. PLEASE send this to Cindy Saab (not me...but CINDY SAAB) asap. We want you all in our roster.

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What is to come - 
1) In January you will begin to receive a weekly additional assignment from us. Thanks to Andrea Merrell, one of our Lighthouse Publishing authors and Editors, you will have additional learning. We do this because we want you to begin to gear up for your conference. Get in the mood. Start practicing. Now - these additional lessons are short. They DO NOT NEED TO BE SENT BACK TO US. These are simply additional learning for you to apply to your Work In Progress at home. Look for those beginning the first week of January. And thank you Andrea Merrell.

2) It's time for you to begin to utilize the website www.ashevillechristianwritersconference.com. You will find all your updated information on under the tab called - you guessed it - CONFERENCE UPDATES.  As we grow closer to the conference, I'll all all the information for your check-in process. What to wear. Where to meet - all that "stuff".   It will all be RIGHT THERE FOR YOU.  INCLUDING the links for the additional assignments. You can visit our blog for more information on writing too. The amazing Sandra Hart,  Associate Editor for DevoKids.com  will be adding super little extras for you there.  We're placing all this information at your fingertips. This page is now accessible. Check it frequently because things will change from time to time.



Agents attending our conference - This year we will have Diana Flegal (Diana will also do critiques - so you can chose her for your paid critique if you like) returning representing Hartline Literary Agency and we will have Les Stobbe representing his agency. This is a wonderful opportunity for you to network, meet with them, and show them your work. Plan to make an appointment with our attending agents. 

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Appointments - We will be allowing our faculty to do 15-minute appointments with you at the conference. So go to the faculty page and look over the faculty. See who you'd like to meet with and chat about your work, your direction, or any questions you may have.

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Critiques and Mentoring - Terri Kelly is preparing our critique schedule and mentoring schedule. Critiques cost you a little money but BOY ARE THEY WORTH IT. Consider taking this next step in your writing career and do a paid critique. You'll get amazing and professional feed back about your work, and who knows...maybe you'll get an invitation to send your work to one of them for possible publication. Check out the critiques page

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Book store and Bob Jar - Our bookstore will again be open so you can purchase our faculty books, reserve your conference spot for 2018, purchase the conference MP3s, and donate to our BOB JAR.  Last year, we extended our conference hand into active giving and we chose to support Bob Hostetler (who has two grandchildren with Cystic Fibrosis) and his CF campaign. We sent Bob just over $900. Not only was Bob blown away, but so was I. This is what we do for our fellow man - we serve. If you don't know who Bob Hostetler is, well, check out his website. He's an amazing writer, speaker, and (we have to be careful or his head will grow) but just a darn good guy. Our conference again will support Bob's efforts to raise funds for Cystic Fibrosis research. His granddaughter is currently receiving a new medication to help her battle in CF because of the efforts to help raise money for the CF Foundation. Not only Bob's granddaughter, but my own cousin as well. So plan now, to donate a little something to our Bob Jar. What ever the conference donates, Christian Devotions will match for Bob's campaign fund raiser.

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A Tad of Encouragement - 
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NIV) says, Rejoice always, pray continually,  give thanks in all circumstances;for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

One of the biggest hurdles we face as writers is finishing the race when life gets tough. Like water, we tend to take the path of least resistance - the easy way. Most of the time, the easy way for writers, is to simply NOT WRITE. I know this for a fact. I've faced it. In fact, with the health issues I've faced this summer and fall, it's very fresh and raw for me.  When I don't feel well, it's just easiest to NOT write. That's when I realized what Paul meant when he said be rejoice always, pray continually and give thanks in all circumstances. Since I've experienced this myself, I felt like I could share 10 things I've learned this summer about being joyful and giving thanks in times of adversity and temptation that can help you. We all know it's hard to rejoice and be thankful when we're caught (as my grandmaw used to say) with our drawers yanked down around our knees. :)  Being thankful and joyful in times of adversity means it:
1) Keeps me in His presence
2) Helps me to look for His purpose for me
3) Brings me into submission of His will. (It does something to to our pain when we thank Him through it)
4) Reminds me of my dependence on Him
5) Helps me to trust Him when I don't understand why
6) Gives my testimony a greater impact
7) Helps me displace my own anxiety with peace
8) Essential in my rejoicing to Him
9) Teaches me to focus on Him rather than my circumstance
10) Brings peace in the face of adversity

When I feel like I just need to quit writing, I realize that adversity gets me to give my undivided attention to God. It takes me to a place of humility and grace and it reminds me who the source of my strength is. If you find yourself feeling like life is taking over and you just can't seem to write, think about these ten things. Mull over 1 Thessalonians 5 and then make it your mantra. Rejoice in the Lord always. Pray continually, and give thanks in all circumstances (be it good or bad) because this is God's will for you in Christ. Now pick up that pen and write.

Keep your prayers going - 
I will be going to Duke University on January 25 and 26 for additional hearing test and balance testing. Then I will see a neurologist on the 26th to see if what's broke is fixable. I ask your continued prayers and I ask that they be bold. Pray forthrightly for healing. I'd love nothing better than for God to reach down and fix the bone in my ears so I can walk a straight line and the headaches would stop. But if not, then that He will work through the surgeon to heal me. We pray that if surgery is imminent, that it will wait until AFTER the conference. I cannot tell you what a peace I have felt over this last couple of months knowing you are praying for me. Eddie and my husband will tell you I'm a worrier - but this last couple of months, God has given me peace to sleep at night. I am trusting He has this in His hands.

This will be your last newsletter until January 1. Check the website, read your letter, pay your registrations in full, and sign up for those contests. We have an awesome book contest you do not want to miss out on. Also, critiques and mentoring. These are amazing tools for you.  It's up to you to use the tools you are given. 

Enjoy your Christmas holiday. Worship, praise, and pray with your family. 

Much love,
Cin

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