Today I want to put in my plug for a little something called the American Christian Writer’s conference. This year it is September 22-25 in St. Louis, MO. If you’re interested in writing Christian fiction, you should definitely consider going. Honestly, when I think of the many great classes I’ve sat through, I think even secular writers would love this event. It’s that beneficial.

I’ve told this story a few hundred times, but I owe my career to ACFW. My road to publication is a short one, filled with a series of God moments and God “coincidences” that finally led me to ACFW. The bare bones of it include: I moved to teach at a new school. I didn’t have a classroom. In constant bad mood as cart pusher. I taught in the room of a friend and my former mentoring teacher Erin (who I still acknowledge in every single book). Erin has library of Christian fiction. I see the cover of Billerbeck’s What a Girl Wants. It’s pink, therefore I must read. Love book. Go to Billerbeck’s website. See logo for ACFW. I check out site. Decide to join. Decide I will go to their conference that next fall. Rope Erin into going. We almost die on plane. I exaggerate, but the Lord’s Prayer was said. Aloud. There might’ve been some hand holding. Go to conference. Long story of more God moments…

And six months later I had a contract for In Between, my first book.

Here’s what I want you to know.

1. ACFW is for writers of all level. When I went in ’05, I had 2o pages of a book complete. I had never written/completed a book in my life. I sat down with an author for a paid critique (HIGHLY recommended–best 30 bucks I’ve ever spent), and she said, “You should query this. Get your proposal ready.” I’m not kidding, I asked her what a query was. What’s a proposal? So if your lack of experience or lack of writing progress is holding you back, don’t let it. My main goal that week was just to scout out the scene so I would be prepared next year. God had other plans. But I will say, even as green as I was, I probably learned over half of what I know of writing now from all that I soaked up at that conference. Be prepared to come back with a brain over-filled and squishy. By the way, that writer who critiqued my work was Kristin Billerbeck.

2. If you like to write fiction, you need to be around other weirdos like yourself. There is nothing like sitting at a table of people who get you, even if they’ve never met you. You will feel right at home.

3. Don’t be intimidated if you’re an introvert. When we’re talking groups larger than six, I am definitely an introvert. I do not enjoy crowds. The more people there are, the more I wonder if my room television gets Property Hunters. But yet I still enjoy ACFW. Yes, I come home completely drained–but in a good way! (My intake of M&Ms during this time could also be a contributing factor…) But the cool thing is, I’ve found you can’t go wrong with some safe conversation topics. Here are my stand-bys:

1. What do you write?

2. Where are you from? (You can also read this info on their name tag, but depending on where that thing sits on a chest…)

3. Are you pitching this week?

4. Have you had any appointments yet? How did it go?

5. What do you like to read?

6. Do you know what that green stuff was at lunch?

EASY!

4. You will make life-long friends. Even if you’re not Mr. or Ms. Outgoing, you will come back with friends. (In your heart. Not like in your suitcase.) If you have any interest in a future in being published, writing friends are a must. I bonded with my good friend author Christa Allan at my second conference because we were both short. And teachers. And good Southern girls. Who occasionally needed muzzles for our wayward comments. Gina Conroy and I bonded over a lunch I was lucky enough to tag along for. We realized we only lived 2 hours apart. I sat in my friend Danica’s tax class one year and was her roomie the next. When I saw her break out her tiara and candy, I knew this was my type of friend.

5. Opportunities. At some of the meals you get the chance to sit with the editor or agent of your choice and talk to them about your book idea. If you are like me that first year (and actually every year since) and don’t want to “pitch,” you can just listen (the pitches of others are fascinating to listen to. Some people have it down to an art. I am not one of these people) or just talk to the editor/agent about the business in general. Or be wild and crazy and just talk to the editor/agent about something NOT writing related. That’s a welcome break for them. At dinner in ’05 I remember Karen Ball (then at Zondervan) talking to all of us at her table about John Wayne movies. (All I had to contribute was, “Um…I like McLintock.”)

6. I’ll be teaching! This is my second year to teach, and I’m totally excited. Last year was so fun, despite one class of insane technical issues. But I’m back and ready to redeem myself!  I’ll be teaching a class on the Do’s and Don’ts of Dialog. Dialog writing is my favorite! I’m also teaching a session called “Fried Brains and Ham.” (That title was sent in as a joke…and they used it. I’m soooo professional…)  That class will be about overcoming writer’s block and burnout. I’m going to TRY to get through that hour without recommending binge eating.  My big fear (other than speaking with my pants unknowingly unzipped) is that I’ll be speaking to an empty room, so just another reason why I would love to see you there. (Otherwise, I’m totally paying some maids to come sit in on my sessions. “I’ll clean those last five rooms for you if you just want to step in that conference room on your left. No, I scrub a really mean toilet. It’s cool.”) I’m still trying to decide if I want to just straight teach OR if I will present my information in an interpretive ribbon dance to the tune of old Michael Bolton hits. (Probably depends if I can squeeze into the spandex unitard this year or not. Did not work out for me last year. I swear that thing shrinks every summer after my Community Pool Synchronized Swimming Demos…)

Registration is open. Pray about it. Consider it. And pack those bags!

See you there!

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I’m kicking off our Mostly YA Fab Author Summer Extravaganza (MYFASE, for those of you wanting to show your support through tattoo art or embroidered pillows.) with Nicole O’Dell. I met Nicole a few years ago through a mutual writing friend, and we have been good buds ever since. Nicole is a freakin’ super hero though and just hearing her “What I’ve Done Today” list (versus my “What I’ve Shoved Off On Tomorrow” list) always wears me out. She is the mother of six, including toddler triplets, yet still manages to host a radio show, be a mom, speak, and write a book an hour. Or something like that.And stay tuned til the end of the Q&A, where we’ll tell you how to win a signed copy of Nicole’s Swept Away, a two-in-one novel that would be great for your tween or teen.

AND to sweeten the pot (because if any pot is crying out to be sweetened, it’s the MYFASE Pot), if you leave a comment on every blog post during MYFASE, beginning today and running through July 11th, when we wrap up with Sandra Byrd, then you will also be entered in a drawing for an ARC of There You’ll Find Me AND a $25 gift card to Barnes and Noble. Woo!

Let us begin. Okay, Nicole, your kids are writing your bio. What would it say?

Mommy’s great! She gives us chocolate cake. While we watch Barney. For the third time. And she lets us all wear headphones so we can hear better. She even ties us to the couch so we don’t fall off. But, poor, Mom. We watch her across the room, typing on her computer because she can’t watch her TV shows while we watch Barney. Isn’t she great?

Tell us about your average day.
With Barney background music, my typical day involves waking up with the triplets at around 7am. I feed them some sort of nutritious breakfast like fruit loops. Then I spend a little while scraping them from the floor beneath the high chairs and plucking them from the back of my hair.
A few diaper changes later, Daddy takes over and I go work for a few hours of bliss. Upon re-entry, I do some laundry, cook, more diapers, answer a million questions, tuck the littles in and then get back to work. I either write a book or answer an interview like this one, plan some blogging, do some web design, plan a new proposal…or whatever.

How do you balance it all?

You mean it isn’t obvious that I don’t? Sweet! I really don’t have an answer to the how question, because I don’t feel like I do a very good job of balancing. I get done what I need to, but it’s not always without a few casualties along the way.
However, I do want to give glory to God for enabling and equipping me to do what He’s called me to do.

Any tips for those with a job, a family, and writing?
Just so we understand each other, by me giving a tip, you don’t assume it means I have it licked, right? lol
Tip #1: Leave margin–room for unexpected things and for rest. My friends are howling with laughter right now because they know that I write in the margins and use the back side and sometimes even pull a crumpled receipt from my purse to finish the margin spillover of my life.
Tip #2: Allow failure. Yeah, now my buddies are wiping the coffee off their screens because they know this is a big problem for me. Seriously. I know that in order to truly give God glory for the amazing things He’s done in my life and in my work, I need to get myself out of it. By being a perfectionist or not being able to let go or say no, I’m making it all about me. My advice? Don’t do that.

Why do you write for teens? (Besides the big bucks…)

The big bucks notwithstanding, I just love ‘em. That and I’m afraid of them. I figure if I can get them on my side, they’ll watch my back. 
In all seriousness though, I reach out to teens because of my own teen experiences. It was the time in my life when I suffered the most hardship, made the most mistakes, and felt the greatest pull of God on my life. I want to help other teens wade through all of that, however it looks in their lives.

Tell us about Swept Away. I like the covers–how the teens look age appropriate and…normal. These could be the girls at my church, the students in my classroom.

Swept Away contains two books: High Stakes, which deals with cheating in school, friendship, loyalty, and honesty, and Essence of Lilly, which covers dating relationships and purity.
Here’s “the blurb”:

In High Stakes, seniors and best friends, Amber and Brittany, are neck and neck in a good-natured com- petition for a car being given away by a local business. In Essence of Lilly, sophomore Lilly Armstrong is always looking for ways to escape the confines of her unhappy home. She “invents” youth group activi- ties just so she can hang out with her boyfriend, Jason—the only one in Lilly’s life who makes her feel special. What happens when Amber and Lilly are faced with making difficult choices? How will they handle the risky business? Readers help Amber and Lilly make the difficult decisions and see how their choices create consequences with life-altering results.

In Essence of Lilly, a fabulous story, you deal with some tough issues. I know this was important to you to write about, but a worry. You handled the hard scenes so well. What do you want teens to know about the issues in this book?

Essence of Lilly deals with issues of purity. There is so much that goes into the choices a teenager faces about sex: self-esteem, joy, peace, faith, commitment, etc. I think it’s one of the hardest lines to draw and stay committed to, but it’s also the one choice that has permanent effects.

I made lots of mistakes related to this issue when I was young. I know how far-reaching the effects of poor choices can be. By putting the reader in Lilly’s shoes and letter her choose for Lilly, my hope is she’s begin to wrap her mind around the weight and permanence of those choices.

Handling this topic was a real concern for me. I wanted to be real–otherwise, what good would it do? But I didn’t want to offend anyone or open young girls minds to something before she was ready. It took a lot of prayer and guidance from friends. In the end, my publisher, Barbour, has been so supportive. They realize that the scenes had to be written as they were–not to sensationalize the issue, but to drive home the gravity of it.

I love the choose your ending idea of the series. Tell us why this concept is so cool for your readers.
I think the alternate endings give the reader the opportunity to put herself in the character’s shoes and feel more of the weight of the choice and even share some of the responsibility for it. By making the choice, the reader is then able to really imagine the scenario in her own life and commit to making good choices when the situation crops up later on. At the end of each story, there’s a little contract and a prayer where the reader can really solidify that commitment.

In October, you have The Wishing Pearl coming out. I got a sneak peek and it’s well worth the summer wait. Tell us about the Diamond Estates series.

Thanks, Jen! This series is loosely based on my experiences as a teen resident of Teen Challenge. Many authors speak of the “book of their heart”. For me, this series holds that title. 
The Wishing Pearl, releases on 10/1/11, and is available for pre-order now:
Sixteen-year-old Olivia Mansfield dreams of a land far, far away. . . A land far away from her stepfather’s abuse and torment.A land far away from her mother’s blind eye.A land far away from the haunting memories of her past. Olivia can’t wait to escape the confines of her home, which promises nothing but perpetual torment and abuse from her stepfather while her mother turns a blind eye. She dreams of being accepted into a prestigious music school far, far away. . .but until she graduates from high school, Olivia must make the best of her dire situation.  When poor choices lead her to the brink of a complete breakdown and she finds herself dealing with the unexpected death of her best friend, Olivia comes to a crossroads. Will she find the path to ultimate hope and healing that her heart longs for? Or will the demons from Olivia’s past prove too much to bear?  

Where can readers find you and keep up with the million and one things you’ve got going on?

Everything I do is linked through my website www.nicoleodell.com. You can find the archives of Teen Talk Radio shows, book information, my blog, a link to sign up for my newsletter, my social stuff like facebook and twitter, bookstore…and much more.

Okay, bonus round. Now for the TOUGH questions.

1. Dream car?

A boat–if I lived on a lake and needed my boat to get to the general store. Ahhhh.

2. Most favorite book ever?

Lineage of Grace, Francine Rivers  Deadline, Randy Alcorn

3. Favorite 80s song?

In honor of Swept Away, we’ll go with “Papa Don’t Preach.” JOKING! lol I was a big Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith fan–actually all of the mainstream Christian artists of the 80′s. Stryper–not so much. I was also a big Chicago fan.

4. You get $500 to shop for yourself. Where do you go?

My computer! That’s where all the deals are, plus I can search for coupon codes. I’m still holding out for a visit by What not to Wear, though.

5. Favorite TV show?

I love reality TV. The cooking shows, real estate shows, American Idol (not anymore!), The Voice (thanking God for The Voice!), Say Yes to the Dress, Shark Tank, etc. I’m NOT a fan of the bachelor shows.

6. I could TOTALLY see you on Shark Tank. Not sure which side of the desk though. Okay, you have tickets to any concert. Who do you see?

Third Day. No question! If Chris Tomlin, Kari Jobe, or Casting Crowns opened for them–I’d be heaven! In fact, I put in a request for them to be worship leaders in heaven.

7. Taco Bell or Subway?

Taco Bell.

8. A chef is cooking your breakfast. What do you order?

If I had no allergies? A lobster/asparagus omelet with hollandaise. My allergies would eliminate the lobster, the hollandaise, oh, and the eggs. So, I’ll go with Taco Bell.

9. What is one physical attribute you’d steal from a celebrity?

EASY! Carrie Underwood’s legs.

10. Favorite magazine?

Do I have to be honest? In Touch, Life & Style…any of those. They’re a Friday night, soaking in a tub guilty pleasure of mine.

11. Nicole, there’s no magazine judgment here. Though my favorite is People The Wall Street Journal.  Favorite show your kids watch?

Toy Story 1, 2, 3 and Tangled.

That’s it! You may now step out of the Mostly YA Fab Author Summer Extravaganza hot seat. Thanks so much for stopping by, Nicole!

Thanks so much for having me over to your awesome site for such a fun interview!

Guys, to get in the running for a signed copy of Swept Away, just leave a comment by Sunday eve at dusk-thirty-two, answering the following question: What is YOUR favorite fast food restaurant? Winner announced July 13th.

See you Wednesday when we talk about a super fun writing conference, then Friday when we chat it up with YA author Stephanie Morrill!

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I totally forgot to announce the winner of Lady of Bolton Hill. Congrats to Lynnet. Just email me from my contact page and send me your addy!

I am very excited to announce that next Monday begins my Mostly YA Fab Author Summer Extravaganza!!! (MYFASE, if you’d like to text that to all your friends, for the sake of you crazy Tweeters, or if you just need it shorter to stick in that rap song you’re been working on.)   It’s such a big deal, I spared no expense on the graphic. (Lookout, Pixar. Me and my mad design skills are coming for you next.)

Here’s what’s gonna happen. I am putting on my hero Diane Sawyer’s hat (but not her heels…or her skirt because I couldn’t fit into it) and interviewing six authors over the course of 2+ weeks.

Let me introduce our lineup. (Putting on my John Madden hat…)

Monday, June 27: Nicole O’Dell, giving away a copy of Swept Away
Wednesday, June 29: Commercial break to discuss ACFW conference and why you should go
Friday, July 1: Stephanie Morrill, giving away a copy of So Over It
Monday, July 4: Lisa Tawn Bergren, giving away a copy of Waterfall
Wednesday, July 6: Kristin Billerbeck, giving away a copy of Perfectly Invisible, her new release
Friday, July 8: Erynn Mangum, giving away a copy of Miss Match
Monday, July 11, Sandra Byrd, giving away a copy of To Die For: A Novel of Anne Boleyn

How it’s gonna work…
Part I: You can win a copy of each author’s giveaway book by commenting on their post and entering the individual giveaway.

Part II: If you comment on ALL SIX AUTHOR’S POSTS, you will be entered in a separate contest for an Advanced Reader Copy of There You’ll Find Me AND a $25 Barnes and Noble gift card to help support your summer reading habits.

It’s raining giveaways. Hallelujah.

In the meantime, the lovely, hard-working and awesome folks at PulsePoint Design have the first chapter of There You’ll Find Me posted. You can check it out on the Books Page.

Finally, I just want to thank those of you who warned me away from Green Lantern. Though my heart is still heavy over your reports of the movie’s sheer crappiness, I will still continue to support Ryan Reynolds. In my heart. And keep my ten dollars.

Have a great weekend. See you Monday! And Wednesday! And Friday! And the next Monday…

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I finally got down with the 21st century and have avatar/gravatar ability here. That means you can FINALLY have your picture display when you post a comment. Just go to gravatar.com and follow the super easy instructions. So easy even  an idiot I could do it!

This week on Southern Belle View, we are back to our monthly create-a-story called Whirlaway Island. If you haven’t followed our story the past few months, no worries! Just jump on in. Once a month, we create a story of five installments, one chapter from each of us. So far we have a woman conveniently married to an FBI agent to protect her. But oh, look! They love each other! But too bad! She gets kidnapped! (I hate when that happens! Seriously, Woman of Convenient Marriage, you are old enough not to take rides from strangers!) Then there’s that man who’s out to kill her, the court case that needs to go to trial but hasn’t, the meddlesome but lovable widow, one cantankerous dog named after a dead guy, a few hunky beach dudes, a teacher who loves a man who doesn’t love children…or does he? A studly guy with a tragic past who doesn’t know if he can let it go and love again, plus gun shots, fires, and clam bakes. You gotta check it out!

Did anyone see Green Lantern? How is it? I sure do appreciate movies with that Ryan Reynolds. That boy is a comedy king. I mean, he gets it. Timing, physical comedy, facial involvement, voice. Which makes me worried that he’s now a super hero. Can funny people wear spandex and save the world? I don’t really think so. You can either be funny or stop the planet from imploding. But not both. Just like you can’t sing Lady GaGa and recite Shakespeare at the same time. These truths we hold self-evident.

So last week was my first full week of summer vacation. I pretty much just read some books for a big project I’m working on that I kind of wish I wasn’t working on because as much as I love to read I don’t like to be assigned reading even though I totally volunteered for this project and now I wish I hadn’t because no where in this stack of wonderful books is Nora Roberts or Jeff Kinney.

I also taught during our giant-sized VBS, something I do every year and pretty much live for. This year I got to tell the story of the beginning of the world and how Adam and Eve totally screwed up. I thought about changing it up and putting all the blame on Adam, but there were too many adult on-lookers in the room, so I kept it legit. I think my version had more pizazz though. We all know Adam was a schmoe. If your church is doing VBS, you should check into volunteering. Churches always need volunteers and there is NOTHING like storytelling to hundreds of kids sticky with Kool-Aid and off-brand cookies. And if you’re not into storytelling and doing voice like Adam (nerd), Eve (Loretta Lynn), or the Serpent (feminine gang member), then there are so many other jobs just waiting for you and your talents. And by talents, I mean saintly patience.

Finally, if you are suffering from heat or any other summer stress, you must look at these amazing hats from Ascot. Just looking upon these hats makes me happy. And also reminds me of this:

Oh, the costumes. The hats. Can you even stand it?

Have a fab rest of the week.
Wear your crazy hat.

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Just a few days left to get in the drawing for a copy of The Lady of Bolton Hill.

Thank you for those of you who pitched in with your Dad Stories. They are all pretty and showcased HERE at Southern Belle View. I loved each and every story. Some made me tear up; some made me laugh out loud. Thank you for sharing. It meant a lot.

I follow a few of my former students on Twitter, and often their their tweets crack me up. Thought I’d replay a few.

-Medicine commercials: One thing it fixes plus 25 ways it can kill you.
-Saw a man doing yard work in his tightie whiteys on the way home. Guess that’s one way to beat the heat.
-I wish it was socially acceptable for men to shave their armpit hair because it’s just plain nasty.
-Met two little British girls today who went to the Royal Wedding. Jealousy overwhelmed me in ways that I can’t even explain.
-My sister definitely changed races. #spraytangonewrong
-What genius decided to confuse the world and have a town named Kansas in Oklahama?”Last year, I went to a -Robot Convention. Have you been before?” haha I love meeting nice people on buses!
-I’ve been trying to teach my mom the art of being calm, cool and collected. I’d say the only C she has down is crazy.
-Maybe all of the rain will flood the school and we won’t have to go tomorrow.
-I don’t care how old you are, when the ketchup bottle makes a fart noise, it’s funny.
-It’s probably bad that I just had to Google a picture of a tux because I don’t know the difference between that and suit-ish things.
-Whenever I drive over a cross walk I’m always scared that there is somebody under an invisibility cloak walking across that I can’t see.

Finally, not students, but funny tweets all the same:
“Pakistan is seriously Whackistan if they expect us to believe they didn’t know where OBL was. Are they on Crackistan?!” Mo Rocca

(from author Jennifer Weiner, pronounced WHY-ner) “Today’s revelation: Googling “Weiner photos” will not end well.”

“I assume that anyone who stopped following me on Twitter died, I hope peacefully. I’m sorry for their loss.” Mo Rocca

Thanks to former students, Sydney 1, Sydney 2, Gab, Karly, and Ashley for their contributions to my day.

Have a great weekend!

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