An Update from Our House to Yours!

I must admit, though it’s been a great summer with lots of fun and exciting things going on, I’m not sorry to see it end. I’m just plain tired of being HOT and can’t wait to start enjoying those cool autumn days that are even now starting to whisper an announcement of their arrival.

As we roll into October, I wanted to update you on what’s going on here at the Macias household. All is well with Mom (doing much better than a few months ago!), and Al is still balancing his time between work and golf (though anticipating retirement so he can devote more time to hitting that little white ball around with his shiny clubs). He has also been busy installing a patio for our new soft tub, so life is busy (but good!) all the way around.

As for writing/speaking, business is booming. I’ve never been busier—thank You, LORD! The biggest news is that I’m launching a weekly one-hour radio program called “Write the Vision,” which will air via The International Christian Network (www.theicn.com) each Thursday from 6—7 p.m. Pacific Time, beginning October 15. Now I have to tell you that the statement I just made is strictly on faith, as I’m still wrestling with the technological issues of getting this new project set up, but I’ve enlisted some pastoral help from church (from those who actually understand this sort of thing), so I hope to have it squared away so I can start recording soon. For any of you who may have questions about the writing/publishing world, this will be a great opportunity for you to email your questions to me at kathimacias@theicn.com so I can respond on a future program. We have some great interviews lined up, so be sure to listen in—and help me spread the word!

I am also in the midst of a heavy speaking season, being home just one weekend between last month and November. After that my traveling schedule should settle down a bit, though I still have that book deadline of December 1 looming. RED INK, the third novel in the Extreme Devotion series, is one-third done, so I really need to get some serious writing done!

Above all, dear friends, please know that I appreciate you all and pray for you regularly. I hope you do the same for me. Until next time, Vaya con Dios!

Weekly Devotional

He (Jehoram) reigned in Jerusalem eight years and, to no one's sorrow, departed (2 Chronicles 21:20).



The sadness of this statement in 2 Chronicles jumped out at me this morning and wouldn’t let go. As I get older, I find myself saying goodbye to more and more family members, friends, neighbors, and acquaintances. It’s simply the way of things, though it wasn’t originally intended to be. But sin has a way of changing things, doesn’t it?

It certainly did with Jehoram. This king was the son and grandson of godly men, both of whom ruled from the “city of David .” Sadly, unlike his father and grandfather, Jehoram chose not to be a godly man, and he ruled accordingly, eventually dying a painful death at a relatively young age. Most tragic of all was that no one mourned his passing.

All of us mourn when a loved one leaves this world—yes, even those of us who are strong believers and lose someone who is also a strong believer. We know that person has gone to be with the Lord and is so much happier than he/she ever was on this earth. And yet…our heart hurts. We miss them, though we know we will see them again one day. Those without that knowing mourn even more, for indeed they don’t have the hope of being reunited with the one who has passed from their sight.

But can there be anything sadder than living in such a way that when you die there is no one left behind who regrets seeing you go? King Jehoram had plenty of money. He inherited a rich kingdom and wanted for nothing in the material realm. He could do or have nearly anything he wished for, and yet…

Quite obviously this rich man was a pauper when it came to relationships. Not only did he not serve God or have relationship with Him, but he also had no meaningful or close relationships with other people. What a perspective-setter this is! Are we in close relationship with God and other people? When we pass from this earth into the presence of the Father, will there be at least one person left behind who will miss us and long for the day we will be reunited in heaven?

Then, beloved, unlike Jehoram, we are rich indeed. Whatever we face on this earth in the way of pain or sickness, tragedy or loss, poverty or disaster, our lives can still be considered a success because we have cultivated that which really matters. May the sad life of Jehoram speak to your heart today about the things that truly matter, and may his pitiful epitaph inspire you to cherish your relationships at every step of your earthly journey. For all too soon it will be over, and it will be time to move on. Though we as Christians eagerly anticipate that time, wouldn’t it also be nice to know that we will be missed and that someone will be looking forward to the day when we will be united once again?



***Beginning October 15, please join me as I host a weekly blogtalkradio podcast titled “Write the Vision,” which will air via www.theicn.com every Thursday from 6-7 p.m. Pacific Time.



***Please take a moment to visit my website at www.kathimacias.com


***Also, please visit www.setfreetoday.com, where I serve as Spiritual Director. Come as you are…leave with a new beginning! Drop us a note or prayer request while you’re there.

Blogtalkradio date correction!!!

Due to a few technological glitches (have I mentioned that I'm clueless about this sort of thing???), the network hosts have graciously agreed to postpone the launch of my new "Write the Vision" program until October 15. What a relief! I'll be sending out more info soon. Bless you all, and please keep praying! I can't imagine a more unlikely candidate for this venture than yours truly, but God tapped me on the shoulder, so...

"Write the Vision," blogtalkradio podcast, starting October 1!

Beginning Thursday, October 1, I will be hosting a one-hour-per-week blogtalkradio show titled "Write the Vision" via THE International Christian Network (www.theicn.com). The show will air each Thursday evening from 6--7 p.m. Pacific time and will include teaching times, interviews, and questions and answer sessions. The focus is on writing as a ministry, so if you've ever wanted to know anything about the Christian publishing world/industry/ministry, this is a show you don't want to miss! And you'll be able to email questions to me at kathimacias@theicn.com for me to answer on future shows. I hope you'll consider joining in! Blessings!!!

Announcing Virtual Book Tour

More Information

I hope you will join us on this exciting adventure!

Virtual Book Tour and Blogtalkradio Podcast!

Exciting stuff coming next month, folks! First, I will be doing "virtual book tour" for my novel My Son, John. Here's the link to learn more about it:

http://pumpupyourbookpromotion.wordpress.com/2009/09/11/announcing-contemporary-womens-novelist-kathi-macias-on-virtual-book-tour-09/

In addition, beginning Thursday, October 1, I will be hosting a one-hour per week blogtalkradio podcast called "Write the Vision." It will air from 6-7 p.m. Pacific time, and you can hear it at the following site (my page on both "on-air ministries" and "writers" will be up soon):

www.theicn.com

Once the show gets started, you'll be able to email me at the studio with specific writing questions, which I will answer on a future program. Hope to hear from you!

Perfect Love...

There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear (1 John 4:18).

Tomorrow is 9/11—an infamous day that the vast majority of us will never forget. Much like those who were alive on Sunday, December 7, 1941, when Pearl Harbor was bombed, we remember where we were that morning in September when we heard the news that our beloved country was under attack. As the hours passed, we soon learned the extent of human loss, and we grieved, as we still do at the memory of that horrific occurrence.
Eight years later, we still grieve, though the pain has diminished with time, as it does in the aftermath of most tragedies. But the lessons of that day remain. Though God has promised to keep us in “perfect peace” if we will focus our hearts and minds on Him and His faithfulness, He has not promised that we will not experience difficult times. We live in a broken world, full of broken promises and broken hearts. We also live in a world that is, to a large extent, driven by fear—whether it be fear of the known, or the unknown.
Despite the fact that we have picked up the pieces and moved on with our lives since that horrifying day in September 2001, we cannot deny that we will never be quite the same as we were before those planes full of innocent people were flown into buildings, bringing death and destruction on a monumental level. And that’s as it should be. We need to learn from such watershed events and never return to the complacency that helped allow them to happen in the first place. But even as we take a permanent stance of vigilance against future attacks, we must take a stance of vigilance against allowing fear of the future to paralyze us from walking in the freedom and joy that is inherent in walking with our Resurrected Savior.
Jesus Christ defeated death. He didn’t go around it or over it, or avoid it in any way. He met it head-on—and came through triumphant on the other side, leaving an empty tomb as testimony of His great victory. That is Perfect Love, folks—a perfect love that overcomes death and promises to one day carry us through that inevitable experience as well.
As we rightfully remember and honor those who died on 9/11, may we also keep our hearts and minds focused on the One who is greater than any tragedy that comes our way. For as Romans 8:31 declares, “If God is for us, who can be against us?”
May you all walk in the joy and freedom of the Perfect Love that casts out all fear!

Looking for readers for my current WIP

First, let me clarify that WIP means "work in progress." In this instance, that means the manuscript I just started called Red Ink. It's set in modern-day China, but not the China the media/Communist governement over there wants us to see. This is "behind the scenes" China, where true Christians who refuse to register with the state-approved church are persecuted, imprisoned, tortured, and even martyred for their faith. If you have serious first-hand experience in China and can offer feedback on the manuscript as it's written (and are willing to do so on a fairly tight timetable, as it is due to the publisher on December 1), will you please email me at ezyrtr@ca.rr.com? Thanks so much!

Link for the Interview

If you missed the across-the-pond interview, here's the link:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Across-the-Pond/2009/09/04/A-BOOK-AND-A-CHAT-with-Kathi-Macias

Blessings!

Across-the-Pond Interview Is Today!

OK, folks, the Across-the-Pond interview announcement following this post was posted yesterday, so the "tomorrow" part is now "today." Tune in via the link if you can and hear our discussion about my novel My Son, John. Blessings to you all, and may your weekend be exceptionally blessed!!!

blogtalkradio "Across the Pond" interview tomorrow!

Barry Eva of "Across the Pond" fame will be interviewing me tomorrow at 6:30 p.m. EST on his blogtalkradio program, which can be found at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Across-the-Pond

Hope you can join us!!!

Look to the East by Maureen Lang

Today I have the privilege of bringing you an interview with one of my personal favorite authors, Maureen Lang. I've read this excellent book and highly recommend it. Maureen, thanks for joining us! Can you tell us a little about your new release?


Look to the East is the first book in my Great War Series. I’m so excited about these books! The First World War isn’t necessarily a “forgotten” war, but I think most people only know about it because of World War Two. There must have been a World War One, right, in order to have a World War Two? But few people know what the first one was all about.

Well, I’m sorry to say even those who fought in the First World War didn’t know very much about why they were fighting. And while my book isn’t a war book with battles and war history, it does touch on how little communication there was during that era and during that war. Look to the East focuses on the how things were for French civilians living behind the battle lines.

In particular, the story follows the romance of Julitte Toussaint and Charles Lassone. Charles tries to volunteer to fight against the Germans just as the First World War breaks out, but he’s too late. The war has already begun, and there is so much havoc he can’t make it to officially join the Belgian army, where he has at least part-time residency. He’s caught behind the battle lines, forced to take shelter in a small French village where he meets Julitte, the adoptive daughter of a sailor. They fall in love despite the danger—if the Germans were to find Charles, it would be death for him and perhaps the same for anyone helping him. And when Charles escapes, he comes back for Julitte, proving to himself and to her that he’s not the coward he thought he was at the beginning of the book.

What made you decide to write during the First World War era?

I’ve always been fascinated by this era. I’m one of the youngest from a large family—which I mention only because people are surprised that my grandmother (not a great-grandmother or some other distant ancestor) used to tell me about living in a time where “motorcars” shared the roads with horse-drawn carriages. Where airplanes were so rare people stared at them when they flew overhead. Where telephones were uncommon, even in the city. My grandmother seemed to me to be a link between history and this modern world we shared.

And war…well, with a grandfather who fought in the First World War and a father who fought in the Second, I grew up hearing about war and I guess it made an impact!

What would you like your readers to take away after reading Look to the East?

Writing for the Christian market is more than an opportunity to write “clean.” And while I don’t often begin any of my stories intending to teach a spiritual lesson, it always amazes me how God teaches me along the way.

In Look to the East, many of the characters misplace their faith. The villagers look to Julitte, the one person they’ve ever known who was part of what they believe to have been a miracle that occurred in their small town. Instead of crediting God with what happened, as Julitte did, they credit her. And Charles has always believed in himself; he’s had an easy, fun-loving life. Competing against other sailors in a regatta amounted to his biggest challenge before, so it was easy to put his faith in himself. Who needs to think about God when life is easy? Even Julitte finds her solid faith tested when things don’t go the right way, even when she thought she did the right thing.

I’m hoping those who read Look to the East will come away realizing their faith is best put in God, and God alone.

How much research was involved in writing Look to the East?

Since research is one of my favorite parts of writing, I probably recall it taking less time than it actually did. I read many books on the subject of the war and what people in the occupied territories experienced, starting with The Englishman’s Daughter by Ben Macintyre (which I read more than once!). Going to Northern France (and Belgium, where Book Two in the series takes place) was incredibly valuable, not only for orienting my characters to the area, but getting into context what went on at the time as it’s commemorated over there. As I write any novel, I usually start out with at least a couple of months of research and then search out more details as I need them—those unexpected little turns plots like to take, which lead to the demand for more knowledge.

One of my favorite parts to research was finding a church to have in mind as I wrote the scenes where my hero, Charles, is hiding. I needed to know if they were similar to churches here, if they had a basement, if they had pews the way churches here do, how ornate they might have been, etc. I’m convinced the authority an author conveys for writing a novel is found in the details.
So as my husband and I drove through Northern France, we often stopped to get a closer look at different churches. It was fun!

What’s next for you?

I’ve just turned in Book Two in this Great War Series. Although I always say whatever book I’m currently immersed in is my favorite, this one really feels like it is! It has a similar time setting with the backdrop being WWI, but this time rather than France, Book Two is set in Brussels, Belgium. I haven’t heard of many books set there, and when I was able to visit Belgium all I kept thinking was why hasn’t this lovely country been in more novels? It has a rich history, flavored every bit European, just like France or England…and yet few people I speak to know much about it.

This second book is titled Whisper on the Wind, and it’s the story of two people who live during the war in occupied Brussels. They become involved in a secret press—that is, printed and distributed without the permission of the ruling German army. Basically both sides, the Germans and the Belgians, believe in the power of the printed word. Which is why my characters enter into the endeavor knowing it could cost them their lives—and it very nearly does!

Oh, and did I mention one of those two characters has been in love with the other nearly all her life? When he realizes she’s grown up to be not only beautiful but courageous, he can’t help but fall in love too—even though he believes their lives are caught up in too much danger to be distracted by each other…

How can readers find you on the web?

My website is www.maureenlang.com, but if readers would like a peek at the journey Look to the East took—from the sale through the European research trip and on through the editing process—they should visit my blog archive starting from August of 2008: http://maureenlang.blogspot.com/ It was great fun to catalogue the process!

Thanks for having me, Kathi!