Instead of a Newsletter

Most writers have a newsletter they send out periodically to inform readers of new books or what's happening, but I've never established one. Instead, I've chosen to share the same information through blogging and social media posts. I began doing this and haven't changed the method since it seems to be working well for me. Besides, I've become so busy with my writing I haven't wanted to add another task.

Readers often delete newsletters without reading them, especially if they're pushed for time. I know because I do the same thing. On social media, they are more likely to be exposed to a graphic with preliminary information, even if they don't choose to read about it. And, by the number of likes and reactions I get, many do choose to read them. Plus, social media picks up new readers more easily than newsletters do.

I post information about my books, writing, and me as an author on my author Facebook page, Reflections - Author Janice Cole Hopkins. You'll also find my blogs there as well as on other appropriate pages. I have over a thousand followers on this page, and many are avid fans. I appreciate these people tremendously. Their support and encouragement keep me writing. 

Link to my author's Facebook page   (Please like or follow.)

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Fly as an Eagle

For thus saith the Lord; Behold, he shall fly as an eagle, and shall spread his wings... (Jeremiah 48:40).

The eagle is a large bird with an expansive wingspan, and they make big nests to accommodate their young. The babies are born with wings, but they have to learn to use them. When the time is right, the mother pushes a baby out of the nest, knowing it's going to fall. However, she swoops beneath it, catches it on one of her wings, and carries it back to safety. She continues to do this again and again until it learns to fly. The eagle is a powerful flyer. It can fly about 45 mph when soaring and reaches speeds of 75 - 100 mph when diving, but it has to be trained to fly.

Christians get their spiritual wings at rebirth, but they need training in how to use them. The Lord puts us into situations where, although we might fall a few times, we'll learn. While we're learning, our confidence might falter, we might feel helpless at times, and we may grow tired, but God never leaves us. He'll spread His arms to catch us when we fall and stand with us to give us His strength when we need it.

Even though the young eaglets don't like leaving the security of their nests, their mother knows it's best for them. As we learn to depend on God, Christians learn that He has their best interests at heart. The more we allow Him to take over our lives, the more our trust in Him will grow, and the more we'll see His work in us, through us, and all about us. Step out in faith, and let God show you what great things He'll do.

But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up on wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint (Isaiah 40:31).

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The Book That Didn't Want to End

Because I write character-driven novels and don't do a lot of pre-plotting on paper, I can't always tell when my books will end. Recent ones are generally running between eighteen and twenty-one chapters. However, the last manuscript I finished became more uncertain than most.  Set in the West, I had no idea where or when Grandmother's Match for Garrett in the Grandmother Knows Best series would end.

As I continued to write, I kept expecting to draw near to finishing, but the conclusion never came. I don't remember this ever happening before. Normally, my books come to a natural end, and that's what I wanted for this one. However, every time I thought it was getting to a good place to conclude it, I saw another loose end that needed tying up. But I finally did get to a place where I could end things without dropping any threads. And no, it didn't turn out to be unusually long.

Another very unusual thing is that I didn't know how the book would conclude until the last moment. Typically, I know how the story will end by the time I start writing, and then I write the story to get there. In this novel, Wren had a choice to make, and I didn't know which way she would choose. Because of the genre of the book, I almost wish she'd made the other choice, but her decision made the best sense, so I went with it. I hope you'll want to read how all this plays out. It will be on preorder soon and out on January 16.

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Jars of Clay

For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us (2 Corinthians 4:6-7).

We know we're imperfect, flawed people in a fallen world. Paul calls us "earthen vessels". Isaiah talks about the potsherd striving with the clay (see Isaiah 45:9). Others have referred to humanity as jars or pots of clay. In fact, Genesis 2:7 tells us that God made man from "the dust of the ground," the same place we get clay.

But clay vessels are fragile and easily broken. However, if we have Jesus' light within us, He can shine His light into the world even better from a cracked, chipped container. He can use our brokenness for good if we let Him. We can be more understanding of other broken people, and extend His grace and love to them. We can help pull them to Him. Through our brokenness, He can show His power and glory for we realize the strength within us is not our own.

In biblical times, what gave a clay jar its value wasn't the vessel itself but what it contained. We are precious to Jesus; He gave His life that we might live with Him in eternity. He loves us unconditionally and sees our potential. When we accept Him as our Lord and Savior, He comes to live inside us in the form of the Holy Spirit. We are His treasures inside jars of clay.

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 Reading Reviews

I've heard some authors say they never read their reviews. That's not true for me because I read every one, often more than once. I want to improve my writing, and knowing what readers think helps. I can't imagine why other authors wouldn't feel the same. I wish more readers would write reviews instead of just rating them. 

Recently, I had a reviewer say my book left her feeling encouraged. That's one of my goals with all my books. By the time readers finish a novel, I want them to be uplifted, inspired, and encouraged. I've read books that left me with a bad feeling, and I don't want that. I read for entertainment, and I want a happy ending. I think readers deserve to have a brighter day after reading one of my books.

Perhaps more readers would leave reviews if they knew how important they are. I buy books, in large part, based on the reviews as do most readers. Amazon also gives more promotion time to books with more reviews, and the reviews don't have to be long. Just write what you think. Two or three sentences are fine, and they reward the author for a good book you enjoyed.

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 Matters of the Heart

Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life (Proverbs 4:23).

Jesus taught that matters of the heart, our attitudes, are more important than trying to keep a long list of rules. The Pharisees tried to be rule-keepers, and it didn't work. Jesus had to come to earth and die on a cross as our sacrifice because we couldn't keep the Law without breaking some part of it. Being a Christian is more about having a loving relationship with Jesus and letting Him be our Guide.

And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him (Colossians 3:17).

Jesus presented a new way of keeping the faith. We're to allow Him to come into our lives and change us. Having a changed heart will lead to a changed life, but we can't do this without Jesus as our Lord and Savior. It's not about keeping the rules but about an intimate, personal, relationship with our Creator. It's about wanting to please Him more than anyone else, not for what might be in it for us but because we love Him above all else. He's the top priority in our lives.

Not every one that saith unto me Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven (Matthew 7:21).

Too many people try asking Jesus to be their Savior without changing or allowing Him to be their Lord. They might call themselves Christians, but they don't really belong to Him. On Judgment Day, He'll say, "Depart from Me. I never knew you." Where do you stand with Jesus? It's not too late to make changes. You just need to be willing and surrender. Jesus does all the work, and His grace will give you a fresh start.

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Annette's Assignment

Annette Hunt prefers to stay at home with a good book to attending social events, but she lets her cousin talk her into helping him in a criminal investigation. So, she finds herself pitted against some of the sharpest minds in Chicago in a series of contests. Can she prove that a  woman's mind is just as intelligent as a man's, find the culprit, and get back home unscathed?

My third book in this intriguing series releases on October 16 and is available for preorder now. I've loved writing these books, and Annette's Assignment pulled me in. Many of these characters would have been candidates for Mensa if it had existed in 1876. I have one more book in the series, coming in December, and I've already written the rough draft. I hate to see this wonderful series end.

Link to Annette's Assignment

For my narrator in the Audible edition, I turned to a fan favorite, Adam Skousen. He has done two other Audibles for me, and I've never worked with anyone who makes so few, if any, mistakes and is such a professional. He has finished the production, and it is now available on Audible or Amazon. Be sure to get your copy in whatever format you prefer -- Kindle, KU, or Audible.

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Transforming

For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart (Hebrews 4:12).

...in the spiritual realm, there is a balm. There is a transfusion. His name is Jesus. Your renewing started the day He transfused you with His life and came to live in you by your invitation. But when we deliberately expose our hearts to His tender transforming love, the process accelerates. When we immerse our thoughts in His Word and let its living, active power suffuse our minds and recreate our thought patterns, the process set in motion at our new birth advances more quickly. ...

For which cause we faint not, but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day (2 Corinthians 4:16).

I can't remember a time in my life when I didn't know that Jesus loves me..., but I understand it better every day. I've realized that the more I give of myself to Him, the more His love for me becomes real in my experience, not just my theology. The power and effect of His love for me has changed me. Not simply changed my behaviors or even my attitudes but changed who I am.

Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God (Hebrews 12:2).

What was the joy set before Him? What did He have after the cross that He didn't have before the cross? What did the cross gain for Him? It gained Him you and me. Nothing else. Just us. He considered you and me worth the price He paid. You are His goal. You are His prize. Is He yours?

[Mostly taken from Prized by Jennifer Kennedy Dean]

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The Characters Take Over in a New MAP

I write character-driven novels, so I'm accustomed to my characters taking over and dictating the novel to me. However, in the latest book I've started, it came with a new twist. This time, I would not have chosen for one of my main characters to be half Indian, but she insisted that's who she was from the very beginning. I've never had this happen before I started to write the rough draft.

Grandma's Match for Garrett was a last-minute addition to my 2024 schedule, and it's set to publish in January. Caryl McAdoo offered me the opportunity to write in her new multiple-author project, Grandmother Knows Best. I was intrigued and agreed. Beginning a new novel or a new MAP is always exciting, and I can't wait to see how this one unfolds.

I have my two main characters, Garrett Oliver from Cades Cove, Tennessee, and Wren Hudson from Indian Territory (now Oklahoma). Grandma Hazel Griffin will also play an important secondary role. After her second husband dies, Hazel asks that her sister's family send one of the four boys west to help her out on her ranch, and they send the youngest, Garrett. 

Cover designer, Randi Gammons is working on my cover now. I've never worked with Randi before, but I've seen some of her work, and it's lovely, so I'm looking forward to seeing what she creates for me. I'll be giving more details about all this later, as things progress. I hope my readers are as excited about the possibilities as I am.

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