Friday, June 30, 2006

Writing Op - Screenwriters


Here’s an opportunity for screenwriters - a production company with a studio first look deal is seeking a screenplay to produce – details are below.
_____

SCRIPTS WANTED BY PROD CO WITH STUDIO FIRST LOOK DEAL

We are seeking scripts to go into production with ASAP. We have funding and a first look deal with a major studio!!!

Here's what we're looking for:

Genre: Smart Horror, Noir, Thriller, Suspense
Budget: 500K - 1M
Other Details: Prefer a young cast, Limited Locations, and hopefully a good role for a female in her 20's.

We're looking for something that can have commercial appeal but we're open to all scripts we find appealing.

TO SUBMIT:
Be sure to mention you were referred by Jeff Gund, and email any questions, or logline,
synopsis, and writing sample if you have it to: zoeticent@yahoo.com

If we are interested we will request the full script.

Alexander Moore
Zoetic Entertainment, LLC

Writing Op - Christian Fiction/Sci-Fi/Fantasy


Daniel I Weaver is putting together a Christian spec-fic anthology project.

For this project, the working definition of speculative fiction includes fantasy/ sci-fi/ horror/ supernatural/ alternate history and magic realism and all submissions must fall into one of these sub-genres (thus, a fantasy/romance piece is acceptable).
First-rights granted by authors of accepted submissions. Short-story submissions must be 1.5-5k words, no more than three pieces per author. Poetry will be considered.
Cover artist and illustrators will be considered. Contributors for a Foreword and Afterword will be considered.

DEADLINES AND EXPECTATIONS:
This project requires intensive participation from potential contributors.
Deadline for rough draft is July 14th, where-after contributors will critique each other's work. Critiquing will be done in Christian_Fic_WRE_Crit_Group@yahoogroups.com which all potential contributors must join. Rough draft critique deadline: July 18th. Re-write, self-edit and polish; second draft deadline is August 4th. Second draft critique (more intense: fine picking, polish crits), deadline: August 18th. Final manuscript polished to shine; Final deadline: August 25th. Authors of accepted submissions must then join a second Christian marketing newsgroup to discuss marketing tips.

Interested parties must:
1) join Christian_Fic_WRE_Crit_Group@yahoogroups.com and
2) introduce yourself and state your interest in this project.

We look forward to working together with fellow Christian artists,
Scott “Frank Creed” Morris
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
e-mail: frankcreed@insightbb.com
Home: http://www.frankcreed.com
Blog: http://www.frankcreed.com/blog
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wednesday, June 28, 2006

If a Tux Could Talk


My son Tim and I are really stepping into high gear with the our latest work in progress - If a Tux Could Talk: The Men Who Help Plan Their Weddings, and the Women Who Love Them For It.

We are eager to find more grooms (and brides) willing to share their wedding planning experiences. If you know of someone who got married in the last few years, or someone currently planning a wedding, PLEASE have them drop me an email or give me a call. I’ve created a special email address just for these messages – louisedumont@gmail.com

A Little About Our Book
Today's groom is not afraid to order quiche tartlets for his reception or display a daisy boutonniere on his tux. Most couples are footing more than a third of their own wedding bill. Grooms both want and need to participate in the decision-making. If a Tux Could Talk: The Men Who Help Plan Their Weddings, and the Women Who Love Them For It reflects the changing role of a groom. Unlike many other groom guides, this book also addresses a young man's Godly desire to become the spiritual leader of the home, even as he values the talents and strengths of his bride.

Author Opportunity



Here is a request from fellow author, Terri Pilcher. The article is being written on spec for Today's Officer - the online version of their print magazine for military officers.
~~~~~~~~~~~
From Terri
~~~~~~~~~~~
I need a couple of anecdotes from people who've successfully resolved holiday conflicts with relatives. They could be in-laws, children, aunts, uncles, cousins, mentally-ill relatives, whatever. Please e-mail me at prowriter1@gmail.com if you have a story that will help.

Thanks!
Terri Pilcher
prowriter1@gmail.com


Several months ago Patrick O'Toole, a NJCWG member (and a regular instructor at our A Reason to Write Conference), completed Chapter 5 in the new Microsoft Press book "Programming Microsoft SQL Server 2005". The book just became available on Quantumbooks.com and BarnesAndNoble.com. It's listed on Amazon, but not yet available to purchase there.

Monday, June 26, 2006

NJCWG Meeting Tonight



NJCWG - Meeting Tonight

Monday June 26, 2006
6:15-7:00 - Chat Time
7:00-8:00 - Lesson
8:00-9:00 - Critiques

Special Note: There will be NO meeting on July 10, 2006

Sunday, June 25, 2006

NEW Book Announcement

Posted by Picasa
This is a picture of my son, Timothy R. DuMont, and his soon-to-be fiance, Amanda Lillis. It was taken after their recent performance at Carnegie Hall

ABOUT THE AUTHORS:

Tim R. DuMont is currently preparing for his wedding to the beautiful Amanda Lillis. Tim's mother, author and speaker Louise Bergmann DuMont, has been happily married to Tim's father (John DuMont) for over 30 years. Together they hope to share both the fun and the folly of wedding planning with those in the midst of such preparations.

MESSAGE FROM LOUISE:
My son, Tim, and I are eager to get our latest book, If a Tux Could Talk: The Men Who Help Plan Their Weddings, and the Women Who Love Them For It ready for press. We've already done a number of interviews, joined wedding forums, created a "groom's survey" and put together our publishers pitch (below).

We are eager to find grooms, brides, wedding coordinators and other wedding professionals willing to share their wedding planning experiences. If you know someone interested in participating in this project, PLEASE have them drop me an email or give me a call. I’ve created a special email address just for these messages – louisedumont@gmail.com

PITCH
Today's groom is not afraid to order quiche tartlets for his reception or display a daisy boutonniere on his tux. Most couples are footing more than a third of their own wedding bill. Grooms both want and need to participate in the decision-making. If a Tux Could Talk: The Men Who Help Plan Their Weddings, and the Women Who Love Them For It reflects the changing role of a groom. Unlike many other groom guides, this book also addresses a young man's Godly desire to become the spiritual leader of the home, even as he values the talents and strengths of his bride.



Award Annoucement



Just wanted to share some exciting news about one of our NJCWG members.

Chris Sagona was recently awared the First Place Award for Best Feature Writing in the state of New Jersey in a weekly newspaper. This award is presented by The Society of Professional Journalists and the award is the Excellence in Journalism Award.

An other note of praise for Chris is that her book, Park Ridge is complete. It will be in Barnes and Noble stores in about two months.

Next Meeting of the NJCWG



NJCWG - Next Meeting

Monday June 26, 2006
6:15-7:00 - Chat Time
7:00-8:00 - Lesson
8:00-9:00 - Critiques

Special Note: There will be NO meeting on July 10, 2006

Character Gesture Website


Here is a great website where you can get character gestures

The Nonverbal Dictionary
http://members.aol.com/nonverbal2/diction1.htm

Writing Op - More Than Novellas


Here is a recent writing op that came across my desk...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Seeking original novells, novellas and short stories.

Mission Statement: To promote and build a library of family friendly
fiction--with values that exemplify the teachings and walk of Christ--for
people to read on the web, by maintaining MoreThanNovellas and by promoting
the work of both authors and webmasters who are called to the same purpose.
(see below for submission guidelines

Last year MoreThanNovellas.com had our greatest summer ever. Not only did
we double our authors with some great men and women, but we received almost
as many hits and participation in the IF room then we did during the rest of
the year. I tell you that because people are looking for great fiction to
read online--all over the world. In 2006, we entered our seventh year
online and now have 16 online novellas, 12 complete ... 46 short stories,
all in a growing library of free to read online fiction.

This isn't a paying market. However, if you're interested drop by
www.morethannovellas.com and check out the how to submit page or the
submission guidelines page (see guidelines below).

Elizabeth Delayne
MoreThanNovellas.com

____________________
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

Look around the website and see what's going on. You should get a good feel
for it. Of course, you can always ask.

The story does not have to be distinctly Christian, but must represent
Christian values: clean, wholesome, fun ....

The story must have a plot~adventure, romance, friendship, etc. This means
character development, setting, rising action, climax and falling action.

Must follow True Love Waits and preferably Lady in Waiting (a book) values.
If you can't understand the meaning by the titles, again you can ask ;).
Please be aware of, an pray about, how love and affection is shown ...

It is important to remember that while most of the readers are adults, some
that come through might be children. I do ask you to consider the audience
and pray over anything that may be ... impressionable.

***Please do not submit a story you have posted elsewhere on the web. If
people run across similar stories over and over they stop looking.

The author keeps the rights to all stories. I will place your e-mail,
website, etc along with your story and I will create a graphic for you. Just
look around the website and see what's going on.

---
www.morethannovellas.com: Free to read online Novel(la)s & Short Stories.

Challenge your writing skills and delight the writers that are
participating, by adding to the continuing sagas in the IF room ... what
happens IF ... there's always a cliffhanger waiting for you.

Currently Accepting Submissions: novels, novellas and short stories ... see
Submission Guidelines/How to Submit @ morethannovellas.com

Wednesday, June 21, 2006

If a Tux Could Talk - New Book



Sorry I haven't posted to the blog recently. My family was having a yard sale last Fri & Sat in support of my youngest son (Timothy) and his soon to be fiancé (Amanda). This entailed digging through the attic, basement, garage and numerous closets (ugh).

Anyway, what little spare time I had was spent putting together a questionnaire for my new book. I am eagerly looking for recently engaged men or men married within the last few years. If you know of anyone like that, please have them contact me for a copy of the questionnaire. The tentative title of my new book is If a Tux Could Talk and I am particularly interested in men who chose to get involved in their wedding plans or those who wanted to get involved, but for some reason were not able to. Especially sought after would be humorous or poignant anecdotes about the wedding preparations or the wedding itself.

ALSO... I am also looking for specific instances when/how the man took on the responsibility of spiritual head.

Those interested in filling out my questionnaire can contact me ASAP at njcwg.dumont@gmail.com

Writing Op - The Kids' Ark



Here is an email that I received from Joy Mygrants at The Kids' Ark.
~~~~~~~~~
May this find you blessed and glorifing God in everything!

The Kids' Ark is on the lookout for interesting, adventurous and captivating submissions for children ages 6-12 in the following themes. Anger - Due July 18 (Anticipated publication in January) Wisdom- Due Aug. 18 (Anticipated publication in February) Lazy - Due Sept. 18 (Anticipated publication in March) . Submissions should be approximately 600 words in length and be e-mailed to me at writingwonder78@yahoo.com as a Microsoft Word attachment. Accepted stories earn $100 each. For more information, guidelines or questions, e-mail me. To view a copy of the Ark, view our website at
http://thekidsark.com

Blessings,
Joy
(Joy Mygrants)
The Kids' Ark

Monday, June 12, 2006

TONIGHT - NJCWG Meeting



NEXT MEETING - TONIGHT
Monday, June 12, 2006


North Jersey Christian Writers Group (NJCWG)
Ringwood Baptist Church
30 Carletondale Road
Ringwood, NJ

6:15-7:00 - Chat Time
7:00-8:00 - Lesson - Story Starters - Ideas to get you writing again
8:00-9:00 – Critiques

Upcoming topics of discussion: How to research articles, stories and books (June)
Poetry for the Non-Poet (July)
Learn to write by "patterning"
Using Personality Profiles to Creating Credible Characters

If any member of the group has a topic they would like to see taught/discussed, please notify the facilitator, Louise Bergmann DuMont njcwg.dumont@gmail.com

Walt Whitman Poetry Festival


NJCWG member, Maude Carolan, will be reading
at the Walt Whitman Poetry Festival this October!

Walt Whitman Poetry Festival
Auditorium Square Park
Ocean Grove, NJ
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Saturday,October 7, 2006
9:30 am to 5:30 pm
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Meet the Editors
Boss - Gillan - Finale - Johnson - LaVeglia - Larkin - Plante - Roscove - Zulauf
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hear the Poets
Berry - Bogart - Bryan - Cameron - Calendar - Carolan - Czyzewski - Dean - DeVenezia - deKoninck - Emerson - Evans - Friedman - Gwyn - Goldberg - Haefelein - Halscheid - Harter - Higginson - Johansen - Sutton/Johson - Kenny - Kreuter - Larkin - Leary - Lockward - Marchitti - Olaoye - Pecora - McKenty -
McCullough - Moore - Murphy - Newcomer - Reiter - Rosenbloom - Samuels - Schiro - Shadovitz - Smith - Thomas - Tiger - Vassallo - Ward - Weil - Whelden - Wilkinson
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Readings Workshops Tutorials
Panels Open Readings
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
No Admission fee but some programs require pre-registration
for more information and directions

Sunday, June 11, 2006

Next NJCWG Meeting



Next Meeting of the NJCWG
Monday, June 12, 2006
6:15-7:00 - Chat Time
7:00-8:00 - Lesson
8:00 - 9:00 - Critiques

Hope to see you there!

Saturday, June 10, 2006

Today - Book Signing - Don Smith



NJCWG member, Don Smith, wrote a book called "Hawthorne" as part of the Arcadia Publishing's series "Images of America."

Don will be at Bennett Books at 2 p.m. today, Saturday, June 10, in Wyckoff for his first booksigning.

Bennett Books is located at:

303 Franklin Ave.
Wyckoff, NJ 07481
Tel: 201-891-8444
You can visit them at their web site at: http://www.bennettbks.com

Wednesday, June 07, 2006

Writing Op - Focus On The Family



Just got this email from an editor at Focus on the Family. As always, do not contact me if you are interested in this market.

~~~~~~~

Focus on the Family would like to offer paying and non-paying writing opportunities for our outreach Web site, www.Troubledwith.com.

We need articles on parenting teens, parenting children, blended families, media influence, sex before marriage, physical and verbal abuse, homosexuality, and also for many other topics.

For paying articles, compensation ranges from .25 to .35/word, depending upon content type. Articles range from 600-1000 words.

If any of your writers are interested, please have them contact me for more information and visit www.troubledwith.com to learn more about the website.

Writers who are interested will need to submit two clips before they are considered for an assignment.

I can be reached at shana.schutte@fotf.org

Thank you so much! I look forward to answering any questions!

Shana Schutte
Editor
Focus on the Family
shana.schutte@fotf.org

Tuesday, June 06, 2006

New Book Project !!!



Strike up the band...
Get ready with a drum roll please...

I just got a VERY enthusiastic go ahead from my agent (Janet Kobobel Grant) regarding my next book project! I've been looking at this and that, while my emotions ran to and fro. Then I asked myself some serious questions.

Does God still want me to write?
If so, why am I NOT writing?
If He does want me to write, WHAT does he want me to write?
I want to write fiction, but does HE want me to write fiction?


I prayed fervently and found that God did want me to write -- so the question became, "What is my next project?"

Every good book starts with a need. Fill a need and you've got a book that will sell. Sometime that need is information, or it may be a need for entertainment. Whatever that need is, fill it and you've got your reader's attention.

Did I mention that my youngest is starting to look at engagement rings? This couple is very different from my oldest and his wife so it made me wonder what would be in store for us, wedding-wise, this time around. I searched the library for books on weddings. Low and behold - NO books for guys who are getting married. NO books for the mother of the groom. Not even any books for brides who want to know what their guys are thinking about the wedding.

Lighening struck. Well, duh. How about I write a book for brides and grooms -- from a guy's perspective! Hey, I've got great access to three young men in various stages of wedded or pre-wedded bliss. I also have a not-so-young fellow with over 30 years of wedded bliss (???) under his belt. This was it. I had a book.

This afternoon during my lunch hour I pitched the idea to my agent. She was THRILLED! Not only does she feel this will be a good seller, she did some quick research and found both a need and a vacumn of books in this arena. She already has a few publishers she thinks will be seriously interested and she wants my "blurb" right away!

Whopee!

If you have a title that springs to mind, feel free to send it to me. Right now I have two possibilities but neither is quite right. I'm open to any new possibilities. It should indicate a level of humor that will be a part of the book, it should attract a woman to purchase the book, and should indicate that this book is from the male perspective. Since the book is technically nonfiction, it would be good to have both a title and subtile. Send any ideas to me at: njcwg.dumont@gmail.com

Keep me in prayer. This is going to be a roller coaster ride. The good news is that this time around I know where most of the loops and dips are.


Next meeting of the NJCWG - June 12!

Louise Bergmann DuMont

Monday, June 05, 2006

Unsavory Agents and Literary Agencies



Those of you who know me know that I've said this before, but I really MUST say it again. If you are looking for an agent or literary agency to represent your work -- BE CAREFUL! Once again, a writing colleague I know got taken for thousands of dollars and his manuscript will sit on shelf for years until all the legal battles are fought. Why? He was so eager to get an agent he jumped on the first band wagon that came along. I knew his manuscript wasn't ready yet, I think that he knew it too -- but he wanted to be published, and he wanted it NOW.

It is always best to wait, Wait, WAIT for a respectable agent to pick up your manuscript (which may mean reworking it dozens and dozens of times before it is ready). If you sign with the first person to show some interest in your work, you may find yourself with an unsavory agent who smooth talks you out of your money -- and your reputation.

PLEASE check the following website if you are considering agents. And remember, a person saying that they are a Christian doesn't make them one any more than a person sitting in a garage makes them an automobile.

http://20worstagents.com/

Sunday, June 04, 2006

Writing Contest


News: Announcing the First Ever Writing Show Contest

The Writing Show is proud to announce their first ever writing contest.

They are looking for the best first chapter of a novel. That’s all you have to do—just the first chapter. Set up your story and hook them!

For details go to: http://writingshow.com/?p=128

Thursday, June 01, 2006

Ground Floor Writing Op


Have you ever wanted to get in on the ground-floor of one of God's grand plans? This may just be your chance.

Here is a (l-o-n-g) letter from a writing colleage that I am posting in its entirety. Please take the time to read every word. Then pray about who God wants you to act on this special opportunity.
In Him, Louise

~~~~~
June 1, 2006

Hi, Fellow Christian Writers

I have some exciting news to share with you which may present opportunities for many of you to serve the Lord in new ways with your writing and other artistic gifts, as I am now doing.

But first, a little introduction:

My name is Steve McLean. I have been serving the Lord as a writer, editor, graphic designer, proofreader, and a songwriter, in various ways since 1978, when I first took on the volunteer work of Editor in Chief for a Christian church newsletter named Grace Notes, which was the newsletter of the church group I belonged to at the time, Grace Fellowship Church, in Mansfield, Ohio. Since then, I’ve written for, edited, and designed several other church newsletters, which the Lord used to “whet my appetite/interest” in writing, editing and designing, preparing me for “bigger and better” plans He had for using the artistic gifts He’s given me through the Holy Spirit.

I’ve been living in Ashland, Ohio since 1995, and in 2001 I became aware there was a Christian writers group here named the Ashland Area Christian Writers Guild. I decided to begin attending this group and in short order became a member and one of its leaders as Editor in Chief for the group’s newsletter publication, Reflections, which I’ve greatly enjoyed putting together with the help of many of the other writers in our group who contributed articles, devotions, poetry, humor columns, writing news items, book reviews, etc. Our writers group had to change its structure and format at the end of 2005, as our Director and group mentor, April Boyer, needed to step down as our leader, and no one has come forward yet to help us as Director/leader and re-establish the meeting structure we had, but our group still has meetings from time to time as individual writers are able to offer their homes for such meetings and others are able to attend. And we keep in touch by phone and e-mail. April has been helping with this, too, by doing a special Bible study series by e-mail with the group, and maintaining her own website where members can contribute writings, tidbits, and advertise their books and CDs.

I came to know your leader, Louise DuMont, through our leader, April Boyer, who had established a relationship with Louise as a fellow Christian writer. At our writing group’s last official meeting with April as leader, she brought some free books in a box from which we could all choose to take what we wanted home with us. After everyone else had made their selections, I took home with me what was left so that April wouldn’t have to worry about carting home any more materials than necessary from what she usually brought and carried home from each meeting. One of the leftover books, I was delighted to discover, was Louise’s Grace by the Cup: A Break from the Daily Grind! I loved reading every one of the devotions in it, and, certain it would be a blessing to Christian friends and relatives as well, I sought to order some copies for Christmas from a nearby local bookstore, but they found Louise’s book was out of print. And so, I decided to try to order the copies I wanted directly from Louise by contacting her through the web address given in her book. Happily, we made quick contact, and she said she had a box full of extra copies she kept to sell through the mail. So I purchased three “personally autographed copies” and she sent them in time for “the Christmas rush.” Everyone I gave a copy to was as thrilled and blessed by Grace by the Cup as I was!

And since then I’ve written back to Louise from time to time to share how this book and its follow-up, Faith-Dipped Chocolate, have blessed me and others as I’ve shared the “essence” of many of Louise’s coffee-and/or-chocolate-flavored devotions with them.

Now, let’s move on to the “exciting news” I mentioned at the beginning of this letter:

I have become the new Editor in Chief for the publication division of a ministry group based in India named the Christian Communication Centre. I will be running their publication division in India from my home base of Ashland, Ohio, and also establishing a branch of this publication division here in the United States in Ashland, with help and contributions, from writers and other artistic personnel, throughout the United States. Everything is in the fledgling stages at the moment, with only a few other staff/team members “on staff” to help so far. The name of our publication division is Christian Communication Centre Publications.

The Lord spoke to my heart through the Holy Spirit and revealed the following goals as His will, plan and purpose for Christian Communication Centre Publications: to create, produce, publish and distribute Christ-centered magazines, books, newsletters, and other types of publications that help Him to build up the Body of Christ and that reach out to unbelievers by example with His love, forgiveness, grace, mercy, and the message of salvation through Christ.

There is much work to do to get things started and progressing to the point where we are actually creating, producing, publishing and distributing all of the various magazines, books, newsletters, etc. in India and the United States. We will need lots of help from those whom the Lord would speak to through the Holy Spirit to join me in this work, serving with me as a staff/team member doing the various jobs publication writers, editors, designers, photographers, assistants, secretaries, business managers, production personnel, etc., do in the process of putting together any new publication.

Many of you may have more initial experience than I do in some of these jobs, which is exactly why I need your particular help. I have never worked on a magazine or book production team before, except as an “outsourced” proofreader for the Christian business magazine Business Reform, which has been created and produced in Ashland for several years. Even so, I have enjoyed observing how magazine and book production teams have worked together to create so many unique publications over the years. I’m always checking out the new issues of magazines in the book racks, “design browsing” as I call it, and noting how others work together to bring the public such a wide variety of eye-catching and interesting magazines.

As an Editor in Chief, I have managed others in their work, but I do not yet have all of the business savvy of a Business Manager, so this is one of the areas where I need to have others handle whatever business management work that needs to be done for Christian Communication Centre Publications, and to teach me the best ways to “business manage” the work the Lord’s given us to do. A lot of this new work will be “on the job training” for me, and perhaps, for many of you, but we have the encouragement, inspiration, and guidance of the Lord through the Holy Spirit to help us to achieve all that God has given us to do for Him.

One of the first tasks I have been doing as Editor in Chief is to start getting the word out about Christian Communication Centre Publications, what it is, and what our needs are. In the same way that I am sharing with you, I’ll be sharing with other writers groups, church groups, and in person or by letter with others the Lord leads me to whom He might have been or is preparing to become a part of our publication staff/team in the United States. In India, I have recently been given someone to work with me there as an Editor/Secretary/Translator who will follow my instructions and help me to get the word out there about our work and its needs.

One immediate need is the need for money to run Christian Communication Centre Publications and pay me and our staff/team in both India and the United States for our work. The Christian Communication Centre in India is a non-profit ministry group as a whole, but our Christian Communication Centre Publications will need to function as a profit-making publishing business ministry, just as any other Christian publication business ministry does. We are not set up this way at the moment, and even when we are, we will have to do things from this perspective: we are not to take out loans or go into any degree of debt to pay for anything. I’ve been given a mandate and commandment about this from our Creator through the Holy Spirit. God wants us to be debt-free from start to finish. To trust Him to provide for our financial needs. So, how exactly do we obey Him and do things this way as He commands? Eventually, when we are fully functioning as a business type of ministry, we will be receiving money to operate on through our magazine subscriptions, book orders, and over-the-counter sales, but until then, how does the Lord want us to raise the money every publication company needs? I can think of only three ways myself: 1) fundraising events 2) donations and/or tithes or portions of tithes being given to our work 3) and interesting Christian investors in investing in our work. If any of you know of some other ways, or the Holy Spirit shows you some other ways, please let me know.

Another need we have is for publication offices and professional printing equipment to print magazines and books. Since I live in Ashland, Ohio, and am not able to relocate right now, it makes sense to find offices to rent or purchase that are located in Ashland, since I also do not have a car of my own and do not drive, but use the Ashland Transit system to get around town. Using my home as a staffed office would be impractical because I live in a one-bedroom apartment right now. Some day I hope to live in my own house, but for now I can only do certain types of editing, writing and designing, etc., work “at home” on my computer. So having a publication office and office furniture and equipment for me and my local staff to use is going to be one of the next things that we need to work on getting. Now, in India the Christian Communication Centre has various office buildings they use for their work, but they, too, have yet to be able to do any publishing of books and magazines with new, professional printing equipment. We’re planning on publishing a newsletter titled Christ-Centered before we publish magazines and books, and this newsletter can be put together via a computer design program, such as my Microsoft Publisher 2003 design program, and pages printed out on computer printers, such as my All-in-One printer, to be collated and stapled and distributed, but this will, of course, also require money to pay for printing supplies and postal costs. So, “money, money, money,” is going to be one of our first and continuing concerns for a while. But, let’s set this aside for now, and let me tell you more about the actual work we’ll be doing.

We’ll be creating magazines, books, and other publications that are patterned after the style and excellence of the magazines and books of Reiman Publications, such as Reminisce, Country, Birds and Blooms, Taste of Home, and Country Discoveries, which have been favorites of mine for a long time, and a great inspiration from the Lord to me as the way to do publications that give others an opportunity to be involved as “reader writers.” We will be creating publications like these in the way that they are, basically, “reader/subscriber written” and are ad-free magazines. Certain magazines and books we publish may, by their nature, need to be more staff written than “reader/subscriber written,” but, most of our publications will feature this format. What will make us stand out and be unique, apart from our own designs for covers and inside pages, will be our Christian worldview way of sharing about our lives and about all of the other subjects our staff and reader/ subscribers write about. By design, Reiman Publications’ magazines and books limit the amount of content that is written clearly by its Christian readers that mentions God and their faith, seeking to be able to include short memories and/or article-size memories by anyone of any faith that are on all kinds of topics relating to life.

We will be creating magazines that are clearly Christian written that feature many topics that are directly related to being a Christian, as well as, other topics that are general topics of life that take on a new meaning when viewed from the perspective of dealing with them as “new creatures in Christ” filled with the Holy Spirit who exhibit “the fruit of the Spirit” in their daily walk with God. When the Lord first spoke to my heart, mind and spirit through the Holy Spirit and confirmed His desire for me to become Editor in Chief of Christian Communication Centre Publications, He tapped into my creative side and that week inspired the gifts He’s given me for creating interesting titles and ideas for magazines, books, articles, designs, etc., and I found myself enjoying thinking about and coming up with the titles and ideas for the following magazines that we will be doing as soon as we are able to fully create and do them:

First of all, we will create together a magazine titled Living in the Grace of God. It will be a combination of the types of content that is found in Reminisce, Country, and Birds and Blooms. Some of the content that will become a regular feature of Living in the Grace of God we will preview in our Christ-Centered newsletter. In the attached copy of my “design model” for Christ-Centered you will find these preview sections: “Greeting Places”, “Fruit of the Spirit”, “Designed by God”, “Laugh Lines”, and “Fellowship Diaries.” I’ve written a short description of what each of these sections will feature on their page design. As with some of the Reiman Publications magazines, the demand for more of the content of certain sections featured in our magazines may require and/or inspire us to create a new magazine that gives the readers what they asked for. In particular, I think we might soon create separate magazines titled Fruit of the Spirit and Designed by God. Each of these topics is rich in possibilities for staff and reader-written content. Fruit of the Spirit could feature sections about a facet of each of the nine fruits listed in Galatians 5: 22, with appropriate photographs or artwork that compliment its “fruity” section. We could even feature short reader fiction based on the fruit featured in a particular section of the magazine. Designed by God lends itself to anything and everything that exists in God’s Creation, so we would never run out of fascinating topics to explore and share from the knowledge that those creations were created by God, not “nature” or “Mother Nature” as is often referred to in magazines that don’t want to offend or lose readers who may not believe in God. We believe it’s more important to speak the truth in love for the readers’ sake than be concerned about offending or losing readers who mistakenly believe something other than the truth about God’s Creation. Reiman Publications always feature attractive photographs on their covers and throughout their pages, and so will every magazine of Christian Communication Centre Publications! Living in the Grace of God and Designed by God might well be mistaken for a Reiman Publication because of their abundance of beautiful photographs from cover to cover depicting God’s Creation, His love for His Creation, and how “heaven and earth declare God’s glory.” In fact, Heaven and Earth Declare God’s Glory is another title inspiration that I have had for a future magazine. Here are some other inspirational magazine titles that came to me the first week that I became Editor in Chief: Everyday Miracles, PrayerLines, Men and Women of God, Discovering God’s Word, Inspired Composer, Christian Film Creator, Christian Artist, and Taking Care of God’s Temple. <>Everyday Miracles, I thought we might feature sections or departments with titles like these: “The Miracle of … (molecules, atoms, speech, touch, etc.)”; “Flying Miracles” (birds, butterflies, flying squirrels, etc.); “Miracles of the Sea” (fish, seashells, waves, etc.); “Ancient Miracles/Modern Miracles”; “The Miracle of the Human Brain”; and “The Miracle of Faith.”

Within PrayerLines, we would feature testimonies, thanks, and praises for answered prayers, as well as, offer an opportunity for readers to ask other readers to join them in prayer for specific prayer requests. This may work better as a section of other magazines than as a magazine of its own, but we’ll see ….

Within Men and Women of God, we’ll give staff and readers opportunities to share about men and women of God who have inspired or blessed them. We will also feature sections designed to encourage one another in being men and women of God.

Within Discovering God’s Word, we will feature sections that look at specific instructions, encouragements, and promises from God’s Word and share how God spoke to us through the Holy Spirit about those instructions, encouragements, and promises, blessing us and helping us to apply what we learned. Also, I felt inspired to reproduce portions or whole sections of parts of God’s Word (such as the shorter books of the Bible) for readers to simply reread in magazine design format along with the Holy Spirit to receive whatever He gave them to help them grow in their Christian walk into the likeness of Christ. Haven’t thought of any particular section titles for this magazine yet, but we might include “discovering God’s Word” as a preview in Living in the Grace of God.

Inspired Composer, Christian Film Creator, and Christian Artist we will feature staff and reader written material of the particular artistic topics of each magazine. I’m always blessed to discover how many other Christians have artistic gifts and are using them for the Lord, fulfilling what He has revealed through the Holy Spirit is His will, plan and purpose for their lives in using the artistic gifts He’s given them!

These magazines will help to make other Christians who are artistic just as aware and encouraged as I have been in discovering how many of us there are in the world, and will give each of us an opportunity to encourage one another by sharing what we are doing and looking together at ways to do it better, or more effectively, thereby inspiring one another in creating new artistic works. Christian Artist will include all of the arts: ART (paintings, sculpture, etc.), DANCE, FILM, MUSIC, and SCRIPT (fiction, non-fiction writing, film and playwriting, poetry, songwriting). Inspired Composer will be specifically for music and lyric composers; and Christian Film Creator specifically for everyone involved in creating Christian films and TV series. We may also create magazines as we go along that are specific to each of the Christian artistic genres.

Within Taking Care of God’s Temple, we will be featuring staff and reader written material about the various ways to do this topic, encouraging one another to be attentive and remember that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit that need to be taken care of as such.

Here are some of the section titles that I have thought of that could be featured in our first magazine, Living in the Grace of God, and/or in our other magazines: “Proverbial Truths” (verses of Proverbs with shared experiences), “After God’s Heart” (ways believers have sought God’s heart on some matter), “Life Stories” (short memories of living the Christian life in good times and bad), “Exploring God’s Country” or “Enjoying God’s Country” (vacation experiences of believers), “Everywhere I Look” (a photo section of God’s Creation with readers’ comments captioning the photos); “Pretty Patterns” (another photo section of beautiful patterns found in God’s Creation – like spider webs, snowflakes, cloud banks, etc. -- observed by readers and photographed); “ ‘Luck’ or the Lord?” (incidents shared by readers that unbelievers might consider merely ‘luck’, but believers know was God’s doing); “Scenarios” (a section of “Creation scenes” with comments by staff or readers who photographed them); “Kid Pics” (cute and/or special photos of the kids readers are raising to know the Lord); “Quiet Times with the Lord” ( a section for sharing how readers spent special times communicating with the Lord, perhaps with accompanying photos if readers took some while they were communing with God and His Creation); “Once Upon A Time … “ (a section in the tradition of Reminisce magazine’s “Memoryville” stories that were featured for a while in their earlier issues, with specially drawn artwork like they had that depicted the story that was inside on the cover of their magazine) and “Once Upon A Rhyme” (rhymes or poems with accompanying artwork or photos depicting memorable Christian experiences in life); “Neighbor To Neighbor” (a section for neighbors to help neighbors in various ways with requests or advice); “Toddlin’ Through Life” (readers’ toddler photos and/or heartwarming or humorous memories); “Life’s Little Challenges” (humorous memories of the challenges children encounter and/or that children and parents encounter together); “Encounters On the Light Side” (more humorous Christian memories or stories); “Oops! …” (a “most embarrassing memories” section for believers); “Baby Talk” (cute baby photos with funny “baby thoughts” captions by readers); “Arcs of the Covenant” (beautiful scenic rainbow photos with memory captions shared by readers and/or staff); “The Story Behind … (various inspired works of art, hymns, buildings, etc.).

And there you have a few of the titles and ideas I have had so far for magazines that we will be creating together if the Lord speaks to your heart, mind and spirit through the Holy Spirit to become one of our staff/team members or a reader/subscriber or other type of contributor to our publications. I welcome each one of you who is able to help in any way, now or in the future. If you feel inspired by the Holy Spirit with other titles and ideas for our magazines or books, or sections of the same, please share your inspiration with me. One of our fellow writers in the Ashland Area Christian Writers Guild, Debby Dever, is one of the first to join with me in working on our publications as a writer, editor and designer. Debby has been greatly blessed and encouraged by the ministry of Corrie ten Boom, and has created an inspirational column we’ll be using in one of our magazines (perhaps, as Debby suggested, in Men and Women of God) about the life of Corrie ten Boom.

Recently I purchased a copy of Roy Reiman’s autobiography titled “I Could Write A Book …” and I have been enjoying reading it and noting the advice and information he shares in it about how he started and grew Reiman Publications into the successful publication business it is today. There are some good examples, of course, to follow in our fledgling publication business ministry, but other business ideas or methods we would not be able to emulate, specifically, any involving taking out loans or going into any kind of debt. So, as I read this fascinating and inspiring autobiography of one of my “publishing heroes”, I am sorting out what we can do, too, and what we can’t do, according to our specific instructions and commandment from the Lord through the Holy Spirit. But, I’m so glad to have this book and the excellent examples of Roy Reiman’s publications to follow as we create excellent examples ourselves of worthwhile, helpful and beautiful publications that bless, encourage, inspire, and help to build up the Body of Christ, and reach out to unbelievers with God’s love, forgiveness, grace, mercy, and the message of salvation through Christ as “the Way, the Truth, and the Life” that we know and live out.

Thank you for reading through this letter. I will look forward to hearing from you and receiving whatever help you can give. And I’ll give you other details on what we’re doing and our needs as you ask for them.

Sincerely,
Steve McLean, Editor in Chief,
Christian Communication Centre Publications

Contact information:
Steve McLean,
62 Cardinal Court
Ashland, OH 44805-4357
Phone: 419-289-6698

Email: Lifeinchrist75@truevine.net

Great Article


Here is one of the most facinating articles I've read in a long time. You'll find it in Mary Ann Diorio's June 1, 2006 blog entry. If you read nothing else this week, read this article!

http://www.maryanndiorio.com/blog/archives/general/000240.php