Christmas time is upon us and every family has different traditions. When my brother-in-law joined our family, he told us about a tradition his family held. Someone would hide a pickle ornament on the Christmas tree and then everyone would search for that ornament. The person wo found it would get a special prize/gift. Anyone who knows my dad will understand he jumped at the opportunity to put his own twist on this tradition. In order to welcome my brother-in-law to the family, he decided to showcase this tradition. But he didn't use an ornament. He used a REAL pickle. Dill, in case you wondered. It got quite a look from the person who found it. And now, every year since then, a real pickle makes its way onto our tree. Whoever finds it usually does not want the prize because it's just as strange as the real pickle. The pickle (now that we know it's REAL) is easy enough to find. We just sniff it out!!

Last year, "Backwards Christmas" premiered showcasing the fictional town of South Pole, Alaska. This small town was going down the tubes when the mayor came up with a way to bolster tourism....by doing Christmas BACKWARDS. What does that mean? You name it! They hang their Christmas trees upside down from the ceiling (the way it used to be done back in the day). They paint mistletoe on sidewalks. They take presents TO Santa Clause. And the carolers force homeowners to sing to THEM when they visit. The traditions saved the town and they sure were fun for me to create!

Amidst this quaint, charming little town, there is no loss for hurt. Chris Furst lost his parents on Christmas and he has been bitter against the holiday ever since. His former girlfriend, Noelle Freeman, however, is filled with the spirit. It's obvious they still have feelings for one another, but the difference in their beliefs about the holiday are too big of a canyon to breach.

Join a lively cast of characters for this Christmas-filled adventure in the heart of South Pole, Alaska. Find out about their intriguing traditions (that I wish were real because I'd be dying to visit the town myself!) Grab a kindle copy of the book for yourself, or send it to a friend as a gift on amazon! Check out the details on Backwards Christmas HERE.

You can also join my publisher Pelican Book Group (that recently took Prism Book Group on as an imprint) for a Christmas celebration on Facebook December 15th. Just click HERE to join that party!

Merry Christmas and please don't be shy, share your strange holiday traditions with me. Who knows, they may end up in a book someday... :)

I know Christmas can be a hectic, stressful time of year. So today, I want to tell you a few stories to make you smile and take your mind off of your everyday life. Sound good? Here we go!

What Sadie Wants for Christmas

My three-year-old, Sadie, is quite vocal about what she wants for Christmas this year. Her desire stems from lovely TV commercials. Every time she sees commercials from this particular industry, she points and squeals. "I want that! I want one of those!" Thank you commercials. You are very helpful. However, the commercials to which I'm referring happen to be related to jewelry stores. What does Sadie want? A diamond ring. Not a small spec either. We're talking a full on carat, maybe more. She's partial to chocolate diamonds, by the way, but she seems to be okay settling for regular diamonds as well.

Before Sadie gets what she wants, I think she is going to have to stop taking her beaded jewelry off and laying it about any floor she stands on. I'm talking the library, the fast food restaurants, preschool and everywhere in between. There are going to have to be rules about her diamond ring. :)

The last time we saw a jewelry commercial I told her she would get her diamond. All she had to do was wait 20+ years, meet a nice boy, and allow love to blossom. It is only a matter of time before he gets her just what she wants. The sad part is that all of that will happen way too soon for mama!

In the meantime, I hope she is happy with the tea party set she's actually getting. She can't wear it, but she might try...

Kaelyn and the Crock Pot

My oldest daughter is 7 and she's always had a fear of smoke detectors. Not smoke, necessarily, just the device that detects them. Perhaps this is telling of my cooking skills...

Her fear got so bad for a while that we had to remove the detector from her room just to sleep at night. That was a few years back and while she is better about detectors in general, they still do not have a loving relationship.

I'm not a gourmet chef in any sense of the world, but I do manage to put food on the table in edible form each night. I enjoy crock pot cooking the most because all I have to do is throw stuff in the pot and wait. Dinner served! Our big crock pot has a timer on it and it beeps when the cooking cycle is complete and it switches over to "keep warm."

The last time I cooked in the crock pot, we were home when the cycle changed from cook to keep warm. The beeping isn't loud or obnoxious like a fire alarm, but apparently, it's similar enough. After two or three quiet beeps, Kaelyn panicked, screamed "fire!" and bolted out the front door of the house.

I wondered how long it would be until she came back. Luckily, it was chilly outside so she wasn't away too long. I now have to time our crock pot to beep when we are not home. And attempt to not start fires when I cook in other ways. Kids are so demanding! :)

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Thank you for indulging me in these stories today. I hope they made you smile. Who knows, maybe they'll end up in a book someday. Feel free to comment and hit me with your favorite smiley emoticon so I know I reached my goal today...stories for a smile! :)

Who needs stores when you can start your holiday shopping with a simple email? I have a stash of a number of my books and I'd love to pass them on to you for gifts. I'll sign them and mail them out to you (no extra cost for shipping in the US!)

So, here's the deal you get...$10 for one paperback book. If you buy more than one, add $5 for each additional book. And NO shipping charges! Below are the titles I have in stock. Get complete descriptions in the "Books" portion of my website!

To grab the deal, email me at authorbrookewilliams@gmail.com and let me know what you want! We can work out check or paypal or whatever is convenient for you.

Merry Christmas in advance!


Wrong Place, Right Time
Kate interrupts the wrong wedding and finds herself caught between two men…
 
Mamarazzi
Danica takes pictures of the stars…until she becomes one!
 
Someone Always Loved You
Jay hits a pedestrian his first day on the job as an ambulance driver in this family drama.
 
 Accept this Dandelion
Nothing goes right for Renee on this reality TV dating show!
 
Dandelions on the Road
Season two of the local reality TV dating show features a woman and plenty of dandelions!
 
After the Final Dandelion
You’ve never attended a wedding like this!!
 
Shower in the Rain
A mom trying to do it all takes her shower in the rain so her daughter can play.
 
Baby Sheep Gets a Haircut
Baby sheep gets his first haircut…but can’t find his mommy!

Accept this Dandelion is part of this huge humor book giveaway, so I wanted to make sure you knew about it! You can enter now through November 7th! Fingers crossed you win!!!

Welcome, Jan Elder. Could you please tell our readers about your writer’s journey?

I started writing Love, Lies, and Fireflies seven long years ago in the fall of 2009. I had just turned the ripe old age of fifty and feelin’ blue. I’ve been a writer since I was a little girl, always penning poems, letters, and short stories, and a couple of years previously I’d kicked around an idea for a novel. I even had a whopping four pages written!
I heard about the National Novel Writing Month (http://nanowrimo.org), an annual internet-based creative writing project that takes place every November. NaNoWriMo challenges its participants to write 50,000 words with the goal of stimulating those creative juices and keeping writers motivated throughout the process. A group of fledgling writers were meeting at a café fifteen miles from my house, and I decided to give it a try. I only made it to 30,000 words, (okay, okay, it was actually 29,000 something, but thirty thousand sounds so much more impressive) but I was hooked.
And thus began my humble writing career. Did I have any idea what I was doing? Not much, but I could learn. That’s been seven years ago now, and since then I’ve published a couple of other books. But Love, Lies, and Fireflies is very special to me because it’s the first one I started.

Can you give us a short synopsis of Love, Lies, and Fireflies?

Sure! Here’s the back cover copy:
 
Didi O’Brien is engaged—at least she was an hour ago. Now she’s not so sure. Her fiancé, the suave Kevin Cabot, has just revealed that he’s been unfaithful, and he’s not the least bit sorry. Reeling from the betrayal, with her plans for a happily-ever-after life in doubt, she prays for direction. The answer comes as a complete surprise. God has someone better in mind.

Middle school teacher, Jake Montgomery, is struggling with some issues of his own. Sadly, a year previously his fiancée had been killed in a car crash. Battling anger and despair, in a mountain-top experience, Jake wrestles with the Almighty, and is ready to live again. In his youth, he’d felt an unmistakable call to the ministry but, like the prophet Jonah, since then, he’s been running hard in the wrong direction.

Through a crisis of faith, and glimpses of mercy, Didi and Jake find each other. But can they find the strength to resolve the many obstacles that conspire to keep them apart?
    
Sounds interesting. Could we have a short excerpt of the novel?

Alrighty. The following is one of my favorite passages:
 
With sleepy, half-closed eyes, Jake yawned and opened his arms in invitation. Without hesitation, Didi slid into his embrace. “You’re welcome,” he murmured into her ear. He stroked her hair as she nestled into his shoulder. His arms around her were warm and comfy.
Knowing Jake needed his rest, Didi stretched up and planted a light kiss on his cheek. When she tried to let him go, Jake tenderly drew her closer.
“Not this time, Didi.” Pulling back slightly, his gaze full of longing reached out to her. Gentle fingers wound themselves in her hair as he whispered, “Close your eyes.”
His husky voice sent shivers of anticipation down Didi’s spine. Heart pounding, she drew in a deep breath and lowered her eyelashes. Slowly, so slowly, he drew her closer and kissed her with soft, chocolate-scented lips. With her eyes still closed, she melted into him, and he kissed her again—this time not quite so softly.
They stood in the hallway, arms draped around each other, until a drowsy Jake bent back against the door and groaned. “Now I really do have to go before I collapse on your floor, but I’d love to see you again. What are you doing Friday night?” His eyes held a trace of fire as he brushed a strand of hair from her face.
The touch of his fingers on her cheek warmed her heart and gave her shivers. He was a good kisser—no, a great kisser. Beating back apprehension, she made a quick decision. This man was a gentleman, unlike Kevin. “Instead of going out, why don’t you come here? I’ll make dinner if you bring popcorn and a movie. Does that work for you?”
“A nice, quiet evening sounds wonderful, but don’t fuss over dinner. I’m easy to please. Around seven?”
“Perfect.” He leaned in for a swift final kiss, and Didi was charmed that he seemed to have a hard time letting her go.
She picked up his lunch bag from where he’d let it drop to the floor, handed it to him, and stepped back. “Night, Jake.”
 
Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?

Find a good writers group that is both encouraging and honest. Your mother can tell you you're already a wonderful writer. You want your writers group to challenge you and help you stretch and grow. Conferences are also a great way to learn an amazing amount about the craft in a short period of time. I would highly recommend the Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writers Conference. Also, think about joining a group such as American Christian Fiction Writers. They have been a tremendous inspiration to me in many ways and I give back by hosting an ACFW writers group in Williamsport, Maryland.
 
In closing where can we find out more about you and your new book?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1537410849
http://janelderauthor.com
https://www.facebook.com/janice.elder.author
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13261561.Jan_Elder
 
Thank you so much, Brooke, for featuring me on your blog! It’s truly been a pleasure talking with you today.

I recently had the opportunity to speak to a writer's group and at a writer's conference on the topic "How to Start a Freelance Writing Career." And while I won't ramble on for an hour like I did in those workshops, I thought those of you who want to be freelance writers might find a few of the tips I offered interesting and/or helpful. Here are just a few top tips on starting a freelance writing career.

Tip#1: Start with Job Boards
Job boards don't pay very much at first, but they give you a good place to practice. Job boards (like The Content Authority, Zerys, Textbroker and others) can connect you with potential future clients and allow you to start building your writing experience.

Tip#2: Save Save Save
If you are just starting out in the freelance writing world, you may not have many writing samples. Save everything you write so you can use the work as samples for future clients. People thinking about hiring you almost always want you to prove that you can write. Sending something you've written in the past is proof!

Tip#3: Practice Typing
The faster (and more accurately) you can type, the more earning potential you have. If you can write one 500 word blog in an hour at $10, you've made $10 in that hour. If you can write 5 similar blogs in an hour, you've made $50. Practice your typing skills and your earning potential rises.

Tip#4: Make Goals
Freelance writing isn't a career that happens overnight. Make small goals for yourself and build your career as you go. Decide on a certain amount of time to dedicate to writing every day or choose a money goal. Give yourself an hour a day, or strive to make $30 a day. Make a specific goal and stick with it to challenge yourself.

Tip#5: Get Good at Research
Almost everything you write will require at least a little research. The research needs to be done in a fast, effective manner so you can get the writing assignment done as quickly as possible and start on another. Glance through a few articles with similar topics in order to grab the inspiration you need for your original piece.

Tip#6: Line Up Technology
As your career begins to take off, utilizing certain aspects of technology can be really helpful. I use the Expensify app on my phone, for example. I can list any expenses that go into the business so I can easily deduct them for tax purposes later. You might also consider Invoice2Go, a service that helps you create invoices for your clients so you never forget to get the payment you deserve. These little things can add up and help you succeed.

Working as a freelance writer is marvelous, if you like to write, which I do! :) Keep in mind that, like with many careers, it's a marathon, not a sprint. When I first started, many clients paid me 1/2 a cent per word. That's a whole $1.50 for a 300 word blog. But as you start to gain client trust and become more in demand, the money amounts raise and so do the level of orders you have rolling in. If writing is something you really want to do, don't give up. Do it because you love it and the rest will fall into place with time and dedication.

I wanted to drop a brief note to let you know I'm on the radio today! If you go to http://www.TheAuthorsShow.com anytime today and click on "Accept this Dandelion" in their broadcast schedule, you can listen to me in a 15 minute interview. The interview is available any time you have 15 minutes today.

I was in radio for 12 years, but it's been about 7 since I had a job in that industry. Hopefully I came off okay in the interview. I'd love for you to sit back and take a listen as I talk about my romantic comedy series.

My niece is doing a project at school called Faith in Action. She was given $10 to "multiply" over the school year. At the end of the year, she gives the money she raises to a charity. She's quite the little artist so she decided to create a website to sell her original artwork for donations. She sent out an email with information and asked that we share it with anyone interested. I thought I would put it out there on my blog and let anyone interested take a look. And please share with anyone you might think would be interested.

You just go to the website, look at the art, choose which one you want, and then send an email to her through the website for details on where to make your donation.

I had both of my girls look at the options and choose one. The tie one below is my oldest daughter's choice. I want to put a picture of her above it to make it look like she's wearing the tie. I think that'll be cute. My younger daughter chose a heart picture.

Here's the website: http://canvases4jesus.wixsite.com/canvases4jesus

I recently had the opportunity to speak to a writer's group and at a writer's conference on the topic "How to Start a Freelance Writing Career." And while I won't ramble on for an hour like I did in those workshops, I thought those of you who want to be freelance writers might find a few of the tips I offered interesting and/or helpful. Here are just a few top tips on starting a freelance writing career.

Tip#1: Start with Job Boards
Job boards don't pay very much at first, but they give you a good place to practice. Job boards (like The Content Authority, Zerys, Textbroker and others) can connect you with potential future clients and allow you to start building your writing experience.

Tip#2: Save Save Save
If you are just starting out in the freelance writing world, you may not have many writing samples. Save everything you write so you can use the work as samples for future clients. People thinking about hiring you almost always want you to prove that you can write. Sending something you've written in the past is proof!

Tip#3: Practice Typing
The faster (and more accurately) you can type, the more earning potential you have. If you can write one 500 word blog in an hour at $10, you've made $10 in that hour. If you can write 5 similar blogs in an hour, you've made $50. Practice your typing skills and your earning potential rises.

Tip#4: Make Goals
Freelance writing isn't a career that happens overnight. Make small goals for yourself and build your career as you go. Decide on a certain amount of time to dedicate to writing every day or choose a money goal. Give yourself an hour a day, or strive to make $30 a day. Make a specific goal and stick with it to challenge yourself.

Tip#5: Get Good at Research
Almost everything you write will require at least a little research. The research needs to be done in a fast, effective manner so you can get the writing assignment done as quickly as possible and start on another. Glance through a few articles with similar topics in order to grab the inspiration you need for your original piece.

Tip#6: Line Up Technology
As your career begins to take off, utilizing certain aspects of technology can be really helpful. I use the Expensify app on my phone, for example. I can list any expenses that go into the business so I can easily deduct them for tax purposes later. You might also consider Invoice2Go, a service that helps you create invoices for your clients so you never forget to get the payment you deserve. These little things can add up and help you succeed.

Working as a freelance writer is marvelous, if you like to write, which I do! :) Keep in mind that, like with many careers, it's a marathon, not a sprint. When I first started, many clients paid me 1/2 a cent per word. That's a whole $1.50 for a 300 word blog. But as you start to gain client trust and become more in demand, the money amounts raise and so do the level of orders you have rolling in. If writing is something you really want to do, don't give up. Do it because you love it and the rest will fall into place with time and dedication.

I'm part of a giveaway that includes 40 other romance novels, some of which are sweet and others of which are spicy, from what I hear. In order to enter, you can visit the website hosting the event and enter your email and name etc.

When you do that, you are giving permission for those involved in the contest to have your email address. Just so you are aware. You may get put on their mailing lists. All of which you can unsubscribe from if you wish. Just want to make sure you notice that! But you may want to get that information anyway so that would be all good!