parenting – WordServe Water Cooler

Exciting things have been happening this month at WordServe Literary!

On the final post of each month you’ll find a list of WordServe authors’ recently released books along with a recap of agency news.

New Releases

Dr. Daniel Amen released Memory Restore with Tyndale. Expert physician Dr. Amen reveals how a multipronged strategy―including dietary changes, physical and mental exercises, and spiritual practices―can improve your brain health, enhance your memory, and reduce the likelihood that you’ll develop Alzheimer’s and other memory loss–related conditions.

Dr. Amen also released Stones of Remembrance, a companion to Memory Restore that invites readers to discover the healing power of Scripture meditation and memorization as an intentional spiritual discipline. Remembering God’s acts, promises, and guidelines for living can contribute to a healthy spiritual life and a healthier mind and body as well―reducing stress, increasing brain capacity, and even helping to reverse problems like memory loss.

Stephen Arterburn released 6 Ways for Men to Thrive in Midlife with Aspire. Midlife doesn’t have to be a crisis of identity or a failure in self-confidence. Midlife can be a season of discovering how your past years and present situation are the very stuff that an exciting future is made of. Steve Arterburn offers readers proven strategies and guidance from God’s Word that will set you up to thrive.

Stephen Arterburn also released 7 Ways to Choose Healing as part of the same New Life series with Aspire. The power to heal (emotionally, spiritually, mentally, and physically) is in God’s hands, but the ability to receive his healing touch is your choice. Using biblical principles and trusted counseling advice, this book helps you break the bondage of pain and hurt and guide you towards healing, forgiveness, and freedom.

Jim Burns released Understanding Your Teen: Shaping their Character, Facing their Realities with IVP Books. For teens to become responsible adults, parents need to help them grow to attain a healthy self-identity, establish good relationships, make wise decisions, and grow in their relationship with God. Burns shows how parents can shape behavior and character, navigate social media challenges, and communicate and resolve conflict healthily.

Julie Cantrell released Perennials with Thomas Nelson. In this beautiful novel set in Oxford, Mississippi, two estranged sisters reunite for their parents’ 50th wedding anniversary, where a family tragedy brings unexpected lessons of hope and healing amid the flowers of their mother’s perennial garden.

Donald Stratton and Ken Gire’s bestseller All the Gallant Men was released in paperback this month from William Morrow. The most gripping, intimate, and inspiring account of Pearl Harbor, this first memoir ever published by a USS Arizona survivor is a must-read for all World War II military history buffs.

Joe Wheeler released the 2nd Edition of Abraham Lincoln Civil War Stories with Howard Books. Updated to highlight the character and leadership of Lincoln, this beautiful collection reveals the servant heart of the President, his dedication to those who served him, and his homespun humor and wisdom.

New Contracts

Ron Moore signed with Regnery Publishing for Finding Your Heart for God, due for publication in early 2019.

Anita Agers-Brooks signed with Kregel for her newest book, Exceedingly: Stories, Skills, and Strategies for Unearthing Your Abundant Purpose—an inspiring guide to help the everyday woman or man answer the burning question of their purpose—unearthing the real reason God made them.

Mary Davis signed with Barbour for her novella, “Zola’s Cross-Country Adventure,” which will be included in the MISSadventure Brides Collection due out for publication in 2019.

Tim Riter signed with Harvest House for his book Easy Riding, due to publish in early 2019.

New Clients

David and Karin Holder, David Muller, and Preston Ulmer signed with WordServe this month. Welcome!

What We’re Celebrating

Dr. Amen’s book Memory Rescue reached #1 on the Amazon best seller list for Aging Medical Conditions & Diseases.

Christian George’s book The Lost Sermons of C. H. Spurgeon Volume I Collector’s Edition was one of the winners of the ECPA Top Shelf Award to promote and recognize outstanding book cover design in the Christian publishing industry. Congrats!

Library Journal listed Krista Phillips’ The Engagement Plot as one of their best books of 2017 for Christian Fiction!

(Continued from Part I)

I began writing my memoir by starting near the end. That first night, while sitting in front of a blank computer screen, I tapped out the images closest to memory, and likely closest to my heart. It was the account of a remarkable day… the day I delivered my daughter, Annie, to a drug treatment center in California.

“It wasn’t at all the institutional setting I’d expected for detox… At that late hour, the street was quiet and still. A woman emerged from the far side of the darkened house, brushing by a wall of hydrangeas that cast an eerie glow of amethyst and silver in partial moonlight. Her hushed tones made it seem a clandestine transfer as she took hold of the pull handle on Annie’s bag and turned to escort her inside… Just before both disappeared into the darkness of an open gate, Annie turned around to me and mouthed the words, ‘Thanks Mom.’ I thought I might burst. “

Within a week, I had one, full chapter completed. “Not bad,” my college-aged son reported after a quick read. He showed all the enthusiasm of dry cement. My husband refused to read it at all.

My brother, Paul, on the other hand, provided terrific support for my intentions with the book. He had been the smart one, the accomplished student. While I was sunbathing and reading Cliff Notes during our college years, Paul studied Comparative Literature as a graduate fellow at a top university. “So Goose,” he asked (yes, he calls me Goose), “are you going to write this sequentially or thematically? You also need to pay close attention to your voice. My what? I struggled with how to continue. What was a “voice” and where could I get one? Was I really capable of writing a book? What initially had seemed nothing more than a quick chronicle of a story I already knew, the magnitude of the task ahead started to overwhelm me.

I decided equipment would help. A lover of bins and boxes and anything organizational, I ventured into Office Max and filled my cart with a large black binder, numbered dividers, a year’s supply of yellow sticky notes, white 3×5 cards, and multi-colored mechanical pencils.

Once home, I affixed a sticker to the spine of the binder with the word “Book” written on it in blue felt tip marker. I placed my new materials throughout the house: at my desk, on the coffee table in the great room, at my bedside table, near the bathroom sink, and in both cars. Ultimately finding it perilous to jot notes while driving, I purchased a small recording device. “Don’t forget to tell them what happened in the garage,” I recorded into the mic.

Each night before I sat to write, I filed the day’s sticky note inspirations onto the dividers throughout the binder. Then I prayed. “This was your idea, God. Help, please!” Six months later I had an outline and about six chapters written. This feat coincided with the weekend visit of a close friend, and one of the smartest people I know. Bright, articulate, and extremely well read, my friend-who-shares-the-same-name-as-me, demanded to read what I’d written. She in fact seemed hurt that I hadn’t yet asked for her input and advice.

I knew better than to share my work so early in the process, and especially with someone who tends to be critical, but I yielded to her insistence. I really hoped for some encouragement. You see it coming, don’t you? My friend emerged from our guest room the next morning, with the “Book” binder in hand, avoiding eye contact as she headed to the coffee pot. Oh boy, I thought.

“So Barb,” she finally said, once settled in at the breakfast bar, “I, uh, think, uh, this is an important story for, uh, people to read. It’s not, uhhhhh, gonna be a best seller or anything, but it’s, uh, good.” She then looked up at me and added enthusiastically, “You sure have a great memory!” I laughed. Kind of.

“Memory isn’t exactly what I was going for. But I guess that’s something. Thanks for reading.” Unable to leave well enough alone, she added, “You sure didn’t use many big words, did you?”

At that point my heart went “thunk”… and I stopped writing. (Stay tuned for Part III when I share how the Jordan River helped me start writing again….)