It’s our first edition of Fall Fiction Frenzy!

I’m SO excited to introduce y’all to one of my dearest writing friends – and here’s the kicker – we’ve never actually met in real life! 🙁 Someday!! I love this girl SO much – she has just been the best encouragement on days when I needed it the most (and not just about writing), she’s been the kick in the pants I needed on deadline days and such a sweet sister in Christ!

Meet Betsy St. Amant!

Betsy just released a new novel, Fireman Dad, which I found in my Walmart here recently (GO BETSY!). She’s married to – oddly enough – a fireman and they have a gorgeous little girl. And she’s one of my co-conspirators on Scribble Chicks.

All important question first. What’s your favorite drink to order at Starbucks?

Mmmm this is easy. And now I’m hungry. Grande, non-fat, white chocolate mocha with no whip (unless it’s a booksigning, then I splurge)

What are the odds??! We have the same order, if you change out the non-fat for fat and the white chocolate mocha for a caramel macchiato. 🙂 Tell us a little bit about how you got started writing.

I knew I wanted to be a writer since I was 7! I was always pecking away at our first home computer, trying to write Baby Sitter’s Club books (hello, Fan Fiction! haha) or making up my own characters, usually a girl with a dog and zero plot. ::grin:: I’ve been a character driven writer even since childhood! haha. I got serious about publication when I turned 18 and started attending writers conferences and trying to network and figure out how this whole thing worked. Gayle Roper introduced me to the ACFW and the rest is history! I’ve been a member there for 7+ years and it’s amazing. Their website is www.acfw.com – highly recommend.

So fun – I love how similar our stories are. Summer or winter – which one do you prefer?

Winter! I love sweatshirts and hot chocolate and blankets and not worrying about being tan. LOL. One brush with melanoma and tanning beds are officially a thing of my past. Hello, Jergen’s Glow Lotion.

Well. We all know my feelings on winter. Any new books out or in the process of coming out?

My latest release was Fireman Dad, August 1st via Love Inspired. My next release is Addison Blakely: Confessions of a PK coming via Barbour Books in January, 2012. Can’t wait!

Me either! Though, I have to tell you. I told Jon the title of your new book and he said, “Confessions of a place kicker? She’s a football fan?” It’s fall, I guess. 🙂 So, what’s your least favorite part of writing?

The waiting game! It never ends. First you wait to finish a story then you submit and wait to hear from an agent, then you get an agent and they submit to editors and you wait to hear from them. Then you wait to hear from committee and then you wait to get your line edits and then you wait to get your cover art and then you wait to get your author copies and then you wait for your release date and then you wait for reviews and then you start the process all over 🙂 Writers can’t be impatient. They’d go insane. I think the waiting does get easier but man, at the beginning, when I was new to the industry, it was brutal!

Preach it, sister! Tell us a little about the genre you write in. Why did you pick that route?

I’ve written 6 contemporary romances for Harlequin Love Inspired, but now I’m starting to branch out into YA, and actually, that genre picked me. Or rather God directed me to it. It all started when I pitched a contemporary romance to an editor at the 2009 ACFW Conference in Denver. When she reviewed it later, she told me it wasn’t quite what they were looking for at the time, but she liked my style, and did I happen to have a YA? I was like, uh….if you want one, I’ve got one! ha. So I realized that I had a story I’d already started, a “secret story” if you will, that was just for me, a “vent” book for expression. And it was a YA. So I brainstormed with a friend, fleshed it out, put it into proposal form, and Addison Blakely, Confessions of a PK, was officially born. It ended up being rejected at committee level at that house, but then we sold it to Barbour a few weeks later. You’ll get to meet Addison on January 1st ::grin:: God’s ways are so much higher than ours! I would have never thought I’d go that genre route but now, I can’t imagine NOT writing YA. I have a head full of new ideas eager to come out for teenagers. It’s becoming my new passion from the Lord.

Yay! What is your favorite part of writing?

The blank document screen of a new story waiting to be written. It’s an incredibly intimidating, incredibly inspiring (wow, how’s that for alliteration? lol) moment when anything is possible, when the story is fresh in your fingertips, waiting to be released. The opportunities are endless. It’s scary and awesome all at once. ::grin::

It’s totally scary and exciting! So, what’s your favorite character you’ve ever written?

That’s like asking to choose between my kids. LOL Thankfully I only have one kid right now, so Little Miss wins that category ::wink:: But in fiction…Wow. I guess if I MUST pick, I’d have to say Addison Blakley. She’s the heroine in my new YA coming out in January and she was so fun to write, probably because of the first person style. She’s quite snarky and witty but honest and relatable. She taught me a lot.

I have a favorite child too. 😉 Any advice for prospective authors?

DON’T GIVE UP! So many writers get discouraged after their fifth rejection or their tenth or their twentieth. But if you stop writing, stop submitting, stop trying, then you are guaranteed not to ever be published. You truly never know what door God is opening just around the corner. You have to keep moving to get there.

You have an entire day with nothing planned – what would you do if money was no object?

Oh great question! There’d be Starbucks, there’d be writing, there’d be new books from Barnes & Noble, there’d be dance lessons, and of course, there’d be shoe shopping. If $ is truly no object, then I’m going for the Jimmy Choos and the VENTI mocha. hehehe.

Ha! Great answers, Betsy!! You can find out more about my friend on her website, www.betsystamant.com. And, yay for this one, Betsy has very generously agreed to give a copy of Fireman Dad away!!

Every comment counts as an entry into the contest. Sorry guys – this contest is only open to folks in the continental U.S. One comment per person, please! And remember – every comment over the next two weeks enters you into the drawing for the Old Navy gift card! Time to stock up on those winter sweaters Betsy and I love!

Today’s comment question: If you had to watch the same movie 50 times in a row, what movie would it be and why?

I have a super special surprise for you all!!

Starting later tonight, I will be doing a two week long series filled with giveaways, interviews and much more!! 🙂

I’m SO excited! I have some AMAZING women lined up for you guys to meet – all fabulous authors and all wonderful women of God!

But the best part?? Every comment left during this two week period – on any post – automatically enters you to win an Old Navy gift card!! Anyone in need of some super cute fall sweaters?

You can enter once a day, but please don’t enter more than once! Also, several of the authors are giving away a copy of one of their novels!!

So… anyone excited?? Look for the first post tonight!!

Yay!!

Yesterday, Mom turned 50, so of course, we had to make a big celebration of it!

Bryant flew back in town from Austin and brought a friend of his, Nick. We had so much fun hanging out with them!

We went out to eat at one of our favorite Mexican food places on Friday night for her birthday and Jon got in major trouble for telling the restaurant manager that it was her birthday. The mariachi band came over and played “Happy Birthday” and then all the waiters and waitresses came over and sang again. Ha!

One side of the table! Nick, Bryant, Caleb and Caleb’s girlfriend, Ali.

Mom and Cayce! 🙂

Nathan loved it there. He danced and danced to the music! I thought he looked adorable all dressed up for dinner. 🙂

We ended up being there for two hours, so he definitely did not make it the whole time in his high chair. Pops was very sweet to walk around the restaurant with him and watch the mariachi band play. I think this picture is hilarious – they both have the same expression!

Afterward, we went back to my parents’ house and put Nathan in bed. Then Mom opened her presents and we played games until WAY too late. We also tried something new this weekend: S’macons! S’mores with bacon! 🙂

Such a great weekend! I’m SO blessed to have such a wonderful mother. She is someone I want to be more like and one of my best friends. I think I love her even more now that I have my own baby – being a mom has given me a whole new set of eyes when it comes to my mom. What an incredible blessing she is! I love you so much, Mom!

This last week, my mom, sister, me and Nathan all went to Disney World for a little girls-plus-Nathan trip.

We had SO MUCH FUN.

We park hopped, we rode whatever ride we wanted to that day, we took Nathan on a few rides that he absolutely adored and we celebrated a little ahead of time for Mom’s 50th birthday.

I love this picture of my mom and sister in Animal Kingdom!! 🙂 We had such great girl time while we were there! We’d put Nathan down and then just whisper for the next little bit. It was SO needed. 🙂

Nathan loved it. Absolutely, positively LOVED Disney World! He danced and laughed and yelled and sang. His favorite rides were the carousel, the Mexican Small World (in Epcot. Ha!!) and he loved the Festival of the Lion King show in Animal Kingdom – loved it so much that I felt bad for the people sitting around us. My boy can be a little bit animated. 😉

He also learned a few new things while we were out there. You can now ask him what a cow, lion, duck or sheep says and he’ll respond with the sound they make. 🙂 It’s REALLY cute.

Have to confess though, that I do not ever want to fly on a plane with him again! It’s a little over a three and a half hour flight one way and he screamed and cried and threw a fit for at least two hours (the first flight was more) both going and coming home. I felt SO bad. I did everything I could think of to get him to be quiet and nothing worked. 🙁 There were definitely points on both flights were I wanted to just burst into tears too. I hate having people get frustrated with me or Nathan. It’s hard to not know what to do to make your child behave.

The good news is, he slept GREAT while we were there which was a big concern of mine since we were all in the same hotel room! Huge prayers of thanks were said! And he was very well-behaved in the parks – fits were few and naps were taken. Yay!

All in all, we had a great trip! We came home exhausted from all the fun and Nathan is just now back on this time zone, which is why it’s taken me so long to catch up on here! 🙂

Thanks so much for the fabulous trip, Cayce and Mom!!

We’ll see how long I actually stick with this, but I’d like to have a list of what my current favorites are – maybe not every week, but every so often.

And here we go!

1. Homemade Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

This tiny corner was all that was left for my breakfast – and the picture. 🙂 If there was anything I was going to stockpile, it would be canned pumpkin and chocolate chips so I would never have to be without this bread. I zap it in the microwave for about 20 seconds before eating it the next day and oh. the. goodness. Fall in bread form.

2. Downy Wrinkle Releaser

Because I am as good at ironing as I am at square dancing. And we’ve already gone over what happens when I am around objects of great heat.

3. Tazo Decaf Chai

Hands down the best Chai tea bags in the world. And I appreciate the decaf because then I can drink it late at night. And I just realized I sounded exactly like the “old people” at our community groups who always complained about the caffeinated coffee late at night.

Oh my.

4. Mossimo Juniors Jeans

Can I get an Amen for cheap juniors’ jeans that actually have the option for long length?

5. Mrs. Mays Fruit Chips

Delicious, easy to carry with me and healthy for Nathan. Check, check, check.

And now it’s your turn! What are your favorites this week??

I seriously cannot get over what a big boy he is now!!

He’s such a little ham – always ready to dance or do any of his “tricks” to make us laugh.

I love, love, love my little bean.

Nathan woke up yesterday with a runny, snot-crusted red nose. 🙁 He doesn’t get sick very often – something I’m SO thankful for! – so it always catches us a little off guard. We stayed home all day yesterday and I filled him to the brim with orange juice, squirted him up with saline, suctioned him out with the nasty nose sucker thing (his absolute favorite thing in the whole world – NOT. Not that I can blame him) and wiped him down with Boogie Wipes.

Honestly, I might have bought those just because I think the name is cute.

So, he got to sit in his chair and watch the Cedarmont Kids and then he sat in my lap and we watched Larry Boy and then by the afternoon, he decided he was well enough to try and kiss my face and run through the house waiting to get tickled.

I think he’s feeling better today. 🙂

Any wise words of advice for how to help a sick kid get completely well and stay well through the sick season?

Every year, our city has a Balloon Fiesta in October and I’ve been going for probably 20 years. I absolutely, positively LOVE it!!

Last year was Nathan’s first time to the Fiesta and he was SO tiny that I’m not sure he got too much out of it. Ha! 🙂 This year was SO fun! He loved the balloons and he loved the music.

We went the first weekend with Clint and Leigh Ann – such a great time!! The only bummer about the Fiesta is you have to get up WAY early in the morning – this picture was taken before 6AM!

My favorite thing to get at the Fiesta – the mini cinnamon rolls in a cone!! Nathan was a big fan. 🙂

It was such a beautiful morning for hot air balloons!!

Me and my dear, dear friend!!

Then, Jon’s parents – Nonnie and Papa O – came in town and we spent this last weekend wearing them out. Ha! 🙂 We redecorated my guest bath, we went to the Aquarium, we went to the Fiesta twice… I think we are ALL needing a little bit of rest now!

I burned my fingers really badly on a glue gun while redecorating my bathroom (I’ll show the finished product soon – the bathroom, not my fingers). I should not be allowed to own anything hot or sharp to the touch. The only band-aids in the house were Toy Story and Cars, so Nathan decided that he needed a sympathy bandage.

Nathan got spoiled rotten by his Nonnie – lots of new toys, plus she took us all to Chick-Fil-A and we’ve already established that is Nathan’s favoritest place in the world. 🙂 She also got some fun bathtub crayons for him. Jon had a little too much fun with those:

Nonnie and Nathan outside the aquarium:

Mother, Son and Grandson by the fish! Nathan goes crazy in the aquarium – especially now that he can walk. Thank goodness it’s a fairly small area!!

We went to a Balloon Glow with Nonnie and Papa O. The Glows happen at night instead of early morning, which is MUCH easier to take Nathan to! We had a blast – Nathan was totally in awe of those balloons! There was a band performing when we first got there and Nathan just danced and danced – he put on a real show. It was hilarious!

Touching one of the balloons with Dad:

You can’t really see the balloon because it got dark quick, but it’s a baby bee!! When Jon and I were dating and first married, our favorite balloons were these two bees – one guy and one girl. They always lift off holding hands and then turn midair and kiss. It’s adorable! The year we found out we were pregnant with Nathan, they introduced this little baby bee! So, we always have to get Nathan’s picture in front of it:

Watching the fireworks! Nathan did great! He sat very still through most of the 30 minute display. 🙂

Before they left, we took Nonnie and Papa O to the Pumpkin Patch to get some grandparent pictures with them. We had such a great visit! I’m so thankful that Nathan has two sets of such amazing grandparents – he is blessed way beyond what he even knows.

I cannot believe that this was already a year ago!!

What happened???

Every Monday, I get to hang out with these beautiful girls and their amazing kids:

Y’all. They have honestly saved my life several dozen times. Being a stay at home mom can be one of the loneliest places in the world – odd, because I’m never alone. It’s so wonderful to have a group of women who know exactly where I am. I love these girls so much!

Last night, we had second girl’s night out – we’re aiming for once a month. We had to get kicked out by the restaurant when they closed. So much fun! Each of us is very different, but somehow we all just clicked.

Such sweet blessings.