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Sunday, March 31, 2013



by Kimberley Payne, illustrated by Esther Haug

Product Details
Trees of the Book is a 26 page children's activity book, #1 in the Science & Faith Matters Series. It explores the trees discussed in the Bible in a way that is both fun and informative for children of the grade 2 - 3 level, or ages 7-9. With a colorful interior and 8.5" x 11" format for comfortable handling for children, it offers challenging activities, fun facts, opportunities for Bible study and presentation of stories connected to the trees.
Paperback: 28 pages, 8.5 x 11 inches
Publisher: byDesign Media (February 13, 2013)
ISBN: 978-1896213736
$9.95
 

Kimberley Payne shares information and activities from biblical accounts, from the oaks of Genesis to cedars and palms, and the mustard tree, to the less common fig, sycamore, and brooms.
 

Told in a fanciful first-person style as though the tree is telling its own story, Payne gives both the biblical passage where mention of the tree is made, and questions related to it. For example, the first story about the oak involves using the tree as a landmark. At the camp Abram set up near these mighty oaks, God made a special promise. Payne asks her readers to think about promises.
 

Following these passages and questions, Payne gives the scientific description of the species, including growth pattern, names, and other details.

 
Each chapter also has an activity, such as word search, fill-in-the-blank paragraph, match the facts, or a crossword.
 

Haug’s illustrations are charming and add depth and beauty to each chapter.
 

It’s hard to mix science and faith for many. In this book, readers don’t have to even enter a debate. God’s creation is wonderful and varied and awesome. Payne ends with a great glossary, answers and a fun list of further activities.
 

Highly recommended for fun and learning, Sunday School, family activities.

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

And the Winners Are....

WE HAVE WINNERS!





Shout Outs on the Rafflecopter About Out New Site, Designed by Our Own Joseph Young, Free Books, PRIZES, and Monthly Great Books Being Launched!



Sounds like a great site!
-- Brittany McEuen

Sounds like this venture has a bright future!
-- Sandy Salsbury

Thanks for giving us this opportunity!!  I love the chance to see the latest books, let alone the contests!!
-- Midgie E. Bardo

Wow! Awesome site!
-- Leisa Sonnenberg Schirmer

Winning a kindle would be the only way I get one, lol.
-- Eileen Bartschenfeld

Great give away
-- Matthew Kratz

I'm excited for my daughter to read Seventh Dimension!
-- Becca Carroll

love being able to read quality Christian books.  Thank you!
-- Lori McCartney Ritchey


!!DRUM ROLL, PLEASE!!




Using Random.org, the following people are winners!

Kindle 




Kelly Gowens


$50 Amazon Gift Card

Amanda Stephan


$10 Starbucks Card

Matthew Kratz




Make sure you bookmark our new launch site at http://John316MarketingNetwork.com
A launch every month. John 3:16 Authors aren’t eligible to win a Kindle but are eligible to win any other prizes, including a free book launch!






Friday, March 15, 2013

Just Two More Days to Win a Kindle and Other Prizes - Book Launch is Saturday March 16, 2013



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John 3:16 Marketing Network Christian Book Launches 16th of Every Month
Mark Your Calendar for 
Saturday, March 16, 2013 
Final Day to Purchase Your Book
Drawing for Free Prizes


John 316 Banner





Celebrate With Us!



New Books
 by 
John 3:16 Marketing Network Authors!

Each month from the 1st through the 16th, the John 3:16 Marketing Network of Christian Authors will host a book launch featuring three to six authors. 

You will have an opportunity to win prizes as well as  download FREE BOOKS!

Make sure you enter our raffle (many times) for the drawing on the 16th! 

Help make our first launch a success by visiting our new launch page at http://John316MarketingNetwork.com  

Meet our talented, showcased John 3:16 authors and learn more about their books.   

The authors for March are:

Matthew R. Horn 
Joseph Young
Lorilyn Roberts

Again, be sure to enter the drawing -the Rafflecopter - that runs from the 1st through the 16th of every month. You might win a Kindle ($69 value), a $25 Amazon gift card, or a $10 Starbucks card. 

Click here to learn more.

Enjoy also checking out the free books available throughout the month!

There is Corn in Egypt

Showcased book for March 16, 2013


Seventh Dimension - The Door

Showcased book for March 16, 2013

Nothing Good is Free

Showcased book for March 16, 2013

Black

John 3:16
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life."


Free Book On Smashwords!, use Coupon Code: HD49M Free Book on Smashwords!  
Coupon Code:
HD49M 


SIGN UP
AND SAVE
25%

John 3:16 Author Membership 25% off with this coupon 
Code: Constant Contact List
$10 off regular membership rate of $40

Offer Expires 03-17-2013.  Go to http://lorilynroberts.com/john_3_16_marketing_network.html for membership information

Lorilyn Roberts llwroberts@cox.net Gainesville, Florida 32606
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Friday, March 8, 2013

Guest Post by Dianna T. Benson -- A Writer's Journey


Dianna T. Benson






When U.S. DEA Special Agent Lelisa Desmond refuses to follow an order to bury evidence in a high profile case, her superior hires a hit man to kill her deep in the ocean off Grand Cayman Island. Lelisa survives the first attempt on her life, but someone close to her is mistakenly murdered in her place.

With no one to trust, Lelisa enlists Inspector Alec Dyer for help but learns she's his number one suspect in the scuba diving homicide. She sets off on a daring mission to bring down the man who ordered her execution. A man in a high position, with power friends. A man who will stop at nothing to silence her forever in order to hide his son’s crimes. 



A Writer's Journey



In 1993, I started writing my first suspense novel. After completing five novels, I signed with an agent in 2007. Six agents offered me representation that spring; it was difficult to turn down the other five since all of them are top-notch agents. In the fall of 2007, a film agent requested a screenplay of The Hidden Son after reading the book. Just days before I completed the script, I learned the film agent suddenly and recently retired due to health issues. I never pursued anything further with the script.

In 2009 I was offered a four-book publishing contract in mainstream, but soon after that my husband was diagnosed with cancer. I turned that contract down to focus on our young family of five, and God carried all five of us through the surgeries and radiation treatments.  

I finaled in the Golden Palm in 2007, finaled in the Daphne in 2010, double semi-finaled in the Genesis in spring 2011, and won the Genesis September 2011. I switched agents January 2012. I signed a nine-book publishing contract July 2012. My first book, The Hidden Son, released in print world-wide on March 1, 2013.

Starting in February 2012, for thirteen weeks I had a pending contract offer from one of the largest traditional print publishing houses. They made me an offer only three days after my new agent submitted my work out. The entire editorial staff and the entire leadership team loved my writing, but the business team was concerned their suspense list is already too full.

The senior acquisitions editor drew up a matrix broken down by genre of their release list for 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015 (my books included in it), proving to them they have room and finances for one more suspense writer (me). Much to that editor's stunned shock, after thirteen weeks the business team decided they can’t add another suspense author.

During this thirteen week timeframe, the senior acquisitions editor thought it was just a matter of time before my contract finalized, so my agent understandably let go of all the other interest in my writing. Soon after those thirteen weeks with that publishing house, Ellechor Publishing House, a small traditional print house, contacted me and asked me to submit my 2011 Genesis Winner, Illusion of Safety. A few days after I did so, they offered me a nine-book contract.

The publishing industry today is not just about the writing (not even close). A reputable agent won’t offer representation unless he/she truly believes the writer has potential in today's market. Your marketing platform needs to be an absolute stand-out. Example: I’m an EMT and a Haz-Mat and FEMA Operative; I write suspense and medical thrillers.

However, even if you have a solid marketing platform, there are other obstacles.

Two other large traditional print houses loved my writing as well, but neither could offer me a contract only because they can’t have me competing with their current authors who write the same genre I do.

A limited number of books every month are print-published worldwide. Every traditional print house nowadays (large and small) is fighting to stay in business, and it takes a ton of money to publish and market a book, so the business team of any traditional print house needs to be convinced spending tons of money on a debut author is profitable for them without hindering any of their current authors.

Contest wins look great on a proposal, but in the end the business side of a publishing house makes the final decision on contract offers, and reality is unpublished writing contests have no relation to their current lists, their financials, the market, sales, a writer’s platform, or what constitutes as excellent and high profitable writing.

A little discouraging, but my hope here is to inform (not discourage) as well as to focus on the positive.
The publishing industry is rough, but I think stand up comedy is way harsher. When a comedian gets rejected (their act isn't going well), they're on stage in front of a live audience—yikes.

Keep in mind, if you’re unable to land an agent and/or a traditional print publishing contract, it doesn’t prove your writing is the problem, so continue to believe in yourself as a writer.

Above all, if you love to write, then never stop writing. God gave you a passion, so spend time on your passion and enjoy yourself! It may not be all about the writing anymore in the industry, but it will always be all about the writing to us writers.



*****

Dianna T. Benson is a 2011 Genesis Winner, a 2011 Genesis double Semi-Finalist, a 2010 Daphne de Maurier Finalist, and a 2007 Golden Palm Finalist. In 2012, she signed a nine-book contract with Ellechor Publishing House. Her first book, The Hidden Son, released in print world-wide March 1, 2013.

After majoring in communications and a ten-year career as a travel agent, Dianna left the travel industry to earn her EMS degree. An EMT and a Haz-Mat and FEMA Operative since 2005, she loves the adrenaline rush of responding to medical emergencies and helping people in need. Her suspense novels about adventurous characters thrown into tremendous circumstances provide readers with a similar kind of rush.

Dianna lives in North Carolina with her husband and their three athletic children.



Friday, March 1, 2013

Fearless Friday! Meet Matthew R. Horn


Meet Matthew!

Growing up in north-central Indiana, Matthew learned the value of a good imagination at an early age. Bob Kane and Bill Finger's Batman, Clive Cussler's Dirk Pitt, and Ian Fleming's James Bond were constant visitors to Matthew's imaginative world.

At the age of 14 Matthew began taking writing classes from none other than his own mother. Having a Master's in English, she wanted her children to be able to communicate properly with the written word. Of course, Matthew hated this. However, nearly twenty years later the lessons learned combined with the imagination born from sheer boredom have cultivated a desire to share his imaginings.

To better tell his adventure stories, Matthew began taking lessons in Martial Arts in 2011. Having achieved a Red Belt in Tae Kwan Do and having broken his nose during a sparring session, Matthew has a unique ability to combine his imagination with real-life experiences to tell stories in a way that are creative and adventurous, yet gritty and realistic.

In September of 2011 Brighton Publishing made Matthew's second book, The Good Fight, his first published novel. The sequel, Nothing Good, is Free is now out in eBook and will be released by Brighton in paperback in March 2013. The final installment, The Price We Pay is currently being written and will hopefully be released during the summer of 2014.

You can contact him clicking the "Email the Author" link from the homepage. You can also follow Matthew on both Facebook and Twitter.

 
The Good Fight
ISBN 978-1-936587-04-9 
 
About the Book:

Jeffery Scott had always made it on his own. An unwanted child, Jeff spent his childhood being pushed from family members to orphanages before finally ending up on the street, until one night, in an alley behind a popular restaurant, Jeff’s life was saved by a dark suited vigilante. Through the mask of the vigilante, Jeff found the courage he needed to change his life, to get an education and become the person even his own family had told him he could never become.

Sixteen years later, Jeff is only a semester away from graduating from community college. With his eyes on graduation, Jeff’s life once again crosses with the dark suited vigilante. But this time, he learns the vigilante’s identity. Over the next year, Jeff fights to discover the line between what he wants and what he must do. His decisions will not only affect those he cares about, but will also alter the course of his life.

 
Purchase on Amazon
Purchase at Barnes and Noble
 
 

Nothing Good is Free
ISBN: 978-1-621830-37-5

About the Book: 

Detective Martell of the Chicago Police Department has a big problem on his hands when he discovers a connection between a recent drug bust and a case he worked on in the ’80s. Not sure if he can trust his peers, Martell goes to the one person he knows he can count on: Jeff Scott. 

Jeff has taken over as the city’s vigilante after Jim, his predecessor, was killed in a drug bust. Toward the end, Jim’s demeanor took a turn for the worse as he became more violent in his work and went after bigger thugs, which ultimately led to his untimely demise. The last thing Jeff wants is to let a life of violence get the better of him and end up like Jim. So, in a pursuit to avoid the same destiny as his mentor, he seeks the truth about Jim and the life he led before the two joined forces. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Buy on Amazon
 
Now for the interview:
 
Share something not many people know about you:  In January of 2011, I joined the Blue Dragon Tae Kwan Do school in order to learn a new skill, try something new, but also to learn the mechanics of hand-to-hand combat to better write my adventure novels. This last December I took a punch to the face while sparring and broke my nose. Having now been through the surgery and almost fully recovered, I feel that I have ‘earned’ a unique viewpoint in how these fight scenes can be described. I would, however, not recommend anyone try this at home.

Are you a “pet person” or prefer no pets? I love animals and grew up with cats in the home.  However, my wife is extremely allergic to pet dander and as such, my house is animal free.

Would you rather travel or stay at home? Honestly, it depends on the last time we went out. I love to read, and spend time with my wife in the safety of our own home. However, we love to travel and have seen a good deal of the country so far.  We just booked our first European trip as well.

Do you read more or write more? I definitely read more than I write. I try to read the Bible every morning and I like to read fiction before I go to bed. My writing usually occurs when my wife and child are napping.

Prefer cake or pie? I know I’m not helping by straddling the line, but if it’s a birthday, cake. If it’s a holiday meal, pie. I love’em both.

Would, or do, ride a motorcycle or prefer to ride/drive a car? Finally an easy one. I love motorcycles and have two of them. My father taught me to ride as his father taught him. I always ride with full gear ie. helmet, leather coat, leather gloves, jeans, and boots.

 Bus or taxi or walk? I prefer to walk. I don’t like to spend a lot of money on transportation and I prefer the freedom of space.

 Are you part of a big church congregation or a small church? Definitely a small church. I attend a small church in a very small town. We know everyone and everyone knows us. It’s a great family.

 Do you like to telephone people or prefer to use e-mail? I think I’m more effective with email. As it’s less personal I don’t feel as many restrictions on word usage. 

Are you happy or joyful? Joyful. I know Jesus, how could I not be?

Do you eat at home or eat out? I’m a routine guy so eating at home is the most important thing.  However, I really love a good restaurant.

Listen to music or prefer quiet? I enjoy music sometimes, but I definitely prefer quiet.

 Prefer sunrises or sunsets? Sunsets. When I get up in the morning I’m usually focused on a workout or on getting my routine started. The evening is when I take the time to enjoy the beauty of a wonderful sky.