​Mr. Keith D. Guernsey is retired after a forty year career in sales and sales management with several fortune 500 companies. He currently lives on Lake Lanier with his wife Susan and four-footed son Harley.  Mr Guernsey spent a good portion of his youth playing sports, active in both football and hockey. In 1995 Keith was diagnosed with a life-threatening brain tumor (called an Acoustic Neuroma) and he underwent a ten hour operation at the world-renowned Brigham and Women's hospital where it was successfully removed.  While recovering, he met and married Susan. Together they faced his next challenge. In 1997 his neuroma returned. He was to undergo yet another, more complex, operation which resulted in a complete cure, however side effects of this second more invasive procedure caused prolonged inactivity and led to severe weight gain of over 100 lbs.  Today Mr. Guernsey is very proud of the fact that he has been able to overcome his physical challenges, losing over one hundred and thirty five pounds, and has found the time to write two successful books (“Confessions of a Beantown Sports Junkie and “Fathers and Sons-Sports and Life”). He now enjoys a more active and rewarding lifestyle at age sixty five than at he did at twenty five!  His current interests include senior softball, he has recently been elected to the Board of Directors of ITN Lanier, he volunteers as a delivery driver for Meals-On-Wheels and works as a counselor for veterans who are looking to re-enter the work force.

 I was honored to have presented this “Self-Publishing Road Map to Success” at the Writer’s in the Wind group recently.
Self-Publishing   101
I have written my masterpiece...now what?


Interviews: http://www.peggyshope4u.com/saturdays-pick-keith-d-guernsey
Podcast: http://www.theauthorinsideyou.com
Books Signings: Riggy's Grill
Fund Raisers and Giveaways: Charity events (Jimmy Fund), Holidays, Business cards, 
Blog:  https://niume.com/profile/74183#!/posts

"Fathers and Sons…" is a story of an uncommon love and devotion between fathers and sons. It is a story of my recovery from two rounds of life-threatening brain surgeries to play on three championship softball teams in two states. It includes a chapter on the most controversial sports topic of our time; Deflategate. It is also an ode to my late father Gordon, the greatest sports parent of all time!

Fathers and Sons Facebook page;
https://www.facebook.com/thegurns1/
Twitter=@thegurns
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​Mark Stevens is the author the Allison Coil Mystery Series--Antler Dust, Buried by the Roan, Trapline and Lake of Fire. The last three books were all finalists for the Colorado Book Award. Trapline won (2015). Stevens is Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers’ 2016 Writer of the Year. He is president of the Rocky Mountain chapter for Mystery Writers of America and serves on the national board. He also hosts a regular podcast for Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers. Kirkus Reviews called Lake of Fire “irresistible” and Craig Johnson, author of the Walt Longmire novels, said, “Mark Stevens writes like wildfire.” 

​If I could go back to the day I started writing fiction about thirty years ago:

1. I would have joined a writing group immediately, to share drafts, talk business, talk fiction, talk reading, talking writing, share ideas. Writing is solo sport. And it’s involved more teamwork than I would have ever imagined. 
2. I would have written more—not necessarily faster, but more. More isn’t always better, but it’s practice. By writing more, I think you’re training that part of your little old brain. Muscles like to work. Atrophy sucks. So, write more.
3. I would have learned, early on, to omit the word ‘that’ from all prose. (I think ‘that’ works okay in dialogue.)
4. I would have worried more about character. Character is key. The plot, yes, of course. But I’m convinced more and more it’s all about the character, whether antagonist or protagonist or, better yet, both. It’s the issues of the character that drive the action that create the plot. (Obvious, yeah. Maybe these are notes to myself.) If you have a good solid complex character with three dimensions and if that character needs something or wants something, you have the start of a plot. So write the character and write what that character desires (needs, wants) and then start throwing obstacles in his or her way. Final thought: by definition, great characters do something.
5. I would have learned, early on, to omit the word ‘just.’ My candidate for most useless nothing unspecific blah bland filler word ever. But I still whip it out in the first draft and sprinkle around like confetti.
6. I would have joined writing groups early on (see #1 above) and I would have leaned into every single opportunity to support those groups. I figured this out later on. I should have figured it out earlier. It’s not about hoping to “get something back” from others. It’s not about a transactional, deal-making kind of thing. It’s simply about being fully engaged, more thoroughly embedded in the community. (This idea isn’t original. I learned it from, yes, other writers.) And you know what else? Here’s what else: when you commit to doing something regularly for a writing community, you are indirectly making a pledge to yourself to write more and participate more. You’re taking it more seriously. That’s a good thing. Being more involved in writing groups has allowed me the chance to meet writers I admire, such as Ron Carlson, Stewart O’Nan, William Kent Krueger, Steve Hamilton, Lori Rader-Day, Ausma Zehanat Khan, Craig Johnson, Christine Carbo, James W. Ziskin, Reed Farrel Coleman, Megan Abbott … um, this list could go on and on.  And on.
7. I would have spent more time imagining each scene before I wrote it. I would have spent more time trying to see the scene—the emotions and the action, everything. I think I spent too long seeing the words on the page, not enough imagining the “real” people (my characters) doing real things. Now, once I see the scene, even if that “scene” is only the next few minutes of my story, I write what I see. And hear. And feel.
8. I would have gone to more book talks, author tour stops. I would have made this part of my routine, to take notes about how writers presented their work.
9. I would have taken it all less seriously. Yes—less seriously. I know, a bit contradictory from #6 above. But what I mean is this: have you seen the flood of books out there? Go stand in a bookstore and marvel at the sheer volume of titles. So yes you need to care about your craft and write with your personal style and flourish, but it doesn’t have to be so, well, precious. You got a story? Tell it. Let it rip. Take some chances. Have some fun. Get that first draft down and then start the shaping and editing and re-writing. 
10. I would have … no, WAIT!

In truth, I have no regrets. Yes, despite all the could-haves and should-haves, it’s all good. I came close to selling a couple of books more than a decade before I finally got published. I am so very glad, now, that they didn’t sell. At the time, I was crushed. Now, I’m glad those words didn’t see the light of day. I still had things to learn … and I still do to this day.

In Lake of Fire, the fourth book in the Allison Coil Mystery Series, a giant wildfire is roaring through Colorado’s Flat Tops Wilderness. The massive blaze is wiping out Allison Coil’s precious hunting grounds and the flames have set their sights on the beautiful ranch owned by her boyfriend’s family. Backwoods survivalist Devo finds a body in the blackened forest. The dead man turns out to be a reclusive environmentalist with an unorthodox idea for the battle against global warming. The dead man was no stranger to Allison or her longtime friend, Trudy Heath. Allison, with help from Glenwood Springs reporter Duncan Bloom, burrows into an underground world of haters who harbor a grim view of the world. Suddenly, Trudy goes missing. If Allison can stop the wicked haters, ordinary hell might not be punishment enough for where these particular agents of evil belong. 

Twitter @writerstevens
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AllisonCoil/
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​Bethany Turner is the director of administration for Rock Springs Church in Southwest Colorado. A former VP/operations manager of a commercial bank and a three-time cancer survivor (all before she turned 35), Bethany knows that when God has plans for your life, it doesn't matter what anyone else has to say. Because of that, she's chosen to follow his call to write. She lives with her husband and their two sons in Colorado, where she writes for a new generation of readers who crave fiction that tackles the thorny issues of life with humor and insight.

I always think it's so cute when we hear about J.K. Rowling and her twelve Harry Potter rejections. It's absolutely shocking to think that twelve book industry professionals held that manuscript in their hands and decided readers would never get behind the boy who lived, and it's positively inspiring, as a writer, to know that even she had to wait, but it's also...cute.
 
I self-published my first books after receiving 74 rejections.
 
Less cute.
 
But do you know what else is cute? The fact that as I received those 74 rejections, I felt dismayed. Indignant, even. I'd love to sit down with Jo Rowling sometime (yes, she lets me call her Jo) and ask her how she felt. Was she indignant? Or had she been more realistic from the beginning? The thing is, I didn't have a clue what I was doing. I had written a book which became a three-book series, all centered around a woman named Abigail Phelps. The story is Abigail's delusional memoir, tied together by commentary and investigation from her psychiatrist, and the books boast the unique characteristic that, apart from Abigail and her psychiatrist, almost all of the characters are actual, real-life celebrities. George Clooney is her best friend, JFK Jr. is her first love, Robert Redford is her mentor...and on and on. Many of the rejections I received stated that, basically, they were intrigued by the concept, but didn't know what to do with it.
 
Everybody seems to want something new and different, but not too new and different.
 
Like I said, I didn't have a clue what I was doing. I am pretty sure that in the writing of those books and in my attempts to get published, I broke every rule known to man. I sent agents and editors query letters packed with every line that I now know they hate, but at that point, I hadn't done my homework. I convinced myself that I would get by on a unique idea, a strong voice, and George Clooney. (There are certainly movies which have gotten by on less!)
 
My career was in banking, not publishing, and those books had been written for fun, as a creative outlet, while I tried to survive in a career which had sucked most of the life out of me. But the unexpected happened. In the midst of the rejections and the overinflated ego having some of the air released, I discovered that I loved to write. I discovered that I was a writer.
 
I sure hadn't seen that coming.
 
My next book was written in about six weeks, with the newfound freedom of having left behind my solid, stable (though stressful and somewhat soul-crushing) job in bank management. Of course, with that newfound freedom came newfound challenges including, perhaps most notably, no real feasible way to keep paying the bills for long.
 
Once again, I had no idea what I was doing, but for the first time, that was a good thing. It was adventure. It was scary. It was exhilarating. It was a journey.
 
It was faith.
 
So, like I said, in about six weeks I had what is now called The Secret Life of Sarah Hollenbeck, a Christian romantic comedy about a bestselling, rich, famous writer of steamy, provocative romance who must deal with the reality of who she has been and what she is known for when she decides to become a Christ-follower (and falls in love with her pastor). It's funny and features a relatable heroine and a swoon-worthy leading man, and more pop culture references than an issue of Tiger Beat magazine. (Do they still make Tiger Beat or did I just show my age?) I was fairly certain I was in for another long line of rejections, followed by eventual self-publishing. And that would have been okay. I was prepared for that. I was expecting that. I had learned so much, and I knew I wouldn't be crushed as I had been before. I had gained wisdom and experience and knowledge and...
 
I still didn't know anything.
 
I was accepted by a manuscript submission service, and thirteen days later, I was contacted by a major publishing house, requesting the full manuscript. The very next day after sending the manuscript, I was contacted again. My story had been read in one sitting, and it was going to the next step in the process. Over the next few months there were edits and revisions, proposals and pub boards. The Secret Life of Sarah Hollenbeck will be published on October 3, 2017 by Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.
 
My contract was for the one book, and I have no idea if Revell or any other publisher will ever want anything else I ever write. I have one more manuscript complete, two others that are getting close, and finally I think I know better than to pretend I have any idea about what's going to happen with them. For me, it's all about faith. It's knowing that regardless of what happens (or doesn't), I am blessed. It's understanding that I can only do what I can do. And it's choosing to look back with fondness and learn as much as I can from the moments when I thought I was actually in control of any of it.
 
Wasn't that cute?

Becoming a Christian is the best and worst thing that has ever happened to Sarah Hollenbeck. Best because, well, that's obvious. Worst because, up to this point, she's made her very comfortable living as a well-known, bestselling author of steamy romance novels that would leave the members of her new church blushing. Now Sarah is trying to reconcile her past with the future she's chosen. She's still under contract with her publisher and on the hook with her enormous fan base for the kind of book she's not sure she can write anymore. She's beginning to think that the church might frown on her tithing on royalties from a "scandalous" book. And the fact that she's falling in love with her pastor doesn't make things any easier.

With a powerful voice, penetrating insight, and plenty of wit, Bethany Turner explodes onto the scene with a debut that isn't afraid to deal with the thorny realities of living the Christian life.

Website: www.seebethanywrite.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/seebethanywrite
Twitter: www.twitter.com/seebethanywrite
Instagram: www.instagram.com/seebethanywrite
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7214754.Bethany_Turner
Subscribe to Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/b1OIuj
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​Writing from the Heart
By Cara Sue Achterberg
My writing has always grown out of the state of my heart. As a child, I labored over the pages of my tiny pink diary pouring out my elementary school life. Later I filled journal after journal with angsty poetry and teenage longing. As an adult writing has always featured into my professional work, so when I decided to quit my paying job and stay home to raise my kids, of course I wrote about it. I blogged and wrote newspaper and magazine articles about raising kids, eating organic food, growing vegetables, keeping chickens, and living on our tiny hillside farm in south-central, Pennsylvania.
Eventually, though, I began writing about other worlds beyond my own. I discovered that brewing a huge cup of tea and sitting down at my laptop could be a portal to a much more interesting world than my own. For several years I wrote in secret, still pounding out the paying stories, but escaping every afternoon into my fiction. Finally, I pulled my husband aside and said, “I need to tell you something….,” confessing to the hours I had spent crafting a story about two women from different walks of life (an obese, high school dropout, single mother and a beautiful, self-absorbed, taking-everything-for-granted young adult) who swap lives. Lucky for me, he didn’t laugh. (He did tell me that when I first told him I needed to talk, he thought I was going to tell him I was having an affair- that’s how distracted I’d become by my fiction writing!)
The road from that moment to published book was long, messy, frustrating, embarrassing, and exhausting. But it happened. It was nothing like I expected, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world. (Okay, maybe I would trade it for the life of an overnight NYT best-selling author – although I’m skeptical such a path exists.)
And now? My second kid is graduating (will have graduated when you read this!) and I’ve been filling my empty nest with rescue dogs. But I’m still escaping every afternoon. When I ran into a friend from my PTA and dance-lesson days, I told her that I had a new book coming out. She looked surprised and asked, “Another book? So, you’re really doing this book thing? It wasn’t just something you had to get out of your system?”
I assured her that it was for real. I’ve got plenty more stories to get out of my system. My stories, like my writing (and hopefully me!) are evolving. I’ve thought about that exchange ever since it happened. It’s not surprising she asked the question that she did. She’d seen me move from one obsession to another. My organic days included making my own yogurt and even butchering chickens (only once!). I’d sold Mary Kay, created beaded jewelry, pedaled organic spice mixes, started raising chickens, worked a national presidential campaign, plus several local races, and fostered rescue dogs. I have an all-in kind of personality so whatever my latest interest, I went after it with all my heart.
It’s not surprising this friend assumed I would move on to the next fling after my first book was published. But writing is different—I don’t just give it all my time; I give it all my heart. And more than that, I finally feel a teeny, tiny bit grown up. I think of that quote, often credited to Confucius – “If you choose a job you like, you’ll never work a day in your life.” That’s writing for me. It’s not work. It’s joy. All the time. Even the hard parts. Even the editing (which is the bulk of the work).
It may have taken me some time to get here, but I’m going nowhere. My first book was published when I was forty-eight and I’m only getting started. I can’t imagine a day when I ever have writing ‘out of my system.’ That said, I know that all the work I’ve done, the obsessions that drove my family mad, the weird passions that came and went, and the odd jobs I’ve done to pay the bills were steps to where I am now. All of it informs my writing. Without it I’m not sure I’d have so many stories to tell.
When you write from your heart, the well is endless. Our hearts are filled with stories. What’s yours?

​The houses in Pine Estates are beautiful McMansions filled with high-achieving parents, children on the fast track to top colleges, all of the comforts of modern living, and the best security systems money can buy. Welcome to normal upper-middle-class suburbia.
 
Meet the Turners. 17-year-old Jenna dyes her hair black and breaks into her neighbors’ homes, security systems be damned. Everett genuinely believes he loves his wife . . . he just loves having a continuing stream of mistresses more. JT is a genius kid with Asperger’s who moves from one obsession to the next. And Kate tries to manage her family and her mother (who lives down the street) while crafting the happy, normal life she’s always envisioned.
 
And now everything is changing for them. Jenna finds herself in a boy-next-door romance she never could have predicted. Everett’s secrets are beginning to unravel on him. JT is getting his first taste of success at navigating the world. And Kate is facing truths about her husband, her mother, and the father she never knew.
 
Life on Pine Road has never been more challenging for the Turners. That’s what happens when you’re practicing normal.
 
Combining her trademark combination of wit, insight, and tremendous empathy for her characters, Cara Sue Achterberg has written a novel that is at once familiar and startlingly fresh.
CaraWrites.com
Facebook.com/carasueachterberg
Twitter.com/caraachterberg
Instagram/carasueachterberg
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