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News The second Write2Ignite! Conference for Christians Writers of Children’s Literature was held February 26-27, 2010, at North Greenville University near Greenville, SC. Please go to Write2Ignite! for photos and updates. MISTLETOE MADNESS AT FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH INDIAN TRAIL, NC My friend Jill Lord and I set up a little table to sell copies of our books at Mistletoe Madness in November, 2009. We had a great evening. Jill sold out of her gorgeous books for preschoolers and I sold enough copies of Christmas Miracles and Embrace of a Father to make the evening well worth my while. And the gorgeous craft exhibits surrounding us really put both Jill and me in the Christmas mood. What fun! Merry Christmas, everyone. I pray your 2010 will be blessed in unusual ways by God's touch on your lives. Christmas Miracles by Cecil Murphey and Marley Gibson is now available in stores and online at Barnes & Noble, Amazon.com, Walden Books, Borders, Wal-mart, and other book retailers. Jean’s story "Our Miracle Man" and many other stories of miraculous events are featured in this incredible book. It will make a encouraging Christmas gift for the special people on your list. Here's a good message from the foreword by Don Piper: "The existence of miracles in our lives is an assurance that we're not alone and that our Heavenly Father looks out for us in our hours of need and even in what might seem to be a trivial situation. It's up to us to open our eyes and recognize the miracles that happen in our lives and be grateful for them. Always." Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers' Conference May 17 – 21, 2009, I was one of some 350 attendees who basked in the wisdom, wit, and wacky antics of the talented staff of presenters at the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers' Conference. We all enjoyed the beautiful campus of the Ridgecrest Conference Center in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, the great meals, and the incredible experience of learning from these terrific presenters. I'll bet you've heard of some of these folks before: Michelle Adams Candy Arrington Janet Benrey & Ron Benrey Jonathan Clements Athena Dean & Carla Williams with WinePress Publishers Eva Marie Everson Alton Gansky Linda Gilden Suzanne Hadley with Clubhouse, Jr. Angela Hunt Steven James Terri Kalfas Cindy Kenny Susan King with Upper Room Yvonne Lehman Chip MacGregor with MacGregor Literary Agency DiAnn Mills Cecil Murphey Ramona Richards John Riddle Mary Sue Seymour with The Seymour Agency Vonda Skelton Mindy Starns-Clark Les Stobbe with the Jerry B. Jenkins Christian Writers Guild Sally Stuart Ann Tatlock Don Taylor Terry Whalin Whew! It was a great week of learning and relearning stuff I should have learned long ago. A week of making new friends and seeing some time-tested ones. A week of meeting a few editors and a couple of agents who may be able to help me connect with the right publisher someday. And like it or not, connecting is often about who you know, you know? It was also a week of wonderful worship led by staff members and Lynn DeShazo. I'm grateful for the opportunity to sit at the feet of these gracious and generous professionals. I left the BRMCWC with new determination to finish my fiction manuscript and jump into a proposal for a devotional book. I have lots of work ahead of me so I'm off to jump into chapter 12 of my YA! Rock Rest Elementary School Visit – Go, Rockets! On Friday, May 15, 2009, I had the privilege of reading to the third grade students of Rock Rest Elementary School in Monroe, NC. I was in one of my favorite places – a media center, with some of my favorite people – students, doing one of my favorite things – reading. How could I not have a blast? A humongous "THANK YOU!" goes out to Ms. Gravely, Ms. Brown, Ms. Galloway, Ms. Taylor, Ms. Rigney, and Ms. Salazar for allowing me to use some of their valuable class time. And a super giant sized "THANK YOU!" to those terrific third graders. They were an incredible audience. I hope they enjoyed it half as much as I did. ROCKETS TOTALLY ROCK! Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.