OCW Members Share Publishing Successes

At the OCW summer conference, Carolyn Bolz of Riverside, Calif., sold an article called “Our Nursing Home Miracle” to Paul Smith from LIVE. One of her poems appeared in the September issue of the neurological magazine, The ST Quarterly, for dystonia patients.

During the first weekend of August, two OCW members had their devotionals back-to-back in The Secret Place. Zena Caulley of Springfield, Ore., was the August 1 author and Kristen Johnson of Vancouver, Wash., was the writer of the August 2 devotional.

Ever read a verse in your Bible, and wonder what happened next? One day after reading Acts 1:23–26 about Joseph Justus and Matthias casting lots to replace Judas Iscariot, Jean Chase of Lakewood, Wash., wondered what happened to Joseph after he lost. After research revealed no answers, she wrote a fictitious story about his life. Almost an Apostle was released recently by Outskirts Press.

LouAnn Edwards of Beaverton, Ore., has released a new audio book called Don’t Make Me Laugh! ... Can’t You See I’m in the Middle of a Crisis?! She worked with Good Impressions Audio Books to create the audio book. A sample of the book and her interview are available at www.myaudiobook.org. Just click on the book cover with the dazed-looking woman on the front.

Judy Gann of Lakewood, Wash., represented HopeKeepers magazine and taught a workshop titled “Writers Are Readers” at the OCW summer conference. In early August, she presented “The Power of Story: Selecting Christian Fiction for the Church Library” and “Hope & Healing: Books for Tough Times” at the Pacific Northwest Association of Church Libraries Conference in Bellingham, Wash.

Lydia Harris of Seattle sold a devotion to appear this winter in The Secret Place, and in June and July published articles in Northwest Prime Time, a newspaper for seniors. At the OCW summer conference, she sold manuscripts and/or ideas for pieces to Lin Johnson of Church Libraries and Christian Communicator, Paul Smith of LIVE (Sunday school take-home paper), and Suzanne Hadley of Clubhouse Jr. She also is writing a Bible study called Preparing My Heart for Grandparenting, scheduled for release by AMG next summer.

Lindy Jacobs and Carol Brian, both of Bend, Ore., belong to the Central Oregon Writers Guild, which encouraged writers by sponsoring the Second Annual Literary Harvest Writing Contest. Categories included fiction, nonfiction, essays, and poetry. The contest was open to anyone in the community from high school age and older. Ten winners selected by a panel of judges will be reading their work at the Literary Harvest event the evening of Oct. 16 at the Comfort Suites in Redmond, Ore. The winning pieces also will appear in a chapbook published in January. For more information see http://centraloregonwriters.blogspot.com/
Bestselling author and speaker Rick Johnson of Gresham, Ore., will see his fifth book released by Revell Publishing January 1, 2010, when it unveils Becoming Your Spouse’s Better Half: Why Differences Make a Great Marriage. He is the author of That’s My Son: How Moms Can Influence Boys to Become Men of Character, Better Dads Stronger Sons: How Fathers Can Guide Boys to Become Men of Character, The Man Whisperer: Speaking a Man’s Language to Bring Out His Best, and The Power of a Man: Using Your Influence as a Man of Character.

Beaverton, Ore., resident Robin (Wilkinson) Layne had a short story about Jesus’ mother, “Yet a Mother,” published last spring in Pointed Circle 25, literary journal of Portland Community College Cascade campus. She created an e-zine called A Character Sandwich, featuring short fictional pieces sandwiched between short autobiographical pieces. She also launched her editing business, Robin Layne Enterprises, LLC, http://www.writing-that-sings.com.

Jennifer Anne Messing, Portland, had two devotionals, “A Mom’s Prayer” and “Morning Psalm,” published in the May 2009 issue of The Christian Journal; had a romantic fiction story, “Not by Chance,” published in the June 2009 issue of Christian Fiction Online magazine; has a fiction story, “Holiday Mocha,” plus four poems and one devotional preliminarily accepted by The Gem; and has two poems, “Do You Know a Godly Woman?” and “A Lasting Contribution,” plus two devotionals, “A Mom’s Prayer for Her Daughter” and “A Mother’s Meditation,” included in a book compilation published by Standard Publishing and released this fall.

Jan Pierce of Vancouver, Wash., recently wrote a series of seven devotionals for Standard Publishing that will appear in Standard Companion Devotions and also online. She sold three pieces to LIVE, two on the concept of community and the body of Christ and one on the life of Sojourner Truth. She continues to write monthly for Grannylook, a grandparenting Web site in Gibraltar.

At the end of April, Petey Prater of Beaverton, Ore., presented four messages for a weekend retreat of the Santiam Chapel Assembly of God in Lyons, Ore. She took Lisé Buell and another intercessor to pray with and for her, and they spent nonspeaking time praying with women. God answered prayer in awesome ways. Petey says she’ll never speak again without intercessors if she can help it and encourages other speakers to take prayer support with them. “You’ll see the difference!” she says.

Last summer Kregel Publications released the revised edition of the book Beyond Our Control: Restructuring Your Life After Sexual Assault, written by Leila Rae Sommerfeld of Gresham, Ore.

Nancey West of Lebanon, Ore., was interviewed in August on the Christian talk show Sharecropper on KGW Channel 8 in Portland regarding her book, Miracles Among Us, A Look Inside the Lebanon Soup Kitchen, and the work of the soup kitchen. Her book, published by iUniverse, was released in December 2008, and all proceeds from the sale of the book benefit the soup kitchen.

Two books for which Geni White of Eugene served as primary editor were published in 2009. They are Trust, Not Trying by Neil Rowe, released by UK WEC, and I’m Not Okay, You’re Not Okay, But That’s Okay with God by Shelley Hussey, released by Harper Ink.

Judy Williams, Battle Ground, Wash., had an article published in the May 2009 issue of Cross and Quill, an international Christian writers’ magazine. Her article, “Creating a Writers Accountability Worksheet,” taught how to increase interest and accountability in local writers’ groups. Judy meets with a local writing group, Garden Hose Inspirations, whose members consider themselves “garden hoses” through which God may bless others.