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What Happens When the Fragrance of Christ Mixes With Metal

 

Having the likes of Edie Melson and Marcia Moston in our local writer’s group Cross N Pens is a tremendous boon for those of us striving to hone our skills.

Over the weekend, our group enjoyed a mini-workshop featuring these talented women. Below are just a few tidbits from their talks.

Marcia Moston, the author of Call of a Coward, spoke on Creative Non-fiction (the 4th genre!) In addition to creative writing prompts, Marcia shared wisdom from her own experience, as well as quotes, all of which will stick with me:

  • Every story has a human face. Draw and display it well; for readers, it is a magnet. -Francis Flaherty, editor of The New York Times
  • When writing memoirs, we need to remember it’s not about us. We’re like the Disney cart on a ride. We’re simply the vehicle to a bigger picture.
  • Marcia shared pages of information on crafting true stories. I’m a new fan of Rick Bragg.

Edie Melson, author of Fighting Fear and Co-Director of Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writer’s Conference, spoke on what it means to support our writing through writing. It didn’t hurt that she handed out two pages of markets willing to pay for our work. (Thanks, Edie!) Her advice, however, far surpassed the value found on any piece of paper. Below are a few of Edie’s takeaways:

  • Stay out of our comfort zones! Take chances. We’re not seen as marketable if we’re unwilling to do so.
  • The key to a good query letter is a good story.
  • What does the word deadline mean? Writing when you don’t feel like it.

Sitting shoulder-to-shoulder with many gifted writers spurred me to become even more serious about my craft. Wisdom and godly conviction crossed paths that morning, and I was grateful to be smack dab in the middle of this intersection.

Let’s just say the fragrance of Christ had a hint of metal to it as it rose upwards this past Saturday morning!

As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another. Proverbs 27:17

 

Supporting One of Our Own, Marcia Moston

Our Word Weavers group couldn’t be prouder of Marcia Moston!
If you missed her book signing today at Fiction Addiction, you missed a delightful time. Balloons, books, friends, fellow writers, and the most remarkable cake you’ve ever laid eyes on. Her book cover, made of edible paper, was propped atop chocolate and vanilla cupcakes. Enough said. 
It was a blessing to see Marcia surrounded by family and friends. If you would like to purchase a copy of her debut memoir, Call of A Coward, click here and then please consider leaving a review. After all, there are many ways we can show our support for one another.
Congratulations, Marcia! 

An Interview with Marcia Moston

Today, I’m excited to introduce you to friend Marcia Moston, author of Call of a Coward: The God of Moses and the Middle-Class Housewife. We’re in for a treat as we learn more about Marcia and her amazing journey.

Tell us about yourself. 

Although I hold degrees in sociology and Christian education, most of what I’ve learned has been by the proverbial seat of my pants. I’ve taught English in a Christian high school, worked with orphans in a Mayan village, led mission teams to Central America, delivered Yellowbooks, stuffed vending machines, and lived in everything from tepees to parsonages.
   
Your writing experience is unusual in that until 2008, you’d never written anything, but by 2011 you had a book contract with Thomas Nelson. How did that happen? 

I am grateful to have experienced such abundant grace and blessing on my work. When we moved to the South a few years ago, I had a singular image in my mind: buy a house with a pool where I could sit and write.  Although I didn’t know what I would write, nor did I know how to write a book, it was as though my story’s time had come, and I needed a nesting spot. II took a writing workshop taught by the editor of the city journal. At the end of the class, she offered me my own weekly column. That’s when I realized I could write something that people would read. 

I continued to take workshops and go to conferences. In 2010, my manuscript won at the Blue Ridge Christian Writers Conference. I also won a self-publishing package, but turned it down because I felt constrained to wait. 

Later in the year, I entered the Women of Faith Writing Contest and won a self-publishing package from WestBow Press. Unbeknownst to me, Thomas Nelson was looking at my book, and a month after it came out, offered me a contract.
 
Many traditional publishers avoid memoir. Do you have any advice for someone who hopes to publish a memoir?

The first agent I approached told me no one would publish a memoir from an unknown. He suggested I turn my story into magazine articles. Although I didn’t do it at the time, I think his advice is good. Memoirists need the exposure magazines give. 

My path to publication, however, was through contests. I also made sure my story was about something more than me. Thomas Nelson must have agreed because they categorized my book as Christian living/spirituality.

Tell us about Call of a Coward-the God of Moses and the Middle-Class Housewife. 

It’s
about laying aside your hopes, dreams, and fears to follow God even
though where He’s leading seems to require credentials you lack and
courage you don’t think you have. And about discovering just how
personal and gracious He is. Here’s an excerpt:    

The
road
exceeded my worst expectations. Cliffs rose straight up on one side and
plunged straight down on the other. The dusty, rutted trail
between the two was wide enough for one vehicle. It was one
thing to ride a scary road with a husband you could yell
at; it was another to ride a scarier road with a stranger who said with
the same equanimity. “There’s a good view from the overlook
up ahead,” and “The brakes are bad, that’s why I have to
pump them.” 

Hernando downshifted, pumped the screeching brakes and entered the
river. I couldn’t decide whether to look ahead at the
slippery rocks on the steep bank, look behind from where we
had safely come, or simply bury my head in my lap. If I needed a sign
from God, this was it. I decided there was no way I could
ride this road to go shopping, to get our mail, to find a
doctor, to do anything─ever. When, and if, I met up with Bob in the village, I was going to have to tell him so.



Permission
link: Excerpted from Call of a Coward: The God of Moses and the Middle
Class House-Wife
. Thomas Nelson ©2012. Used by permission of Thomas
Nelson, Inc. www.thomasnelson.com.

   

How were you personally impacted working on the project? 

Recording
events and later rewriting them helped me to see just how involved God
was (and is!) in my journey. I gained a deeper appreciation of his
grace, and then after the manuscript won several contests, including the Women of Faith writing contest, I realized it was a message bigger than
my personal story.

 
What do you hope readers will glean from your story, Call of a Coward: The God of Moses and the Middle-Class Housewife?

A fresh confidence in the Living One who sees them. A sense of expectancy in encountering him. Both the story and its path to publication are examples of the possibilities of an ordinary life in the hands of an extraordinary God. I hope readers will be inspired and encouraged that whether they travel a thousand miles or a thousand feet, God can do exceedingly more than they imagine. 
 
What advice have you found helpful to you as a writer?    
 
To do my part—learn the craft, be open for critique, write with guts, and then rest in Flannery O’Connor’s advice: “When a book leaves your hands, it belongs to God. He may use it to save a few souls or to try a few others, but I think that for the writer to worry is to take over God’s business.”

What or who has influenced you? 

I’m sure influences from thousands of books are floating around my brain, but most recently, I’ve been inspired by the  imagery and metaphors of the Bible, the essays of E.B. White and Annie Dillard, and the stories of Rick Bragg—people who capture the extraordinary in the ordinary.
 
Are you working on a second book? 

Yes.
My working title is Going South-the God of my Mistakes. When we moved
south, we didn’t expect our plans to go south too—but it’s really a
story of hope. 
Is there anything else you would like readers to know?
 
It was with fear and trembling that I put my name on the same line as Moses’, but the story is not about me or Moses; it’s about the God who is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

Call of a Coward: The God of Moses and the Middle-Class Housewife is available online at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Christian Book Distributors or from your neighborhood bookstore.



Visit me at http://marciamoston.com 

I’m a tremendous fan of Marcia’s. She’s the real deal — an authentic and dynamic Christ follower. I encourage you to pick up a copy of her book and then would you consider leaving a comment on Amazon or other distributors, sharing your honest opinion of Call of a Coward: The God of Moses and the Middle-Class Housewife?

Enjoy!

Top 5 Favorites on My Beach List

As a professed list-addict, I begin preparing for our family beach trip weeks in advance. Below are the top five favorite things you’ll find on this year’s beach list:

  1. Books: (1) Call of a Coward by Marcia Moston, won 1st Place in the Women of Faith Writing Contest. Marcia is in our Upstate Fellowship of Christian Writer’s Group and I’m proud to call her “friend”. (2) Rooms by James L. Rubart. I had the pleasure of meeting Jim at BRMCWC and look forward to turning the pages while sipping on frozen lemonade!
  2. Games: Our family loves games—card, board, outdoor—makes no difference. Cranium is a classic at our house. Where else can you see grown men acting out a blossoming flower?
  3. Gadget: I’m excited about trying out my non-glare Kindle screen, but it’s my iPod I can’t leave behind. Flashback…
  4. Edible: Stevia. Yes, Stevia. Needless to say, we’re buying groceries there, but this sweetener goes everywhere with me these days. Splenda has been banished from the Baker household! Stevia is both a sweeter (I use less) and healthier choice.
  5. Non-edible: My reading glasses—how else can I can enjoy my #1 favorites? 🙂

Call of a Coward


Congratulations, Marcia Moston! Her new book, Call of a Coward, is now released and available through WestBow Press. (Read a great review from Keiki Hendrix here.)

I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know Marcia through the Upstate Fellowship of Christian Writers as well as our online writer’s group The Light Brigade. Her humble and gracious spirit is sure to translate beautifully through the written word.
“The problem with promising God you’ll follow Him wherever He leads is that you just might have to go. I suspect it would be easier if you were certain of His calling—like stepping out the door and seeing the lilac bush on fire and hearing a voice commanding you. But when it’s your husband who is delivering the message—well, that leaves a little room for wonder. At least that’s how I felt when my husband rocked my comfortable middle-class afternoon with his belief God was calling us to pack up and move to a Mayan village in Guatemala.” – Call of a CowardI look forward to receiving my own copy very soon — hope you’ll consider ordering one as well.
We’re cheering you on, Marcia! Now, where did I put my pom-poms from yesterday? With this group I need to keep them in a handy spot. Yea, God!

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