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Helping to Change the World…Word by Word

The Steve Laube Agency

The Steve Laube Agency

Helping to Change the World Word by Word

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Home » Tamela

Tamela

Coming Full Circle

By Guest Bloggeron February 17, 2021
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Today’s guest blog is from Kim Vogel Sawyer, a best-selling author whose books have topped the sales charts and won awards since 2005, when she left her elementary-school teaching job to write full-time. Her books have won the Carol Award, the Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence, and the Inspirational Readers Choice Award. Her stories are designed to offer hope and encouragement to readers. Kim sees a correlation between the writing of a good story and God’s good plan for every life, and she hopes her stories encourage readers to seek God’s will in their own lives. Best-selling author Tracie Peterson says: “Kim Vogel Sawyer is an exceptional storyteller who is sure to please fans of historical fiction. Her attention to detail and love of God shines through.”

In addition to writing, Kim Vogel Sawyer is a popular speaker, freely sharing her testimony of God’s grace and healing–both physical and emotional–in her life. She and her husband, Don, reside in Hutchinson, Kansas, and have three daughters and ten grandchildren. She is active in her church and loves singing, quilting, cats, and chocolate. In September 2020, she celebrated the release of her fifty-fifth novel. Please visit her website. (She is represented by Tamela Hancock Murray.)

____________________

In 2002, as my health was crumbling to the point that full-time teaching was no longer a possibility and I didn’t know what I was going to do, my dad–feeling as though I needed a major lift–took it upon himself to make my publishing dream come true. He sent a story I’d written, titled A Seeking Heart, to Steve Laube, who, at the time, owned a self-publishing company called ACW Press. And Steve agreed to help me get it into print.

Thus began a journey beyond the scope of my wildest imaginings.

You see, all of my growing-up years I had held tight to aspirations of being a writer someday. But a series of rejections from publishing companies in the early 1990s convinced me I had no future in writing; so I’d poured my heart into teaching. Loved it, too, and felt secure and successful in the classroom. But God, the planter of dreams, had a different course for me. I truly believe He allowed my health to deteriorate so I would be forced to step out of my comfort zone and take a second look at writing. And He prompted Daddy to reactivate my long-held dream at the perfect time.

A Seeking Heart found an audience, and the feedback from readers gave me the courage to once again submit to traditional publishers. In January of 2005, one of my stories found its way to Bethany House, where Carol Johnson enjoyed it enough to ask Janette Oke to take a peek at it, leading to an endorsement from the “Queen of Christian Fiction” for my first traditionally published novel, Waiting for Summer’s Return. (I still hyperventilate when I think about it!) I contracted with Bethany House in March of 2005 and have been celebrating a full-time writing ministry ever since.

But y’know what? God still had a few surprises up His sleeve. :o)

Between 2002 and 2005, I had arranged with a print-on-demand company to print two follow-up books to A Seeking Heart, creating a three-book series.

Between 2006 and 2010, my agent, Tamela Hancock Murray, sent out queries to traditional publishers about the Mountain Lake Series; but none were interested. As much as I wanted these stories–these very special,  straight-from-my-heart stories–to be given new life, it seemed as though it was a dream that would be forced to fizzle. Until now.

Then two things happened: (1) Tamela joined The Steve Laube Agency in 2011 (the same Steve Laube who had a role in placing my very first book into the hands of readers); and (2) Hendrickson Publishers purchased rights to republish the three books in the Mountain Lake Series. My editor for this reprint project was (are you ready for this?) Carol Johnson.

I realize there are some people who would call this coincidence. I don’t. To me, it’s a very clear picture that God is right in the center of my writing ministry. Which is, of course, where I want Him to be. He truly has brought me full circle, drawing me fully into His plans for my writing. Is there any better place to be than the center of God’s will? I don’t think so.

Years ago, I adopted the verse “Delight yourself in the LORD, and He shall give you the desires of your heart” (Ps. 37:4, NKJV). I wanted to delight myself so thoroughly in Him that seeking and following HIS will would become the deepest desire of my heart. Then, whatever He gave me would be exactly what I wanted. When I adopted that verse, I didn’t know where He would take me, but now I can look back and see how my heart’s desires have been met abundantly and exceedingly beyond my expectation.

The rewritten and updated Mountain Lake Trilogy came out in 2012–ten years after the release of my very first self-published novel. I celebrate and praise God for all He accomplished within that decade. He simply amazes me!

May God bless you muchly as you journey with Him!

~ Kim

[An earlier version of this post ran in August 2011.]

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Category: Career, Get Published, Guest Post, Inspiration, TamelaTag: Career, Get Published, Inspiration

He Said. She Said.

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon May 14, 2020
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A blog reader recently left an excellent comment on an earlier post:
Tamela, fiction workshop presenters taught me that the best word for “said” is “said”–that others only tend to slow down the reader’s eye. I’d appreciate a discussion on this.
While I don't know the workshop presenters in question, what I can guess they meant is to avoid substituting creative verbs for "said" as a tag. For …

Read moreHe Said. She Said.
Category: Craft, Tamela, Writing CraftTag: Craft, Grammar, Tamela, Writing Craft

Inside or Outside the Box?

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon April 9, 2020
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Some writers get frustrated by writing category stories, meaning stories that demand a precise formula. Some people even have the unmitigated nerve to criticize authors writing these stories as somehow not as talented as people who write books with fewer restrictions. I think both types of authors possess abundant talent, but today I will focus on writers targeting the genre market. A genuine …

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Category: Tamela

Saving the World, One Romance at a Time

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon February 27, 2020
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Often I will receive submissions of novels tying in an element of mystery and suspense with romance. Writers targeting the romantic suspense market will find difficulty in placing this type of story. Why? Because romantic suspense readers have certain expectations that won't be met with a mere element of mystery and intrigue.

In my experience trying to sell and market romantic suspense, I have …

Read moreSaving the World, One Romance at a Time
Category: Genre, Get Published, Romance, Romantic Suspense, Tamela, Trends, Writing CraftTag: Pitching, Proposals, Tamela, Trends

Do You Have a Great Title for Your Book?

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon June 26, 2014
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Several years ago, one of my daughters entered a photography contest at her school. One of her entries pictured our cat sitting with a plastic bag wrapped around her feet. We never will know how or why our cat did this — the pose just happened. We titled the funny picture, “Cat’s Out of the Bag!” But then we discovered the rules didn’t allow photographs to be titled. …

Read moreDo You Have a Great Title for Your Book?
Category: Book Proposals, Craft, Tamela, Writing CraftTag: Craft, Titles, Writing Craft

A Matter of Experience

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon June 19, 2014
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Sometimes I’ll have one of those days where I’m minding my own business, when I pick up the phone to discover the author on the other end of the line is irate. (No, this is not a rerun of an article from the 20th century. I do still have a land line for my office). “Ohhh, Tamela! I know that Hell is indeed located on Earth and where is it? It’s at my publisher’s …

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Category: Book Business, Career, Communication, Tamela, The Publishing LifeTag: Book Business, Career, publishing, The Publishing Life

A Favorite Character Trait

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon June 12, 2014
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When I was younger, I felt that some of my friends allowed me to take on a disproportionate amount of expense when we did things together. Sometimes, I felt taken advantage of, even used. Now I don’t feel that way. Probably because I now have super friends and I have more money. But still, I had to learn how to navigate these minefields because I didn’t know how. Why? Because I was …

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Category: Personal, TamelaTag: Personal

Where are the Worthy Characters?

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon June 5, 2014
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I just finished reading a general market novel that left me wishing I had used that time to read a good Christian novel instead. I am not going to name the book because it isn’t my intent to offer a review. But the novel reminds me of many others in the general market. Well-written, well-received, heavy with social commentary. And populated with characters I didn’t like and …

Read moreWhere are the Worthy Characters?
Category: Craft, Reading, TamelaTag: Characters, Craft, Reading

Why You Shouldn’t Be Depressed by Facebook

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon May 29, 2014
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Lately I’ve been seeing articles about how some people find personal status updates on Facebook and other social media depressing. Apparently people put on their best “faces” so their lives seem better than yours. Most of these articles aren’t written from a Christian perspective, so they ignore the fact that most of us ask for prayer through social media. Truly, this is a …

Read moreWhy You Shouldn’t Be Depressed by Facebook
Category: Book Business, Career, Social Media, TamelaTag: Facebook, Social Media

How Do You Define Summer Reading?

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon May 22, 2014
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Now that summer is nigh, I’m thinking about what I’d like to read over the next few months. I have not yet decided. But at least now I can choose for myself. At my college prep school, we were assigned summer reading. To enter eighth grade, we were assigned The Ox Bow Incident and Pride and Prejudice. This went for boys and girls. I’m so glad, because I never would have read The …

Read moreHow Do You Define Summer Reading?
Category: Craft, Creativity, Personal, Reading, Tamela, Writing CraftTag: Reading
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