In my young adult novel, The Demons Among Us (launching in September), the sixteen-year-old main character, Joy, is learning to cook. An early scene with Joy and her mom baking homemade sweet potato fries is loosely based on the times my daughter, Julia, and I share a kitchen. Even though she’s now married and lives in the next county, we still get together several times a month to whip up meals for our extended family. My heart is so full of happiness during these special hours.
I thought you might like to try some of the concoctions Julia and I create, so I spoke to her about sharing our recipes. She loved the idea and suggested that we create them together again and take photos. As an Instagram influencer (@jules.grove), she’ll post them on her social media platform, too.
We decided to start with our multi-generational Banana Bread recipe. My 84-year-old mother (Grammie to Julia) adapted the original recipe from a Betty Crocker cookbook more than fifty years ago. She said, “I love this recipe because it tastes more like cake than bread.” Though she no longer bakes, Mom would pour the batter into a bundt pan, contrary to the fictional Mrs. Crocker, who preferred loaf pans.
I continued Mom’s tradition of using the bundt pan, but revised the recipe by swapping out the shortening for butter. Mom liked to fold in chopped walnuts at the end, but I opt for pecans.
Julia further refined the recipe by adding creamy peanut butter and deleting the nuts. Her husband doesn’t like nuts in breads. But she uses a loaf pan, baking two at a time.
It’s fun when all three of us gather in the kitchen. It probably takes us twice as long to prepare meals because we spend so much time chatting. Have you noticed that conversations with the most significance take place in kitchens?
“May your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” Colossians 4:6
I hope you enjoy our recipes. And if you bake one, please share a photo. I’d love to post it in my newsletter.
I’ve heard Edwina Perkins speak twice. After her first presentation, entitled The Danger and Power of Words, I felt like I’d been sucker punched. I was more prepared the second time. After all, I’d invited her to be the guest speaker at our American Christian Fiction Writers N. Georgia Chapter meeting. Her message is powerful and should be heard by all Caucasian writers and editors.
Edwina is the managing editor of Harambee Press, an imprint of Iron Stream Media out of South Carolina, that gives publishing opportunities to ethnic writers. “Harambee” is Swahili for “pulling together.” Not “coming together,” but “pulling together.” A big difference.
In both presentations, Edwina challenged her audiences with a question: “What is Juneteenth?” Out of the corner of my eye, I witnessed many participants thumbing their phone screens. Her answer: “If you don’t know, then you need to be especially careful when writing about ethnic characters.” She’s right. How can Caucasian writers fairly represent the ethnic population if they don’t know the answer to such a basic question?
She offered an example of a content edit she received from a Caucasian editor. He recommended that she delete a small section where characters were using hand fans featuring the logo from a funeral home. He’d never encountered a funeral fan and assumed readers wouldn’t understand their use. Edwina pushed back and won. Funeral fans were important to developing the culture in the scene.
The only really painful thing about racism in publishing is the books that are not around.
Tracy Sherrod, editorial director, Amistad
Edwina has three suggestions for writers who truly wish to capture the true culture of ethnic characters. Now that I think it through, these points can apply to all writers, especially those of us with light skin.
Talk — Get to know those who don’t look like you. Talk with them about the hard subjects with an open mind. Learn about how you can pull together.
Grace — Offer grace to those you don’t understand. You’ve never walked in their shoes, so you have no idea why they may act in a way you’d never dream of behaving.
Action — In her second presentation, Edwina encouraged us to find ethnic writers and invite them to our meetings. She also challenged both audiences to read Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe and watch the movies, The Green Book and 12 Years a Slave. She especially recommended we view Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s TED Talk on YouTube, The Danger of a Single Story, which I did and both giggled and gasped.
For those of us Caucasian writers with pre-published manuscripts, there is a solution to ensuring we’re representing our ethnic characters fairly. Edwina has gathered a stable of talented sensitivity readers willing to evaluate specific scenes. I, for one, will be sending my manuscripts through her brain trust.
I also will do my best to follow her suggestions. How about it, my white friends? Are you willing to pull together with me?
It’s the time of year when libraries tally their top ten check-outs of 2020. I thought it might be interesting to compare teen readers in the north to those in the south, so I called librarians in two states. They emailed me their young adult fiction lists THE SAME DAY. Gotta love librarians. Following are the chart-toppers from New York and Georgia.
Hall County, GA, Public Library
New York City Public Library
1. The Mark of Athena, Rick Riodan
1. American Royals, Katharine McGee
2. Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Suzanne Collins
2. The Hate U Give, Angie Thomas
3. Promised Neverland, Kaiu Shirai
3. Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Suzanne Collins
4. One of Us is Lying, Karen M. McManus
4. Children of Blood and Bone, Tomi Adeyemi
5. Little Women, Louisa May Alcott
5. We Were Liars, E. Lockhart
6. Scythe, Neal Shusterman
6. The Book Thief, Markus Zusack
7. Legend of Zelda, Akira Himekawa
7. One of Us is Lying, Karen M. McManus
8. The Book Thief, Markus Zusack
8. One of Us is Next, Karen M. McManus
9. Allies, Alan Gratz
9. Children of Virtue and Vengeance, Tomi Adeyemi
10. Six of Crows, Leigh Bardugo
10. Twilight, Stephanie Meyer
Surprised? Did you think there would be more than three overlaps? I did. Here’s what I gleaned:
Hall County, Georgia, readers are visual. Books #3 and #7 are both graphic novels.
Little Women was probably required reading for Georgia schools. The librarian mentioned they had to replace one copy this past fall because it had become so worn. Interestingly, Scythe, #6 on the Georgia list, was a Teacher’s Pick on Amazon.
New York City readers embraced two black authors, yet the story about white fictional royals topped the list. (ICYMI, Balzer & Bray just released Concrete Rose, the prequel to The Hate U Give, which I found unputdownable.)
Readers in both states love to read series.
Readers in both states enjoy a variety of genres—crime, dystopian, fantasy, historical, mystery, romance, thriller.
Harry Potter finally fell off the charts.
None of the books were Christian. Next year, maybe we’ll see a fantasy by C.J. Redwine.
Consider nudging yourself to read a certain number of books this year. Maybe use these lists to launch your page turning. To track your reads, set up an account on Goodreads and sign up for its 2021 Reading Challenge. If you have an extra sec, look me up at jill_willis. I’d love to be your friend.
What a long journey! When I sold my public relations firm in 2013 and decided to write a book, I had no idea what a steep learning curve I’d encounter. My end goal was to publish an alternative to the stories about witches, vampires and werewolves—something with a touch of paranormal, but biblically based. I wanted to create something my then-teenagers would devour as rapidly as they did the Harry Potter series.
I worked on the manuscript, originally titled Thin Places, in snippets, sandwiched between driving Julia and Marvin to all things teen and volunteering at the church. But after two years, my kids aged out of the young adult genre. About the same time, we moved to the next county. I set my story aside for awhile, focusing instead on making our new house a home and finding my place in our lake-centered community.
In 2016, Creston Mapes, a Christian fiction author, spoke at our neighborhood book club meeting. I chatted with him afterward about my half-finished book, and he encouraged me to join the American Christian Fiction Writers organization. This turned out to be a game-changer for me. I sent my first few chapters through its online critique group . . . to dismal reviews . . . and learned that fiction writing is very different from PR writing.
With the help of the ACFW’s website host, I formed a critique subgroup of writers who focus their talents on the young adult genre. At that time, there were eight of us. Now there are twelve, and we have a writing blog—the StorytellerSquad. Each week, I submitted a chapter for two other writers to critique, and I critiqued a chapter each for them. I sent my entire manuscript through that group TWICE. And I enlisted the help of my long-time friend, Miriam Romain, an editor and blogger, who edited the entire manuscript TWICE.
Miriam Romain and I cheered on the Chicago Cubs at her birthday celebration in September, 2019.
I finally felt ready to approach agents and publishers. In 2018, I attended the Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writers Conference (BRMCWC). It was like drinking from a fire hose. There were dozens of classes, numerous agents and publishers, and hundreds of writers. That’s right, hundreds of writers pitching their awesome works to harried agents and publishers. Two agents asked to see my first three chapters and one agent wanted to read my entire manuscript. The first agent sent a quick rejection, the second never replied, and the third emailed me an encouraging rejection letter with helpful recommendations. I’ll never forget his kindness.
It took me another year—between planning my daughter’s wedding and helping Mom move into another independent living facility—to follow the third agent’s recommendations. In addition, I changed the manuscript’s name to The Demons Among Us and swapped chapters with another writer of young adult novels, Allyson Lewis.
After this fifth round of editing, I submitted its first page to the ACFW-SC Chapter’s First Page Novel Contest and . . . WON! My sweet hubby drove me to Greenville, SC, to accept the award—$50.
A flicker of hope sparked within me, and I readied myself for 2020’s conference season. I knew that if I pitched in person, I’d have a much stronger chance of getting a publisher to read my work. Then COVID-19 hit. Ugh. All the writer’s conferences either postponed, canceled, or morphed into online forums. This turned out to be a blessing in disguise. I’d longed to attend the national American Christian Fiction Writers Conference and the Realm Makers Conference. But because of airline and lodging expenses, I couldn’t justify the costs. This year, I attended both crowd-cast conferences, watching presentations from well-established authors, and interviewing with agents and publishers.
Sadly, no one was interested in a Christian young adult novel. But . . . in a bittersweet online moment . . . I won the ACFW Genesis Award-Young Adult Category for unpublished authors.
With the confidence of receiving a national award, I headed to the postponed BRMCWC in early November. I interviewed in-person with two publishers and an agent. The first publisher revealed that her house wasn’t currently accepting YA submissions. The agent asked for my first three chapters, but never responded. The second publisher asked for my entire manuscript, sent it to her managing editor, and got back to me within two weeks . . . WITH A CONTRACT OFFER!
And that’s how I signed with Redemption Press on Christmas Eve.
Please know how much I have appreciated your prayers and support over the years. You always believed in me and gave me the confidence to continue writing. The Demons Among Us is scheduled to launch in September 2021. I hope you like it.
Thinking about gifting books to your favorite young adult for Christmas? This year, because of COVID, most students will enjoy a longer holiday vacation. My son, for example, finished his first semester before Thanksgiving. He won’t go back until the first full week in January. Students now can enjoy a longer period to read books their teachers didn’t select. Awesome!
I thought it might be interesting to check out the bestselling young adult books and series of all time as possible Christmas presents. I compiled the sales numbers from Amazon and Wikipedia. Turns out, I’ve read all but one of the bestselling books and about half of the series. I’d like to read them all, but there are not enough hours in the day. One series has almost 200 books in it.
I hope this ranking helps you cross off some Christmas list items. Note that I’m not recommending any of them—simply passing along the stats. Happy shopping!
Bestselling YA Books
Novel
Author
Sales
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
JK Rowling
120 million
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
JK Rowling
77 million
The Catcher in the Rye
J.D. Salinger
65 million
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
JK Rowling
65 million
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
JK Rowling
65 million
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
JK Rowling
65 million
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
JK Rowling
65 million
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
JK Rowling
65 million
Anne of Green Gables
LM Montgomery
50 million
The Hunger Games
Suzanne Collins
29 million
The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole
Sue Townsend
20 million
The Fault in Our Stars
John Green
23 million
A Wrinkle in Time
Madeleine L’Engle
14 million
The Outsiders
S.E. Hinton
15 million
The Giver
Lois Lowry
10 million
Some observations:
Not surprised by the Harry Potter chart domination.
13 of the 15 bestselling YA titles of all time were written by women.
Three of them use their initials, likely to hide their gender.
Suzanne Collins’ trilogy had only one ranked book.
The Adrian Mole book (I’d never heard of it) rocked the charts in the UK in the 1980s. It even became a BBC radio production.
Bestselling YA Book Series
Novel
Author
Sales
Harry Potter
JK Rowling
500 million
Sweet Valley High
Francine Pascal
250 million
The Babysitters Club
Ann M Martin
176 million
Lord of the Rings
J.R.R. Tolkien
150 million
Twilight
Stephenie Meyer
100 million
Nancy Drew
Carolyn Keene
80 million
Fear Street
R.L. Stine
80 million
The Hunger Games
Suzanne Collins
65 million
The Shadowhunter Chronicles
Cassandra Clare
36 million
The Inheritance Cycle
Christopher Paolini
33 million
Divergent
Veronica Roth
32 million
Artemis Fowl
Eoin Colfer
21 million
Redwall
Brian Jacques
20 million
His Dark Materials
Philip Pullman
18 million
Vampire Academy
Richelle Mead
8 million
More observations:
The Harry Potter series has sold more copies than the combined populations of the United States, Canada, Australia, and the UK.
A team of ghostwriters published the Sweet Valley High series of 181 books from 1983-2003.
Ghostwriters also penned the Nancy Drew series (1930 to 2003). This famous detective is cited as a formative influence by Supreme Court Justices Sandra Day O’Conner and Sonia Sotomayor, as well as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former First Lady Laura Bush.
Stephenie Meyer is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, so there are no smoking or drinking scenes in her vampire novels.
Ms. Meyer’s series outsold Suzanne Collins’ series, even though none of her books appeared in the top 15.
What’s your favorite YA book? And which is your favorite YA series?
Last year’s Thanksgiving made me dig deep to hitch up a smile. Both my children celebrated the holiday away from my husband and me for the first time in their lives—my daughter with her in-laws in Texas and my son with his Marine unit in Afghanistan. Tough year.
Thanksgiving is our gig. We always host the feast at our house with upwards of twenty family members and friends attending. We love Thanksgiving. It’s all about food and fellowship. No gifts, no fancy outfits, no themed decorations. Just our favorite peeps and us.
In 2019, we hosted fifteen guests. That Thursday, they kept my husband and me entertained from early morning until late in the evening. They did such a stellar job that we almost forgot our kids weren’t with us. Almost. We thanked God when each of them FaceTimed us.
Then came Friday. Black Friday. We’re not the kind of folks who elbow our way through desperate shoppers to get the best deals on the planet. Our Friday-after-Thanksgiving tradition is to decorate the house for Christmas. This family affair is loads of fun with lots of festive music, hot chocolate, and gift wrap. But in 2019, Black Friday took on a whole new meaning for us. We discovered there was no one to run the holiday playlist, squirt whipped cream all over the kitchen, or sit with me on the floor in front of the fire to wrap packages. What a downer.
Then came 2020—the year everyone despises and can’t wait to end. My husband and I have a lot to be thankful for this year. We’re healthy, along with all our family members. We have a roof over our heads and food on the table. We live in a country where we’re free to worship as we please. And best of all . . . our kids are home. In fact, I can hear them arguing about whose holiday playlist is better. A typical Black Friday. Or, should I say, “Bright Friday?”
What is your best Black Friday memory?
“Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever.” — 1 Chronicles 16:34
I made a new friend this week. His name is Wes. He punches the meal tickets at the Ridgecrest Conference Center near Asheville, NC. My new friend is a talker. Since the number of attendees at the Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writers Conference shrank from 500 to 200 due to COVID concerns, he was able to give those of us willing to listen a little more time this week.
When I attend conferences, I like to eat breakfast in my room. Knowing that the day ahead will be action packed, I ease into my mornings with a devotion, coffee, and a protein bar. I did this Monday through Wednesday, but decided to mingle with the early birds Thursday morning.
That’s when Wes bent my ear. He noted that I had almost missed breakfast, but he was glad I’d made it. I let him know that I hadn’t overslept, but had been spending a little time with God. I mentioned that the lit cross at the top of the mountain had added visual ambiance to my devotion.
His face brightened. “Did you know that cross is a cell tower?”
“For real?”
“Yep.” He smiled and nodded. “When AT&T asked to erect a cell tower on our land, we asked if they could disguise it as a cross. You know, win-win for everyone.”
I blinked. I’d worked for BellSouth and seen towers camouflaged as pine trees, but never would have imagined that the mighty telecommunications conglomerate would allow a tower to become a Christian symbol. “Amazing.”
His smile broadened, then he elaborated on the back and forth between the conference center owners and the wireless techies. Turns out, the special request wasn’t such a big deal.
Isn’t that God’s way? Not only can a cell tower be turned into a giant white cross, but it can be erected on the top of a mountain AND LIT, so folks for miles around can see it during daylight or darkness. That cross now stands as a constant reminder of God’s love for us.
I agree with Wes. Life with a cross standing over us is a win-win.
Are you hunkering down in your home today, worried that bad luck might befall you? Don’t feel alone, one in four Americans say they’re superstitious.
How did Friday the 13th become the spookiest calendar date? Early Christians were the first to acknowledge Friday as an unlucky day. After all, Jesus was crucified on a Friday. Later, Christians dubbed the day as Good Friday in acknowledgement of Jesus’ great sacrifice.
But the unlucky day moniker stuck. Around 1400, Geoffrey Chaucer depicts Friday to be a “day of misfortune” in The Canterbury Tales. Robert Greene used “Friday face,” meaning a serious or gloomy face or expression, in Groats-worth of Wit, a play published in 1592. Today, most people welcome Friday, except when associated with the 13th.
Why is the number 13 considered unlucky? Many believe the superstition originates from the Code of Hammurabi, a collection of 282 rules that dates back to 1754 BC. A translator accidentally left out the13th law.
The modern fear of Friday the 13th started in 1907 with the publication of Thomas Lawson’s book, Friday the Thirteenth. The main character, a stockbroker, chooses that day to deliberately crash the stock market. In the 1980s, the Friday the 13th movie franchise ramped up the hysteria.
As for me, today will be just like any other day. I’ll step on cracks and play with black cats. I may even walk under a ladder or two. How about you?
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid: do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. — Joshua 1:9 (NIV)
Friends, I need a little prayer. For the past four years, I’ve participated in NaNoWriMo . . . with dismal results. This year, for once, I’d love to meet my goal.
NaNoWriMo is short for National Novel Writing Month. It takes place in November for some strange reason. I don’t know about other writers, but November is a super busy month for me. Added to my regular routine are holiday preparations, Georgia Bulldog football games, and end-of-year doctors’ appointments for my mom. And this week (I can’t seem to help myself), I’ve been wasting time checking news outlets to see if Georgia will be a blue or red state.
But I really want to take advantage of the writing community’s encouragement. Brilliant minds founded NaNoWriMo in 1999 as a forum where writers can set writing goals and befriend other writers to help them meet those goals. This year, I have eight writing buddies gunning for me. We can track each other’s progress and zip supportive notes to each other.
Last year, 455,080 writers around the world participated in NaNoWriMo. Everyone usually sets a goal of 50,000 words to write in November. The end result doesn’t have to be flawless final copy. A plain rough draft is acceptable. The purpose is to form the skeleton of a story. The good news is that many writers have penned entire novels during these 30 days. The bad news is that folks like me get discouraged and quit. I’ve never written more than 20,00 words during the NaNoWriMo challenge.
If you’re trying to write a novel in a short timeframe, I recommend you join the NaNoWriMo community. It’s free—fully supported by donations. You can meet like-minded writers in your region online and in person. Local groups meet in coffee shops at least once a week for writing sprints. The website offers resources, like discounts on writing platforms and editing services. Those with writer’s block can sign up to receive pep talks from notable authors. If you log a writing streak, NaNo will award you motivational badges.
This year, I resolve to do better. I’ve lowered my bar to 30,000 words. To date, I’ve tallied 2,330 words on the second book in my The Demons Among Us series. I’m not on track, but am confident that I’ll do better next week. I’ve cleared my calendar of all distractions.
Could you please help me by sending up daily prayers for my word count success?
Yesterday started off with frightening thuds around 5 a.m. when straight-line winds from Tropical Storm Zeta tore through our yard, felling part of our wooden fence and two trees. My husband and I jolted from our bed to the howls of my daughter’s dogs. North Atlanta should not be a target for diluted hurricanes.
My daughter and her husband had arrived late the previous night from Alabama with their furniture packed in a Penske truck. They were scheduled to close on their new home near us at 1 p.m., then friends would help us unload and get them settled. What would happen if the closing got canceled? We started the “What if?” game and quickly became overwhelmed with worry.
A few minutes into our worst-case scenarios, God nudged the words of my late father to the forefront of my mind. Dad, who passed away in 1991 from Multiple myeloma, used to say, “It’s all in your attitude.” He was right. It says so in Habakkuk:
Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vines; even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty, yet I will rejoice in the Lord! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation! — Habakkuk 3:17-18
I did my best to keep everyone upbeat as we awaited calls from the realtor, refrigerator delivery person, and Internet carrier tech. As the morning wore on, we learned that 444,000 Georgians were without power, schools had closed, and three people in the metro Atlanta area had died. Our concerns paled in comparison.
Finally! The first call arrived mid-morning from the realtor. The home closing was still set for 1 p.m. The other two calls zipped in minutes later—both positive. Julia and Drew took off for the closing while my husband, son, neighbor, and I added some of our hand-me-down furniture to their truck.
The new homeowners, Drew and Julia Grove.
All turned out well. They returned by 4 p.m. and, with the help of a brawny friend, we finished unloading the truck at their shiny new townhome by 8 p.m. Afterward, we enjoyed a pizza picnic on the happy couple’s garage floor with a light tropical breeze cooling our exhausted bodies.
I’ll never forget that crazy, 2020-infused day. So many emotions: fright, anxiety, and . . . joy. I’ve learned that by choosing joy and trusting my heavenly Father, my soul will be at peace. I highly recommend that combination for tense situations.
Were you impacted by Hurricane Zeta? If so, how did you fare?
