Pepper D. Basham

Just sent off my first three chapters of It Had to Be You for The Golden Rose contest for Romance Writers of America. I should hear some news (IF I hear any news) by the end of October...whew- that's a long time

Just got news that Kregel Publications wants to see my full manuscript. It's incredibly exciting. Doesn't mean publication, but it's like the second interview to getting the 'job'. Praise God - for his wonderful grace and faithfulness - and for the talent to write. When I write, I 'feel God's pleasure'

May 18-20 I attended the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference in Black Mountain, NC. Besides gaining a wealth of new writing tips, I met with published and unpublished authors alike, who have a common goal: Use their gift & passion of writing for the glory of God. It was a wonderful experience.

To my surprise and amazement, I won first place for fiction. I'm not sure how many entries there were, but what an honor.

I received an email today from the coordinator of the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference. He informed me that the first place winners in all categories were judged to decide on a Grand Prize... I won. Praise God, shocked Again! Talk about a self-esteem booster!.

The first book in my juvenile fantasy series The Servants of the Sacred Fire, was sent off to the publisher last night. The Book of Beginnings follows the story of two teens as the struggle through the magical world of Angoria to find their way back home.  A small excerpt from the book is listed in the Fiction Excerpts link above.

I received my certificate of completion from the Christian Writers Guild yesterday. I've completed the year-long Journeyman Course with mentor Doug Hirt. It was a rewarding, challenging, and inspirational course and I'm thankful to my parents for providing the opportunity for it. Hopefully, the skills I've learned throughout this year will increase the quality of my writing for God's glory.

My contemporary romantic comedy will be sent out to publishers next week, Lord willing. A few goals after that? Well, I'd like to enter it into a few contests, send a few short stories into contests, AND get to serious work on my fantasy and historical ficiton.  The more I read from fantastic authors like Jamie Carie and Julie Lessman, I see how far I have to go. God is bigger!

I'm posting on Seekerville tomorrow, so stop by. http://seekerville.blogspot.com

Also, check out my interview with Jamie Carie, author of Love's First Light at http://pepperbasham.blogspot.com

Today, July 17 - I'm the guest blogger on Seekerville, a blog for writers and writer-wannabes. It's an encouraging place, truly like a little island of positive energy. My post can be found on this website in the blogs section and is entitled "Baby Steps on the Write Path"