Sunday, January 8, 2023

 Mind Of a Neighbor is published and available!!! This is the final book of three in the American Neighborhood Series. (The first book is Eyes Of a Neighbor, the second book is Heart Of a Neighbor, and the third book is Mind Of a Neighbor.)

 A continuous Christian fiction story with morals, compassion, life struggles, and a journey that is indeed inspiring. No profanity. Published by Proof Productions. Available in paperback on Amazon.com and also e-book on Kindle. Both versions are published in large print for your reading pleasure. Check it out, and I would greatly appreciate a review on Amazon! (On Mind of a Neighbor or any of the others as well!)

Click on link to purchase: 

 https://rb.gy/kcbuqa.


Trust builds as neighbors leave the disaster of Hurricane Harvey. Faith is tested as they relocate to Kansas. Locals stir up sinister rumors that develop into unexpected trouble. Can Ethan and Kate obtain God's peace that surpasses understanding? Do Sal and Maria remain true to their friends? Can Kate forgive an entire town? Although Mind of a Neighbor is fiction, the struggles of the characters are very real. Enjoy the final book in this series. An inspiring ending ia always possible in any situation...when you know the promises God has given...to see us through this evil world.

Thursday, January 20, 2022

 Mind Of A Neighbor, the third and final book in The American Neighborhood Series... is completed! 

Mind Of A Neighbor is completed! Yay! This is the third book in the American Neighborhood Series. Due to viewers' requests, this entire series is published in large print. Mind Of A Neighbor is currently at the publishers. The first book, Eyes Of A Neighbor, and the second book, Heart Of A Neighbor are available on Amazon in both e-book and printed paperback books. My new work in progress is a stand-alone book with new characters that promises to be a complete surprise to all! 

Saturday, June 19, 2021

Celebrating Five Years With Rave Reviews Book Club!

 


Celebrating five years with Rave Reviews Book Club! I highly recommend this organization!  :)





Sunday, February 9, 2020

Perception, and Making It Real

Thank you, American Christian Fiction Writers for accepting my post for publication on your website scheduled February 9, 2020!

                                                                  

Perception, and Making It Real

By Lynn Hobbs
Writing your story is just that; your story. If you are making a point using a situation as an example or attempting to show a lesson learned; readers will decide for themselves if it could be applied to their daily lives. As a Christian fiction author, writing about a fictional family, town, or one main character should be as true to life as possible. I always pray for direction before writing. Letting the story flow, pulling readers in will happen with emotion felt by characters, body language, and action moving forward.
Perception comes into play as you scatter your story with some descriptions of what you have personally experienced. Readers won’t know it’s true, merely something the main character was involved in. This adds reality to your fictional town or character.
Imagine reading a book where the main character is baking cookies when someone knocks on the front door. Wiping her floured hands haphazardly on a paper towel, she hurries from the kitchen sideswiping her hip into the corner of the counter. A quick massage leaves floured prints on her pants leg. More knocks banging harder with each blow continue at the front door. She limps approaching the foyer, suddenly jerking the door wide open, and gasps at a stranger. He steps forward, entering the doorway, a sly grin appearing on his unshaven face as he looks around. Sweet aroma of baked cookies wafts through the house, and our main character can hear her heart pounding inside her head.
“Can I use your phone? My car broke down.”
“No, get out or I’ll scream for help.” She shoves him backward slamming the door in his face. Huffing, she watches him stumble on the sidewalk, and calls 911.
Sharing this example clearly shows a lesson learned about not opening your door to everyone.
Perception? Reader could feel your main character overreacted. It’s still an ongoing story though.
What about stories where a busy main character seems to accomplish all tasks with perfection? That story needs reality for readers to relate to. Let’s go back to the kitchen and another example.
Our main character flips through a Diabetic Cookbook and decides on a sweet potato bisque recipe. She lined the newly bought ingredients upon her kitchen counter. “Hmm,” she ponders aloud, “this looks like a delicious soup. One pound cooked and mashed sweet potatoes, butter, onions, curry powder, ground coriander, apple juice, buttermilk, and chives.” Following directions carefully, she poured all of it into the blender and pureed the concoction. Indeed, it looked like a delicious soup. Warming it on the stove in a two-quart pot didn’t take long. Suddenly, a disgusting sour smell filled her nostrils and her house as she stirred the soup. Trying to remain calm, she wrinkled her nose and fought nausea. “Yuck! Maybe the buttermilk was spoiled. I don’t drink it, so I wouldn’t know; or maybe it was the curry. I’ve never used it before.” Another overwhelming stench hit her in her face, and she gagged. Pouring the soup down the kitchen drain, she heard someone knock on the door. Peeping out the window, she opened the door to a neighbor.
Frowning, her neighbor fans her hand in front of her face. “What is that horrid smell?”
“Some bad soup I won’t make again.” Our main character admits and laughs.
Another example of making it real; have your main character open her microwave to warm an afternoon meal only to find her second cup of morning coffee still waiting to be heated!
Hectic mornings most can relate to! Like other ingredients, flavor your fiction with reality and imagination.
Happy writing!
Flavor your fiction with reality and imagination says today's guest blogger @LynnHobbsAuthor #ACFWBlogs #writing #writetips #ChristianFictionCLICK TO TWEET
Lynn Hobbs is the author of the Running Forward Series: Sin, Secrets, and SalvationRiver Town, and Hidden Creek, and won 1st place Religious Fiction in 2013, 2014 and 2015 by Texas Association of Authors. She is also the author of Lillie, A Motherless Child, which won 1st place Biography 2016, TAA, and the American Neighborhood Series: Eyes of a Neighbor. Her current work-in-progress is Mind of a Neighbor. Visit Lynn on FacebookTwitter, and her website.

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Wednesday, December 4, 2019

And Your Readers Are?

Thank you, American Christian Fiction Writers for accepting and publishing my post {And Your Readers Are?}  on your national website today, December 4, 2019.

And Your Readers Are?

By Lynn Hobbs
Years ago I was taught to write to a certain group selected to be your target market. Various writing workshops and writing conferences included this type of training. Age and gender or ages and genders were to be strictly adhered to for whatever you were writing. Consistency was of utmost importance.
The argument was believable, and presented to sway the author to the standards of a secular writing organization.
For example, you enjoy writing mysteries. After a few books are published, and your readers continue reading your latest work; you get a sudden urge to write a western novel set in the 1800’s.
If you do, all of your readers who love mysteries will find another mystery author to follow. You lose those readers, and the new readers you need are enjoying the established western author they already have. Your new western novel may not be widely read.
As a Christian author, I have Christian standards that secular authors don’t, and I always pray for guidance before I write. My readers are male and female, and include a wide range of ages.
I have attended writing conferences from both sides. Secular in the first years of my writing, and after discovering I was the only Christian writer in the group, I quickly left and chose Christian writing groups and conferences. No more secular, but I did learn a lot of writing basics.
A new author can listen to a secular group, but they miss out on what Christian writing is all about….and it’s for all readers, not a select group.
Besides writing Christian fiction, I felt led to write the inspiring, true story of the life on my mother. “Lillie, A Motherless Child” is about her entire life with 16 siblings during the Great Depression in Houston, Texas. Her own mother died when she was seven. I give God the glory, the book won 1st place in biography in 2016 by the Texas Association of Authors. The book had pictures, recipes, and was published in large print.
“Large print? Why large print?”
Simple. Many of my readers requested a large print Christian book be available for their personal use and to give as gifts. I was happy with the choice, and my readers wanted more. My new Christian fiction series, The American Neighborhood Series, is also in large print. After considerable thought on the word count of a large print book, I cut back on the total amount for each of the three books. “Eyes of a Neighbor” and “Heart of a Neighbor” are published. My current work in progress is book three, “Mind of a Neighbor.”
I didn’t want a book that was too heavy, or large. A relaxing read would be awkward if you couldn’t maneuver it, and large print is soothing to read.
But don’t think because someone wants a large print book, they want the word count cut back. I learned a lesson by a review I had been given on Amazon. I don’t ask my readers to give me reviews as some authors do in e-mails, but I’ve decided to start asking. This particular review I am referring to has a special place in my heart. It was written by a 100 year old Baptist preacher. He liked the book, but thought I had hurried writing like I had a deadline to complete. He wanted a larger word count in that large print book of the new series.
My point is you cannot put readers in a particular category, and yes, we all learn daily about the craft of writing!
You cannot put readers in one particular reading category. @LynnHobbsAuthor #ACFWBlogs #writing #writetipsCLICK TO TWEET
Lynn Hobbs is the author of the Running Forward Series: Sin, Secrets, and SalvationRiver Town, and Hidden Creek, and won 1st place Religious Fiction in 2013, 2014 and 2015 by Texas Association of Authors. She is also the author of Lillie, A Motherless Child, which won 1st place Biography 2016, TAA, and the American Neighborhood Series: Eyes of a Neighbor. Her current work-in-progress is Mind of a Neighbor. Visit Lynn on FacebookTwitter, and her website.
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