Author: Denise M. Colby

First Line Fridays

First Line Fridays – 1.19.18

Denise M. Colby

It’s First Line Friday time.  I’m having so much fun doing this each week! I hope you are having fun reading them. Today’s first line is taken from the book:

Love at the Fluff & Fold   By Kitty Bucholtz

Kitty Bucholtz

Wilfred Larson buttoned his shirt and glanced up at his doctor. 

This book is a sweet, small town romance with characters you can relate to.  Kitty is a friend of mine and I enjoy her writing and hope you will too.

In return, I hope you will share the first line from any book you choose in the comments below.  And then head on over to First Line Friday

Happy Reading,

Denise

First Line Fridays

First Line Fridays – 1.12.18

Denise M. Colby

It’s First Line Friday time!  This week it’s a line from a book I recently read titled:

Where There’s Smoke

By Susan May Warren

And here it is:

She’d come three thousand miles to burn to death.

This is book one in Susan’s Montana Fire: Summer of Fire Trilogy.  I love her writing.  I couldn’t put the book down.  Now on to #2 and #3.

In return, I hope you will share the first line from any book you choose in the comments below.

Happy Reading,

Denise

First Line Fridays

First Line Fridays-1.5.18

Denise M. Colby

It’s First Line Friday time!  This week it’s a line from a book I’m currently reading titled:

the story of WITH

A Better Way to Live, Love, & Create

by Allen Arnold

the story of with

This book blends storytelling and teaching, fusing allegory with application to help deepen your identity, intimacy and imagination with God.  I’m in the middle of it, so the entire impact is unclear, but already it’s spoken to my heart several times – with the evidence in how I have marked several sections to go over again.  I’ve even pulled my 2018 word for the year from this book.  It lodged itself inside my heart and left no room for discussing any other options no matter how hard I tried.

So here’s the first line.  Drumroll please…….

Mia wished her father could be with her in this moment, but she had to get through this on her own.

In return, I hope you will share the first line from any book you choose in the comments below.

And then head on over to First Line Friday

Happy Reading,

Denise

First Line Fridays

First Line Fridays – 12.8.17

Denise M. Colby

First Line Fridays, Hoarding BooksWelcome to my first, First Line Friday post.  I’m excited to join in on the fun.  Each Friday I will share the first line of either a book I’m reading, have read or is in my TBR (to be read) pile.  Then in return, I hope you will share the first line from any book you want in the comments.

In the writing world, the first line is tremendously important, introducing you to the story.  It helps you settle in, knowing you have a fun adventure ahead.

So without further ado, here’s the book I’m starting off with: 

Too Far Down, by Mary Connealy:

Too Far Down, First Line Friday

February, 1881

“An explosion brought Cole Boden to his feet.”

This is book three in The Cimarron Legacy series.  There’s an overall plot carrying through the series and I’ve been waiting to see how it ends. I just might be staying up late tonight to find out!

Now it’s your turn! Grab the book nearest to you and leave a comment with the first line!

Then head over to Hoarding Books to see who else is participating:

First Line Friday

Writing

Time Flies When You Are Writing!

Denise M. Colby

writers journey blog

I can’t believe it’s been so long since I last posted on this blog.  Of course I haven’t been stagnant.  Life keeps moving, or as the phrase suggests…time flies when you’re having fun.  And I have been having fun. Both in my personal and professional life.

I’m still writing…

Slice of Orange Blog

…I’m now writing a monthly blog over at www.sliceoforange.net.   You can see my posts on the 12th of every month.  If you are interested you can sign up to receive the daily posts from a large group of authors.  Here’s my September post: http://www.asliceoforange.net/face-your-fear/

Writers conference southern california…I attended the SoCal Christian Writers Conference in June and met some wonderful people within the industry.  I also picked up new tips and information to help me on my journey, including some blogging lessons.

…I’ve taken two online classes over the past few months, both on editing and revisions, since that is what I am currently working on.  I’ve learned a lot and am now applying those lessons to my manuscript.

…I rewrote the entire beginning of my book.  I’ve learned so much since when I started that it was easier to rewrite it with new words and phrasing rather then continue to change what I had originally.

…I have a title for my first book that I’m completely happy with.  I had been going round and round with a handful of them, but one stuck out I really liked and after asking a few publishers and agents, I’ve decided it’s the one (I’ll have to reveal it in another post).

…I have met a wonderful new author friend who is now my critique partner and together we’ve exchanged a few scenes and gotten to know each other.  I’m really looking forward to working with her.  I’ll have to introduce her in a future post.

…I’ve been revising and editing my first book and adding words to book number two.  I can see my writing has improved tremendously, but it’s not quite where it needs to be.  So I keep working at it.

…I have a logo my middle son designed and created for me.  I need to finalize the last bit of detail before I put it on my website, but it’s been great working on it with him.  I’m super excited to share it with you.

Wow….I really haven’t been stagnant.  It feels good to write out what I’ve been doing.  I can see the progress.  Daily I don’t feel like I’ve done much because sometimes the progress is itty bitty, but all in all I can see the progression in my writing journey.

Looking ahead…

…I’m considering renaming this blog ‘my journal’ since that’s the style I have chosen to write in.  I guess an official “blog” post is more instructive and has a call to action.  Here I share my thoughts, feelings and encouragement as if I’m writing a diary entry. 

Do you like this approach?  I would love to hear your opinion.

…I hope to have revisions done by the end of the year for my first book.  The process is slow, but as I apply things from my new tool box, I can see it taking shape.

And My Family Keeps Me Busy…

With three teenage boys in my house, there is never a dull moment.  This year we have celebrated a high school graduation, an Eagle Scout, lead roles in musicals and plays, choir performances, track meets, dances, backpacking trips, college classes and lots of pizza movie nights (our weekly tradition) and so much more (including my 22nd Anniversary to my amazing hubby).  It seems daily I’m running somewhere, but I wouldn’t change any of it.  I love my family dearly and enjoy watching them get to do what they love and cheering them on.

So there’s the fun I’ve had while my time has flown by.  I encourage you to write out some of the things you’ve accomplished this year so far.  I bet it’s more than you think.

And hopefully I won’t take as long before I post something again.

Blessings,

Denise

Writing

Celebrating Progress

Denise M. Colby

Denise M. Colby's Orange County Chapter of RWA Badge with Pins and Rose

It might be slow, but I’m making progress.

A great part of being involved in writing organizations are the opportunities to get your material in front of published authors, agents and publishers through contests. The feedback they provide are valuable and instructional.

My local chapter of RWA – the OCCRWA – hosts the Orange Rose Contest every year for unpublished authors. You send in the first 35 pages and a synopsis of your story.

The first time I entered was in 2015. I took all the feedback and made several changes and decided to enter again in 2016 to see if those changes made a difference.

First Place Certificate from Orange Rose Contest for Unpublished Writers
I Won!

What a shock to find out I won 1st place in the inspirational category!

I received this really pretty certificate and got to stand in front of my peers who all cheered me on.

Then a month later I found out that those who placed first receive an engraved award at our Annual Birthday Bash.

Here’s a picture of me Denise M. Colby receiving her awardgiddy with excitement after being presented with my award (yes I had to give a little speech).

OCCRWA Orange Rose Contest for Unpublished Writers' award

And then I found out,

my name was listed in the Romance Writers Report Magazine

Denise M. Colby's name in print for winning awardSeeing my name in print made it even more real.

I still feel as if I’m on cloud nine.

And, it gave me the confidence boost I needed to continue moving forward with my goal of publishing.

And what was the next step?  Turning Pro!

For an RWA member to turn Pro, you need to submit your complete manuscript to show proof of your work. In January of this year, I uploaded my document and held my breath. I received word they accepted it and voila! My status was updated to Pro.

What I didn’t know at the time – and I was jumping up and down when I found out – I would receive a rose from my Orange County Chapter for going Pro.

Denise M. Colby receiving her Rose for turning PRO with RWA
Receiving my rose

What’s the big deal about the rose?

Every month at our meetings, authors receive roses for selling books, novellas, and other stories. Each color rose means something – Red=Novel, Pink=Novella Length, Purple=Self-Published, Yellow=Non-Fiction, White=Articles, Peach=Turning Pro.

I’ve been watching everyone receive roses for a few years and couldn’t wait to receive one. I even purchased a vase a while back to hold my roses in. So when I found out I would be receiving one for going Pro, it was difficult to contain my excitement (just ask my husband!).

Not only that, I received a PRO pin to wear on my badge with pride AND I got my name printed in the RWA National Magazine on the PRO page.

It feels like all of this happened quickly, but I’ve been working up to this point for a while. It’s nice to be able to see progress in my work. I’ve included pics – I have to document it all – it helps encourage me when I have those days I don’t like my writing.

Now with these goals met – I have my eyes set on new ones for the rest of the year; Find a critique partner, edit Book #1 and finish writing Book #2.

As a writer, there is never an “I’ve arrived” moment in our career.

It’s not about the end result. It’s all about the journey!

Thank you for letting me share mine with you.

Blessings, Denise

Faith, Hope, & Love

Where Is Your Confidence?

Denise M. Colby

2 Corinthians 3:4-5 - Our competence comes from God

This morning I was reading in 2 Corinthians and the following verse made me stop and pause, so I wrote it down on my handy 3×5 index card for future reference:

Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God.     2 Corinthians 3:5

I want to be a writer. Notice I said I want to, not I am.

I’ve only been writing things for over twenty years – either marketing copy or fiction stories. No matter which, the reality is I struggle with believing in myself. My takeaway from this verse is God’s telling me if I believe in him, I need to believe in myself.

After getting the kids off to school, I took a walk and the verse rattled around in my head. But for some reason the key word competence turned into the word confidence (I wonder who put that there?). As I mulled around thoughts about confidence, I knew I needed to come home and look up the word in the dictionary.

I love words. Definitions, synonyms – all of it. I also love seeing connections words have with other words.  So here’s what the website http://www.dictionary.com says about

CONFIDENCE: full trust; belief in oneself and one’s powers or abilities; self-confidence; self-reliance; assurance:

And I love the example they gave in a sentence: His lack of confidence defeated him.

Is my lack of confidence in my abilities as a writer defeating me?

I think about my writing and the nudges I have had over the past five years and I know without a doubt God wants me to do this, otherwise doors would’ve closed on me long ago. However I’m not fully doing what he wants me to do because I have not had the confidence to just do it.

I’ve been saying for a while now, I would like to write devotionals. I have this strong innate desire to share hope, encouragement and God’s Word with others. What I haven’t been sure about is the how and what. So I haven’t done it, period.

When I took my walk this am something clicked and I couldn’t wait to get back home because I needed to do this right now. God has confidence in me. He has given me the desire. He’s nudging me to do this. Why have I not done this? Why?

I’m afraid – that’s why. What am I so afraid of? Putting myself out there? Looking like an idiot? Is that confidence then? I know I’m not looking for accolades, not looking for stardom. I just want to write and share my heart. But I’ve been too scared to do that.

Then I saw the Synonyms for confidence – 1. faith, reliance, dependence.

And the Antonym – 1. mistrust.

Wow!

In a nutshell, my lack of confidence in myself (lack of faith) and the abilities God has given me (lack of faith, dependence) are holding me back from sharing something he wants me to share.

I’m not really trusting God then, am I? If I have faith, I should have confidence in what he’s asking me to do. And I need to depend on Him when I do it.

So here I am today. Writing a devotional and setting up a specific devotional page on my website. Only God knows what will happen. I just need to have the confidence to do it (already the nagging doubts are creeping in). I must rely on God with the rest.

But wait, there’s more. When I grabbed my Bible to write in the verse, I realized I made a mistake (was it really?) and the word was competence not confidence. Oh no! Do I scrap what I just wrote? Does it even relate? See maybe I shouldn’t be doing this after all. I paused for a moment then decided to look it up:

COMPETENCE: having suitable or sufficient skill, knowledge, experience, etc., for some purpose; properly qualified:

And the Synonym: 1. fit, capable, proficient.

No antonym. Interesting. There is no negative/opposite of being competent.  You either are or you are not. I may not be the best writer, but I know I am proficient. So what am I waiting for?

Then I looked at 2 Corinthians 3:4 Such confidence as this is ours through Christ before God.

If God has given you skills – you are capable to use them for his glory. You just need to have the confidence through Him to do it. 

What abilities (competence) has God given you?  Where do you put your confidence?  In your own efforts, schedule, skills, voices in your head? Or do you trust God?  Do you have the confidence to put yourself out there with whatever it is?

God has given us all skills. We are all competent in something. Being competent does not need to mean you are the best at something.

Being competent means you are proficient. You can get the job done.

We let our own voices tell us we are not competent because we think we need to be the best or someone does it better than us and we let it affect our confidence which in turn affects what we do.    

Everyone’s path is different and God has one he wants you to follow. He has given you these skills for a reason. You just have to have confidence in Him that He is with you every step of the way.

God believes in you and I believe in you too!

Word of the Year

Finding Strength

Denise M. Colby

Life is hard, crazy and stressful and in those moments when we search for answers, sometimes God connects things in a way that makes me stop in awe.

The last two years I have chosen a word to focus on.  Hope was my first word in 2015 and Believe was my word in 2016. 

For this year I have chosen – STRENGTH – and in searching up verses I am amazed to see how many fit where I am.

In my walk with God.  My daily struggles of life.  My writing career.  Everything.

Philippians 4:13 is all about strength in the Lord

I know I need strength as I begin showing my work to agents, publishers, critique partners, you name it. 

I need to be able to take criticism and suggestions and have strength to really hear the recommendations to make me a better writer.  I also want to lean on God’s strength in all aspects of my life.  As I get older, I realize that I can’t do life without him.

There are so many I want to highlight so for me to pick just one is really challenging.  So throughout the year, I will share different ones on my Facebook and Twitter accounts.  Here’s one though, I want to share:

Psalm 119:28 My soul is weary with sorrow; strengthen me according to your word.

I love this last one personally.  Many days I feel weary dealing with everyday life.  And I know I’m not alone. I hope that these verses can offer you some comfort as they do to me.

So now that I firmly have my word set for the year, I look forward to seeing how God will use this word to encourage me, bolster me, show me things. 

And He will.  Not even a week after I selected STRENGTH, imagine my surprise when my Bible Study book I ordered – Priscella Shearer’s Gideon – came in and the cover had these words: your weakness. Gods strength. Oh how God knows things before we do.  The fact that I’ll be spending six weeks studying God’s strength?  I’m so excited.

I would encourage you to consider selecting a word to focus on.  Write down 3 or 4 that pop in your mind and then look up verses to them.  As you ponder each one, God will let you know what the right one would be.  And I hope that it gives you infinite encouragement in all aspects of your life, just as mine have done for me.

Blessings, Denise

Writing

So Long 2016, Hello 2017

Denise M. Colby

Another year, another beginning.  I love to be able to reflect on the previous year and see all that occurred over the last 12 months.  Parts were bumpy and other parts inspiring.  In my writing I had many ups and dowsign with the words faith, dream, believe - words that encourage me on my writing journeyns, wondering if the fruit of all my labor would really be anything worthwhile.  When I chose the word BELIEVE for my word of the year in 2016, I had no idea how applicable it would be. 

I found the word everywhere.  At the gym.  In a quote on the wall at the doctors.  On a t-shirt.  On a charm holder which I had to buy and now holds my keys within my purse.  Every time I saw it, I was reminded of two things.  I believe in God and His Word.  To keep believing in my writing.

This was my second year to enter the Orange Rose Contest from my local chaptefirst place certificate for Denise M. Colby from Orange Rose Contest for unpublished authorsr of RWA.  The first year I received such valuable feedback that I wanted to enter again to see if the changes I made would be received any better.  I was so surprised when it was announced that I won 1st place in my category!  First place!  Me!  And it was then that my word took on a completely different meaning – someone else believed in my writing too. 

That gave me the shot in the arm I needed to keep editing, keep rewriting and moving to the next step. 

As 2016 turned into 2017, I had some new goals for the year.  Never thought I would accomplish them all in January, but I did. 

In the RWA world, turning PRO is one of the steps in getting closer to being a published author.  You have to upload your entire manuscript for proof of your writing and then they review it and approve it.  When I completed my first round of full edits, I sent it in and was so excited when I got the email telling me ‘it passed’.  I also decided to enter the national contest for unpublished authors – the Golden Heart.  Even if I do not final, actually sending it in was a huge milestone for me and already helps me push ahead for more this year.

I have a new word for 2017 and I will write about that in a different blog post.  But let’s just say I am super on fire for what can happen in 2017.  Stay tuned as I will hopefully have more news to share throughout the year.

Blessings, Denise

Writing

#Writeastorychallenge

Denise M. Colby

One of my writer friends issued an August writing challenge to create a short story using one word prompts and writing just 1-3 sentences daily.

Anyone participating posted on their Instagram account and copied the two authors who sponsored it.  I found it short enough to do in my notes app while I worked out at the gym.   

Since these words were more 2016 then 1869, I found it fun to try something completely different and I allowed myself to write whatever came to mind.  I decided not to edit it, but leave it as it is.  Each day I had to veer the story to fit the word.  Some days fit better than others, and I think it turned into a cute, silly story and I wanted to share it with you.

So without further ado – here is my August #Writeastorychallenge.  The bold words are the daily prompts.

“Would you like to go get a cappuccino when you are done?”  He asked.

“Um.  I don’t drink coffee.” Liz responded.

She continued to trim his hair, watching his expression at the same time, seeing the determination on his face and realizing he wouldn’t take no for an answer. She hurried through the appointment, applying gel last, the slimy substance cool in her fingers as she massaged it into his scalp.

Her suspicions were affirmed when he asked her again.

“How about even a glass of water?”

She decided not to provoke him further. “Okay, I guess.”  Trying not to show too much enthusiasm.

If there was a God in heaven, this drink date won’t last too long. It wasn’t because she didn’t like him-No, it was very different from that. In fact, her fear was she liked him too much and felt he was way out of her league.

She considered herself as simple as a square and him, well, she saw him the interesting shape of a star, shooting off charm no matter which direction he pointed.

As they walked out of the building together, he held the door for her, then led her to his car, a Dodge Charger. Of course it was shiny and new, the moon reflecting off the black paint.

His phone rang before they made it to their destination. He answered it by pushing the button on the dash, putting the call on speaker. “It’s time.” was all that was said.

And then she heard the most wicked laugh, ever.  

To her horror, it didn’t come from the speaker. No, it came from the person sitting beside her, dominating the entire inside of the car.  What did she get herself into?

Before she answered her own question, date guy reached across her lap and pushed a button. She didn’t know whether to scream or fight.

“Cheese?” Was all he said.

Perplexed she looked to where he pointed and there sitting on a mini-shelf sat a plate with cheese and crackers.

“It’s Colby Cheese. Try some. I made it myself.”

Liz started to reach out to try some then yanked her hand back, wondering if it was a trap. Just at that moment, her stomach rumbled reminding her she hadn’t eaten dinner yet.

She looked longingly at the cheese which looked heaven-sent. Slowly she reached for the cheese and tried a bite.

Liz didn’t consider herself an exuberant person, but the taste made her shout out, “wow!”

“You like it? Good.”

She looked at him, questioning his response.

“I’m entertaining some bigwigs and serving this cheese as well as a few other delicacies. You confirmed this was a good choice.”

She wasn’t sure what to say, so she unscrewed the cap off the water bottle he handed her.

Fabulous. She thought as she took a sip, laughing on the inside as she drank the water he offered her. Her date was now complete.

Her original plan was to reject any other advances, but his odd behavior intrigued her.

“What makes the cheese taste so good?”

“Herbs.” He replied.

“I made a spread too. Smother some on a cracker and let me know what you think.”

She did as he asked. “You could sell buckets of this stuff. It’s really good.”

“I’m glad you like it.”  Appreciation laced his words, so she looked over at him and caught him staring at her, a smile from ear to ear. His voice sounded both pleasant and alluring. She was a goner.

And just like that she was filled with disgust for how easy she fell for him.

He pulled the car back into the parking space he occupied when they first left. True to his word he took her for a drive and water. She chuckled a little louder than she planned.

“What’s so funny?” He asked.

“How educated you are on making cheese. I had no idea.”

He smiled, his appreciation apparent. “There is a lot of things you don’t know about me. I’d like to change that. I’m  glad you agreed to come with me tonight.” He paused and looked out the window. ” I wasn’t going to take no for an answer.” He looked back at her, his blue eyes sparkling. “Although I think you knew that.”  

His smile locked her in place and all she could do was nod. It was in that moment something connected them and drew them together.

Their lips were almost touching when a knock on the window startled them both. There stood her coworker Robbie holding a broom.

“What are you doing Liz? He chastised. Stunned all she could do was watch him open the car door, no clue with how shallow he was being. Didn’t he know she was on a date with an amazing guy and just about to be kissed.