Home and Off Again

Dallas was great fun. I had a lot of fun seeing old friends and making new. It’s always great to talk to fellow authors about projects we’re working on and stories we long to tell. It’s a wonderful blessing to have a chance to hear of how the Lord is working in each person’s life. We had such a wonderful time of fellowship and praise.

Now I’m off again. This time I’ll head to Kansas to mix business with pleasure. First, my incredible accountant resides in Kansas. I couldn’t give him up when I moved to Montana because a good, trustworthy accountant is hard to find. So we will meet and do that pesky tax thing.

Then I will have a wonderful time plotting and planning new books with my dear friend Judy Miller. We have so much fun when we get together.

Added to this is the bonus of getting to see my daughter and son-in-law and beautiful grandchildren.









So I would appreciate your prayers for traveling and weather mercies. One of the big reasons we left Kansas was we were tired of humidity and tornadoes. So I would appreciate prayers for both to be absent. Well, I suppose I could tolerate a nice Montana humidity of 20%.
Tracie

Dallas Bound

By the time this posts, I'll be in Dallas for the big Christian book expo. I have heard so many positive things about this brand new get-together for readers to come and meet writers. It should prove to be a lot of fun, and I know many of my fellow writers have been looking foward to this event for some time. So if you're in the Dallas area, I encourage you to join us. I've included a link so you can check out the program if you haven't already looked into this.


http://www.christianbookexpo.com

The thing I like the most about gatherings like this is getting to meet my readers. People are always so wonderful and fascinating. I love hearing their stories and learning what blessed them about a particular book. One of my most amusing stories comes from a similar gathering where there were a dozen or so authors greeting and signing books. A woman came rushing up to me just gushing about how excited she was to meet me. She said, "I absolutely loved A Bride Most Begruding." I had to laugh and without missing a beat replied, "So did I. I think Dee Gist is a fantastic author."

Of course the woman was embarrassed by this, but I thought it endearing. It's one of the nicest things about being an author in the Christian publishing world - it's like being in one big loving family. Like my sisters here on the blog - we rejoice with each other and share the triumphs and sorrows.

Sometimes I'm asked, "But don't you find a lot of rivalry and jealousy among the authors?" My answer is simple. "No." Of course there are always those moments when an author wonders why his/her book didn't win an award or make the best seller list, but even at those times it seems more in keeping with a heart that desires to give their very best rather than anger at those who accomplished the feat.

So I'm happy to share this blog with such dear sisters, and excited to see my extended family in Dallas. I hope I'll see many of you there as well. Oh, and here's the link to all of my Dallas booksignings on March 20-22nd.

http://www.traciepeterson.com/speaking.shtml

Tracie

Amusing Translations

It must be the week for having books translated to other languages. I received two in the mail this week from my publisher and both had been translated to German.

First to arrive was A LADY OF HIGH REGARD with a fresh new cover and title.

It's now translated - THE MATCHMAKER. And that fits, because the story deals with a heroine who likes to match make.

The second came today and is a new translation of WHERE MY HEART BELONGS.


Now the title is - WHERE MY HEART DROVE ME. I had to laugh at that one. It wasn't as great as Kim's Shards of Luck, but it amused me. And, it seems very appropriate given that my heart often drives me to go a lot of places. Like writing as a way of sharing Jesus with others.

I now have books in German, Dutch, Norwegian, Indonesian, Spanish, and a strange dialect from India that I can't spell much less pronounce. It thrills me to pieces to see this, because my books are a ministry for the Lord. I am totally stoked to imagine all the places that these books might go. If you think about, please pray a blessing on the people who read the various works of Christian fiction. This is a precious mission field and I'm so blessed to be a part of it, but this is only one small part as I'm sure any of the authors here would attest. Seed planting is vital, but there needs to also be cultivators and harvesters. Pray that God will send someone to the people who read these books--someone who will be a blessing and encouragement to the reader. Someone who will share in this mission to help people fall passionately in love with Jesus.
Tracie

Life Lessons

A friend of mine shared this little article with me, and I wanted to pass it along. I tried to find the original author and didn't have any luck. There are several names associated with this story, as well as variations of the story itself, so I'm clueless. If someone knows the original author - by all means let me know so we can credit them.


LESSONS FROM A PENCIL

The pencil maker took the pencil aside, just before putting it into the box.
"There are five things you need to know before I send you out into the great world," he said. "Always remember these five things and you will be one great pencil:

ONE: You are capable of many great things but only if you allow yourself to be held in Someone's hand.

TWO: You will experience a painful sharpening from time to time but you'll need it to be a better pencil.

THREE: You have the ability to correct the mistakes you make.

FOUR: The important part of you will always be what's inside.

FIVE: On every surface where you are used, reglardless of its condition or yours, you will leave a mark."

I thought this was a neat analogy of our life, and it gave me great food for thought that I just had to share with you.
Tracie