It’s always nice to have Google tell you there’s a new link with your name on it, and to discover that there’s a new review posted for one of your books. This one is about Glitter of Diamonds. You can read it here in the Seattle Examiner.

Actually, Glitter of Diamonds was probably the most fun to write of any of my books thus far. I do like baseball.

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Other than the fact that she’s sold more books than I have, and made a lot more money, I totally get what "Jane Austen Doe" is saying in this article, and I most definitely feel the same pain. "Confessions of a semi-successful author".

She alludes to but doesn’t specifically say that part of the problem is that if you really want to have a career as an author, you are highly encouraged to compromise your muse (i. e. write what "they" want.) In other words, picture someone standing over Van Gogh’s shoulder saying, "No, nobody will buy that. What the people want is more velvet Elvis pictures."

There’s a reason for the cliche about starving artists. When the desire to paint what you want to paint, or write what you want to write, is stronger than the desire to make money, unless you have a second income, you well may starve.

My favourite point in this article, by the way, is the line about how the author is frequently the only one who suffers for a book’s failure to sell, even though the real culprit may have been the firm’s publicist, the cover designer, etc. So true.

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I have a few things to say about being Canadian in a publishing industry that doesn't really appreciate books set in Canada or recognize the differences in our culture. Thought I'd start here, with an article that was first published as the "International Column" for the May issue of Christian Fiction Online Magazine.

I used to assume there simply weren’t many Canadian writers who were Christian. But early in May 1992, just after my first novel was released by Moody Press, my paradigm changed. It began when the manager of my local Christian bookstore told me they’d carry my book only “if it becomes a best seller or goes on sale.” And here I was expecting a huge display with a sign that read CANADIAN AUTHOR.

In shock, I investigated the Christian publishing industry and discovered that 98 to 99.9 percent of the books sold in Canadian Christian bookstores were brought in by Canadian distributors whose sole purpose is to import books from the United States. One distributor told me that the hardest thing for a Canadian Christian publisher is getting its titles distributed in Canada. I also learned that few Christians—including those working in bookstores—could name more than a couple of Canadian authors who were Christian (and those they knew were all published in the U.S.)….

Our three choices: 

1. Find a US Christian publisher. This often meant setting your book in the United States. Or, if you set your books in Canada, using American spelling and terminology and concepts. This means there are few books in existence showing the Canadian Christian culture.

2. Find a mainstream Canadian publisher. This meant writing historical fiction or fiction with little Christian content. Few people have managed to do this successfully, and those who have aren’t often carried in Christian bookstores.

3. Self-publish. While moderately popular, this hasn’t been a good option for most people because of their lack of marketing know-how, distribution, and publishing experience.

Along with the majority, I looked for an American Christian publisher, and five of my books were successfully published in the US. I’ve appreciated support and encouragement from American Christian and mainstream editors, writers, reviewers, readers. I’ve been to ICRS a number of times, taught workshops on writing, been on panels at mystery conventions, signed books, and done interviews.

But, ultimately, that didn’t satisfy me. I felt like someone without a country. But what really got my attention was the thought that if our best books are being published by American publishers, we’ll never have a Canadian publishing industry. And, more to the point, future generations of Canadians are being robbed of their heritage because there will be so few books written from a Canadian Christian worldview.

Change is coming
 
Over the past six or seven years, the publishing industry as a whole has been in a state of flux. I believe God is using this, and Canadian writers who are Christian are going to thrive in coming years. What’s needed is a team effort—with Canadian and American Christians working together to develop a new publishing model that will foster the development of not only Canadian Christian publishing, but indigenous publishing in other countries around the world. The best way to strengthen the worldwide church is to help each nation develop its own Christian culture and work together as equal members of the body of Christ.

I see four key needs in Canada:

1. Canadian writers who are Christian need to work with other Canadians to create awareness in Canada. The danger is that if your only focus is on getting an American publisher, it’s easy to forget you are Canadian. Canadians involved in the Christian publishing industry (writing, publishing, marketing, etc.) need to work together to initiate change in Canada. There is a great deal of strength in numbers.  

2. We need to be innovative as we develop more ways to get our work out there, including having more and stronger Canadian royalty publishers releasing work by Canadian Christians—to both Christian and mainstream audiences.

3. Perhaps the biggest change we need is for Canadian Christian readers to realize that our own authors are just as capable as any other authors. It’s ridiculous that we have to become bestsellers in the United States before we’re taken seriously in Canada. One of the reasons for this feeling is that most speakers and Christian TV guests here have been American. Nothing at all against the US—some of my closest friends are Americans—but should Canadians not support each other? This is especially strange since it’s only a Christian phenomena. Mainstream Canadian authors are respected and sought after both in Canada and throughout the world.   

4. As I alluded to above, I’d love to see American writers and publishers help us develop our industry, perhaps even co-publishing our work in the US. The real goal, for all of us, is to glorify God. That means encouraging and empowering each individual and each nation to use their gifts and talents to serve him.

God could just as easily have put me in the United States. But he didn’t. So I’m going to continue to work hard to ensure that the voices of Canadian Christians who write are heard, both in Canada and beyond.

What fiction do Canadian Christians write?

Back in the late 1990s, my American agent told me my mysteries were “too sophisticated for the Christian market and too Christian for the secular market.” Since judging the Best New Canadian Christian Author competitions for 2008 and 2009, I believe I’m not alone in this. The Canadian Christian culture isn’t highly influenced by the religious right. We have a lot of people who would say they believe in God but don’t get upset by a few swear words or people drinking alcohol or a bit of sex or violence. But they also relate to stories involving faith, provided they’re honest.

Canada’s literary heritage is actually very strong. The encouragement is to write the book that’s in you and worry about the market later. That’s what I’m planning on doing for the next while—writing the books that are in me. I hope they get published one day—in Canada and/or wherever else God thinks they’ll be of value.

Oh yes, in case you were wondering, the bookstore that treated me so badly no longer exists. In its place is a brand new store that supports Canadian authors and has all my books on its shelves. Change can be good.

Photo: Back row: Les Lindquist, N. J. Lindquist, author Angelina Fast Vlaar, author Marilyn Meyers, author Keith Clemons: front row Wendy Nelles, Kathryn Clemons in front of one of two Canadian authors areas in Faith Family Books and Gifts in Toronto

Canadian writers · trying to get published

Last week was very busy and I'm still recovering. You go like crazy for a week or so and tehn eventually the adrenalin runs out and you kind of crash. But it's fun while it lasts.

Anyway, on Wednesday night, I attended The Word Guild Awards Gala in Mississauga, where I received three Canadian Christian Writing Awards. Here is part of the press release:

June 18, 2009
For immediate release
 
NEWCOMERS AND VETERANS TOP THE WORD GUILD 2009 AWARDS
 
National writing awards highlight talents of Canadian authors, including poverty activists and a rugby-playing romance novelist

Toronto—A novel set during the Roman Empire and a series of articles from the anthology Hot Apple Cider were the most awarded publications at Th e Word Guild Canadian Christian Writing Awards this year. Awards were given in 30 independently judged categories, including non-fiction books, novels, articles, columns and poems published during 2008.

Read the rest of the press release here:

The picture above is of Herbie Kuhn, the Air Canada voice of the Toronto Raptors and a passionate reader, who  emceed the Awards Gala for the second year.

My awards:
Article—General Readership (articles that explain or encourage faith for mainstream readers)
Winner: N. J. Lindquist of Markham, Ont. for “The Diamond Ring” (Hot Apple Cider Anthology)

Article—Inspirational/Devotional
Winner: N. J. Lindquist of Markham, Ont. for “The Diamond Ring” (Hot Apple Cider Anthology)
Award of Merit: N. J. Lindquist of Markham, Ont. for “My Letter to the Editor” (Hot Apple Cider Anthology)

The picture to the right is of me receiving the Award for Inspirational/Devotional article from the representative from FaithLife Financial, the sponsor of that award.

Two other articles from Hot Apple Cider (by Angelina Fast-Vlaar and Eleanor Shepherd) also won awards. I edited both of them, so that made me feel doubly happy.  

The complete list of winners is here.

More pictures at http://hotapplecider.ca  

Photographer:  Audrey Tavares

Canadian Christian writer · Hot Apple Cider · TWG awards

Unfortunately, the way it works is that when there are urgent things needing doing for The Word Guild, my own writing gets sadly neglected – including this site. I’ve actually been working like mad on Write! Canada and on starting a new site for The Word Guild Awards.

But I was reminded last night that I ought to mention that I have been shortlisted for three awards. well, two stories. Both of them from Hot Apple Cider. "The Diamond Ring" is shortlisted for the General Readership article, along with three others. And both it and "My Letter to the Editor" are shortlisted for Inspirational/Devotional article:

Article—General Readership
Cynthia d’Entremont of Lakeview, N.S. for “An Unexpected Gift” (A Maritime Christmas: New Stories and Memories of the Season Anthology)
Angelina Fast-Vlaar of St. Catharines, Ont. for “It Was Then That I Carried You” (Hot Apple Cider Anthology)
N. J. Lindquist of Markham, Ont. for “The Diamond Ring” (Hot Apple Cider Anthology)
Colleen Taylor of Duval, Sask. for “Arlington Beach Camp and Conference Centre: a very special place” (Last Mountain Times)
Colleen Taylor of Duval, Sask. for “Newschool Arts: so much more than pottery” (Last Mountain Times)

Article—Inspirational/Devotional
N. J. Lindquist of Markham, Ont. for “My Letter to the Editor” (Hot Apple Cider Anthology)
N. J. Lindquist of Markham, Ont. for “The Diamond Ring” (Hot Apple Cider Anthology)
Rose McCormick Brandon of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. for “Discouraged” (Today’s Pentecostal Evangel)

Of course, I edited Angie’s story in Hot Apple Cider, so that’s cool. I think a couple of other pieces from Hot Apple Cider are also up for awards.

And Colleen Taylor’s article on Arlington Beach Camp and Conference Centre brings back memories. I was born in Regina and lived there for a number of years after I was married. (My husband is from Swift Current). We lived at Arlington Beach Camp the first summer after we were married, looking after the camp store and the grounds. Les also served as life guard. And the following summer we directed a camp for junior highs.A long time ago…

Check out the complete list of finalists for these awards, as well as the Best New Canadian Author Award finalists and the press release for the 2009 Leslie K. Tarr Award winner, Ray Wiseman.

The Word Guild Awards Gala on June 17th will be held at World Vision headquarters in Mississauga. It’s open to the public. With Herbie Kuhn (the Air Canada voice of the Toronto Raptors) as emcee, it’s guaranteed to be a great evening.

June 17, 2009: World Vision headquarters, 1 World Drive, Mississauga. For tickets call Jeanette Duncan at 519-886-4196.

Canadian Christian Writing Awards · Herbie Kuhn · Hot Apple Cider · N. J. Lindquist · The Word Guild Awards

Some days it feels as if I’m being eaten alive by a million little mosquitoes. I look at my to-do list of maybe 20 items, and I try to work through them. But at the end of the day, my list is always longer, instead of shorter! None of the items that have been added are usually that huge, but each one seems to take just a little bit of my blood out and leave me tired, frustrated, and wondering where I went wrong. Okay, that’s my explanation for not posting here recently. 

And now, I will respond to a few questions I’ve been asked:

Dave asked about finding a Christian bookstore near Richmond Hill, Ontario.

The best online lists of Christian bookstores in Canada I’m aware of is that of David C. Cook Distribution. You can find it here: http://davidccook.ca/retailers.asp

Or that of Word Alive Distributors, which is here.

Several people have asked me what I’m working on (as a writer, that is).

The short answer, not much. The longer answer, I’m actually trying to put my writing first. Hoping to write something each day. Hoping to make it a habit. But the reality is that until Write! Canada is history, I likely won’t get any writing done. My writing to do list includes trying to complete my edit of Princess Persnickety and figuring out what to do with it re publishing (find an agent who loves children’s fantasy, look for a publisher, etc.) I’m also trying to work on an adult contemporary novel called Transforming Jesse Owen Tucker which I started writing about 15 years ago, I think. One thing you can say for me is that I don’t give up on anything easily. It’s probably 1/3 written. I’m hoping to finish it this summer. I’m also getting ready to put a lot of my writing workshops into some form of book, ebook, audio, video, etc. over the summer.And then I have two mysteries, 2 non-fiction books, a memoir, a new teen nvoel, and a host of other things I’ve already begun. Sigh.

Where am I speaking?

Right now, I’m trying to figure out what I want to do in the fall and 2010, so I’m sort of "on hold." 

I did speak recently for a Unionville Women’s Group of 100 or so, and that went very well. My talk was based on my story "The Diamond Ring" in Hot Apple Cider. That story, by the way, is shortlisted for two awards in The Word Guild Canadian Christian Writing Awards. My other story in Hot Apple Cider, "My Letter to the Editor," is also shortlisted for an award. If you’re interested in supporting Canadian writers, do consider coming to the Awards Gala June 17th. It’s open to tbe public.

And of course, I’ll be at Write! Canada (I am the co-director). I’ll be teaching and facilitating, with 4 other people, the continuing class, "Everything You Need to Know about Publishing a Book in Canada." I’ll also be teaching a workshop on writing fiction and moderating a panel on creating a platform. Yep, looks as though I’ll be busy.

Why do I  look different?

Because over the winter, I let my hair go au naturelle, and this is the result. I hated putting chemicals on my head and only started because it looked so bad when I started going grey in my 40’s (still had long hair and it came in in streaks). But now I am very happy to be "me."

If you have any other questions, on any topic, feel free to ask here.

list of Canadian Christian bookstores