May 31, 2007

Chat Room

Today's the official Grand Opening of our Chat Room!  To get there, click on the CHAT ROOM icon in the upper righthand corner of this page.

Here are a few tips about how it works:

Before you can do anything, you have to REGISTER.  It's really simple.  This is what you do:

1. Click on the REGISTER button
2. Pick whatever screen name you want to go by and type it in the “username” window
   Enter a VALID email address (if you don’t want anyone else to be able to see it BE SURE to check the “Hide Email” box)
3. Make up a password and type it in the “choose password” window
4. Retype the password in the “verify password” window
5. Click on “I Agree” at the bottom of the page (assuming you agree to the terms)
6. Click on REGISTER button

You will immediately be sent an email to the address you posted in step #3.  Open that email and click on the link provided to verify your registration.   That's it!

Let's pretend the Chat Room is really my house and I've invited y'all over for a visit.  When you arrive, there will actually be two "houses."  The main house (which is called "Dee's Books") and the cottage out back (which is called "General").  Inside the main house, you will find 5 rooms--where we will chat about each of my books.

The cottage out back has three "rooms" (which are called "subjects").  The first one is where we all go to introduce ourselves.  The other two rooms are helpful hints to get you started in the chat room.  (How to register, how to post a comment, things like that).

Let's say you go to the cottage and decide to introduce yourself.  This is what you'd do:

1. Click on the "General Board" (You are now inside the cottage and can see all the different rooms.)
2. Click on the "Introduce Yourself" subject.  (You are now inside the room where we are all busy introducing ourselves.)
3. Spend a few minutes reading everyone else's introduction and getting aquainted with everyone.
4. Now it's time to introduce yourself.
   1. Hit the little button that says: REPLY (There's one at the top of the page and one at the bottom of the page inside a light pink bar.)
   2. Type your message.
   3. Hit the button that says: POST
5. That's it!  You will now have uploaded your first post!  (For instructions on how to get fancy with your posts, click on the words "General Board" (they are in dark pink) at the top of the page,  then click on  "How the Chat Room Works.")

Now, let's say you want to go over to the main house.  Click on the words "Deeanne Gist Web Forum."  That will take you back to the home page and you can choose whichever book you'd like to talk about.

Okay ... here we go.  If you have any problems or questions, you can ask them here or in the "Ask the Expert" room under the "General" category.  So ... click on the icon and come stay awhile!

posted by Deeanne on 05/31/2007 - 8 comments - Post a Comment    RSS FEED

May 29, 2007

Computer Problems

My computer has decided that since my warranty ran out last month that it would be okay to die on me. So, I am in the midst of trying to save/recover/reconfigure. I'm almost back in working order. Hopefully, I'll be able to post tonight or tomorrow.

posted by Deeanne on 05/29/2007 - 10 comments - Post a Comment    RSS FEED

May 24, 2007

Crawfish Boil

Greg lives for our annual Crawfish Boil.  It was all I could do to keep him from cooking up a batch just for the two of us a few weeks before the big event.  When the day finally arrived, his brother, Phil, came out to the house early to help set up and cook.  Ordinarily, the cooks eat last.  But this time, they made a batch for themselves and ate before anyone else arrived.

You will notice our oldest daughter is too squeamish to partake of such fine cuisine.  Our other daughter ate just enough to be polite.  Uncle Phil's son (the one with the sun glasses), however, was a true diehard.  He had prom that night, but didn't want to miss out, so drove the 1-1/2 hours from his house to ours.  He stayed just long enough to have some crawdads, get hugged by all the relatives and reunite with our four kids before turning around and heading back home.

We also celebrated Grandad's birthday.  He was turning 75 a few days later, so we had a big cake and one candle per decade!  We had a great crowd: uncles, aunts, sisters, brothers, cousins, nephews, nieces, boyfriends, girlfriends and friend-friends.

This is Greg and his dad, the birthday boy:

This is my sister, Gayle, and her husband.  She is the one who thought of the title DEEP IN THE HEART OF TROUBLE (the sequel to Courting Trouble).  Yeah, Gayle!

The below photo is of Darla and me.

I'm not sure how the two of us are related, exactly.  She's married to Greg's uncle's son.  So, is she, like, my cousin-in-law?  Well, whatever she is, her family is very dear to us.  They all stayed until after everyone else left and helped us clean everything up.  Between them, my nephew,  his girlfriend and my family, the homestead was back to normal in about 30 minutes time.

Now, *that's* my kind of party!

So ... how 'bout you?  Are there any crawdad eaters out there?

P.S.  Don't forget, we will be launching "Dee's Chat Room" next Thursday, May 31st!  So, stay tuned!

posted by Deeanne on 05/24/2007 - 16 comments - Post a Comment    RSS FEED

May 21, 2007

Prom

Our 17 year old was invited to prom for the first time this year.  It is such an event that the boys pretty much have to ask the girls way back in February and March in order to give the girls time to prepare.  Our daughter shopped and shopped for a dress, but could never find one that was "just right."  (I've taken to calling her "Goldilocks.")

Anyway, she *finally* found a dress, but they were going to have to order it in her size.  She was able to show me what it looked like on the internet.  I eyed it and expressed some concern about the neckline.  She insisted it wouldn't look the same on her as it did on the internet model.  After much hemming-and-hawing, I told her if the dress arrived and the neckline was immodest, we were either going to alter the dress or she was going to wear something else.  She agreed to my terms.

This was back in March.  The dress didn't arrive until this past Tuesday (4 days before prom).  As it turns out, I was out of town at the time and wouldn't be back until 2 days before prom.  She needed my stamp of approval before that if she was going to get the dress altered (if it even needed it).  So, I recruited my 20-year-old daughter to go with her and give her opinion.

About 3:30 on Tuesday afternoon, I was in a car with one of our publisher's sales reps, the fiction buyer for LifeWay and two other Bethany House authors when my cell phone rang.  It was my daughter.

Now, I have to take a minute to tell you she speaks in but one volume, and that's *LOUD*.  When my husband calls, I can barely hear him.  When my daughter calls, I have to hold the phone away from my ear.  This time was no different.

At this particular moment, no one in the car was having a conversation.  It was totally quiet.  My daughter's voice was clearly audible to every person with me.  The conversation went like this:

"Mom?  It's me!  I tried on the prom dress and it is soooooo pretty!  And guess what?  You can't see my boobs at all!"

I desperately fumbled for the volume, but the damage was done.  We all had a good chuckle about it after I hung up, but ... still! 

When I arrived home and had her put it on, the neckline was indeed just fine.  Scroll down for a few more pictures of the big event.  She had a wonderful time.

Father and daughter:

I always feel like the runt of the litter in these pictures:

Getting ready to head out to dinner with their friends:

P.S.  Our chat room isn't quite ready for "take off" today, so we've postponed our Grand Opening until a week from Thursday.  So ... watch for the launching of Dee's Chat Room on Thursday, May 28th.  Click on the icon at the top right hand side of this page for more details!

posted by Deeanne on 05/21/2007 - 12 comments - Post a Comment    RSS FEED

May 17, 2007

Mother's Day

I had lots of errands to run on Mother's Day as I prepared for a quick business trip.  So, we took separate cars to church and afterwards, I headed to town.  When I returned later that afternoon, there were two homemade chocolate meringue pies on the kitchen counter.  Greg had made them from scratch and they are my absolute favorites.  (He made two so that there would be some left when I returned from my trip.) Greg also grilled hamburgers and those that were home ate with us in the outdoor kitchen.

My 19 yr old son called with felicitations and came over for burgers.  My 16 yr old son left his computer to give me a hug (without prompting!).  And the girls gave me a pink apron and a matching pink rubber spatula!  The three of us girls were never at home at the same time, so I didn't get a picture.  But, I'm back in town now and will try to do that today so I can show you my new kitchen duds.

How did y'all celebrate?

P.S.  I met with the Bethany House marketing team yesterday and they are thinking we should keep the web forum's name something simple and self-explanatory like "Dee's Chat Room" or something.  I'll let you know when they decide on something for sure.

posted by Deeanne on 05/17/2007 - 20 comments - Post a Comment    RSS FEED

May 14, 2007

Christy Awards

The 2007 nominees for the Christy Awards have been announced and THE MEASURE OF A LADY was nominated for "Best Romance of the Year 2007."  I'm so stunned and excited and thankful.  Here is a list of all the nominees:

CONTEMPORARY (STAND ALONE)

Dwelling Places by Vinita Hampton Wright (HarperOne)
Straight Up by Lisa Samson (WaterBrook Press)
Winter Birds by Jamie Langston Turner (Bethany House Publishers)

CONTEMPORARY (SERIES, SEQUELS AND NOVELLAS)

The Brethren by Beverly Lewis (Bethany House Publishers)
Escape from Fred by Brad Whittington (B&H Publishing Group)
The Proof by Austin Boyd (NavPress)

HISTORICAL (includes four titles due to a tie)

Glastonbury Tor by LeAnne Hardy (Kregel)
Grace in Thine Eyes by Liz Curtis Higgs (WaterBrook Press)
Madman by Tracy Groot (Moody Press)
Pieces of Silver by Maureen Lang (Kregel)

ROMANCE

The Measure of a Lady by Deeanne Gist (Bethany House Publishers)
Monday Morning Faith by Lori Copeland (Zondervan)
The Redemption by M. L. Tyndall (Barbour)

SUSPENSE

The Begotten by Lisa T. Bergren (Berkley)
The Hidden by Kathryn Mackel (Thomas Nelson)
Plague Maker by Tim Downs (Thomas Nelson)

LITS

The Cubicle Next Door by Siri Mitchell (Harvest House Publishers)
Everything’s Coming Up Josey by Susan May Warren (Steeple Hill Café)
Sisterchicks in Gondolas by Robin Jones Gunn (Multnomah)

YOUNG ADULT

Bad Idea by Todd and Jedd Hafer (NavPress)
The Way of the Wilderking by Jonathan Rogers (B&H Publishing Group)
William Henry Is a Fine Name by Cathy Gohlke (Moody Press)

FIRST NOVEL

Watching the Tree Limbs by Mary DeMuth (NavPress)
Where Mercy Flows by Karen Harter (Center Street)
William Henry Is a Fine Name by Cathy Gohlke (Moody Press)

Bethany House had 3 nominations, so I'm really pleased about that.  And some of my buddies were nominated, too.  (Bev Lewis, Lisa Samson, Mary DeMuth).  That's always fun.

The awards will be announced at the International Christian Retail Show in Atlanta at a ceremony on July 7th.  Good luck to all the nominees! 

posted by Deeanne on 05/14/2007 - 21 comments - Post a Comment    RSS FEED

May 10, 2007

More Winners

We have two winners this time.  Sylvia (and isnt' the little one she watches just precious!) was our 2-week winner for the Leave a Comment contest.  She is from North Carolina and will receive an advance copy of COURTING TROUBLE.

Our winner for the "Donate A Mammogram" contest is Ricky.  And she was so excited about winning, that she forgot to give us a picture and a mailing address.  So ... Ricky:  Send us your address, sweetie, and if you have a photo, it's not too late for me to post it.  Oh, wait!  Hold the presses!  We just heard from Ricky.  "Things are crazy around here," she says.  She's from Colorado and though she would like to send in a photo, it's not gonna happen.

No worries, Ricky!  We've all been there.  Congrats on your win.

Now that COURTING TROUBLE is officially starting to show up in stores, I guess we have come to the end of our Advanced Copy contests.  So ... I will have the computer draw one last name and that winner will receive an *official* autographed copy of the book.  (But you have to leave a comment to be eligible!).

Meanwhile, we will add a link to my new web forum within the next day or two (though the Grand Opening isn't until a week from Monday).  We are still brainstorming what to call ourselves.  So far, "Trouble Makers" has been the popular choice, but since the web forum is not only for the TROUBE books, but for all my books, it was suggested that we might want to broaden our name.  "The Gist Of It" has been another suggestion.  Any other ideas?

posted by Deeanne on 05/10/2007 - 26 comments - Post a Comment    RSS FEED

May 07, 2007

Exciting Happenings!

COURTING TROUBLE has come off the presses!  A copy arrived in my mailbox last week and that means they are being boxed up and shipped to stores as we speak!

There is always something really special about seeing the finished product.  This time as I flipped through the book, I noticed something at the very end of the book that I had heard BHP was thinking of doing, but had never actually heard it was a "go."

This is what I found:

I don't know if you can read it very well on here, but it basically says that if readers come to my website I will:

• Gather your ideas for what should happen to the main character (Essie) in the sequel
• Give you early glimpses of the sequel as the book takes shape
• Give you an opportunity to share your favorite moments of COURTING TROUBLE with other fans
• Chat with you about books, writing and more

Well ... needless to say, I shot of an urgent message to my web designer saying, "Ohmygosh!  We need to set up a Discussion Board asap!!"

True to character, my web designer got right on it and she is putting together a special web forum that all of us can go to for expanded discussions on COURTING TROUBLE  and its sequel, DEEP IN THE HEART OF TROUBLE.

She gave me a sneak peek at the forum and it looks soooooo cool!  I can't wait to get it up and running so we can all go over and play.  We are tenatively scheduling the "Grand Opening" of the web forum for May 21st.  So ... mark your calendars!!

I was thinking we needed some kind of link on the side here to the web forum.  Any ideas of what we could call it so readers will know what it is?  What kind of icon should we use to designate it?

P.S.  We have winners for the Leave a Comment Contests.  I'm just waiting to gather pictures of the winners and hope to announce them on Thursday.  But we have started another contest, so if you want to be eligible to win an advance copy of COURTING TROUBLE, then leave a comment today!

posted by Deeanne on 05/07/2007 - 45 comments - Post a Comment    RSS FEED

May 03, 2007

Special Evening

The publisher of Bethany House (Gary Johnson) and his wife, Carol, (who also happens to be Vice President of Editorial for BHP) were in Texas for a convention and came out to our house last night for dinner.  We were having such a good time, I totally forgot to get a picture!  I can't believe it.  I'm sooooo annoyed with myself! I found a picture of Carol and me from last summer  that I've posted here.

Anyhoo, they came out to the house about 7:30.  We sat out back and had some strawberry slushies and enjoyed the warm weather.  Greg had grilled our steaks in advance and had them in the warming drawer so that he could visit, too.

Around 8:00 we brought the steaks inside, pulled the baked potatoes out of the oven, rang the dinner bell and crowded around the table.  My kids were unusually quiet, but spoke when spoken to.

After dinner wound down, the kids cleaned the dishes and disappeared while Gary, Carol, Greg and I settled in the living room for more visiting.  I was so caught up in our conversations, I totally forgot to serve coffee and dessert until our 19-year-old came down to find out when he could have some.

I had made chocolate creme brulee, but Greg and I never have been able to crystalize the sugar just right.  Sometimes it's too granular, sometimes too thin, but never just right.  This time, we decided to torch the sugar in advance.  Not a good idea, when I went to retrieve the ramkins, the sugar had liquidated into a runny mess.  Ugh!

It still tasted good, though.  So ... are there any other creme brulee makers out there?  After your brulee is chilled, do you pull it out and let it come to room temperature or do you keep it in the frig?  How do you do your sugar crystals?  Do you catch them on fire with your torch?  Do you fire them up right before serving?  If you know the secret ... do tell!

Meanwhile, we've picked winners for the Leave a Comment contests, but I haven't heard back from them.  Hopefully I'll have pics for you on Monday.  Meanwhile, we are starting over today.  So ... leave a comment and you, too, will have a chance to win an advance copy of COURTING TROUBLE.

posted by Deeanne on 05/03/2007 - 26 comments - Post a Comment    RSS FEED

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