Christian Writers' Market Guide 2009

Mia is so excited today she is nearly leaping right out of her skin. Tomorrow is her sixth birthday, and she gets to celebrate it at school today. Last night we baked cupcakes for her class today, and I let her dress up in a fancy dress for the occasion. Add to that that Friday is her show and tell day, and she gets to wear a crown all day today, and she's a very happy little girl. She was singing "Today is my birthday, and I am the birthday girl" all the way to school this morning. It was a long eight miles, but I can't help but smile at her exuberance. We're not having her party tomorrow because of Molly's cheerleading competition, but she will get to pick out a Build-a-Bear on the way home. This time she's going to make a ballerina bear in honor of her dance classes. Sunday is the real big day with the party at Chuck E. Cheese.

I went to see Howard at the hospital yesterday. He's deteriorated rapidly this week. On Monday he was sitting in a chair and sipping broth. On Wednesday when Mom and Aunt Audrey went to see him, they thought they had walked into the wrong room because they didn't recognize him. He's lost much of his hair and turned a ghastly shade of yellow. He's also back on the ventilator. I'm really glad I had to chance to spend some time with him alone yesterday. I talked about the kids, and he reacted as much as he could by moving his eyes and forehead. I read some passages from the Bible to him too. I had to leave to pick up Mia from the bus, and when I said good-bye, he mouthed bye-bye to me and puckered his lips as much as he could to blow a kiss. I know that I will treasure those kinds of moments in the days to come.

Christian Writers' Market Guide 2009 by Sally E. Stuart is another outstanding update to an essential annual work. Stuart has been releasing these guides for several years, and they just seem to get better and better. There are literally thousands of contacts broken down into subcategories for easy searching to help just about any writer find a market. The CD-ROM has additional contacts for even quicker results. Stuart is constantly finding new contacts for writers while weeding out old ones, and this edition offers readers the opportunity to get regular updates from Stuart's website. This is one book that Christian writers can't do without. I love reading my copy each year, because I always find new ideas and inspiration.

I'm starting a new book contest on Monday, and February will be filled with contests here, so you'd better come back soon! Have a terrific weekend!