Cathy C. Hall Writes

I am a woman on a mission.

If you read my Finding Something Friday post over at the Hall of Fame last week, you might think the mission is to win Cheryl Klein’s Second Sight. But it’s so much more than that.

I want to write the best darn novel I can write. So I read and read and read some more. I read the best darn novels I can find out there in the children’s lit world. I read books on writing craft. I read blogs, too, especially the ones filled with great writing advice. Which brings me to today’s darn good writing advice…

Zip over to Cheryl Klein’s blog and read her last three posts on Behind the Book: Three Things Writers can learn from Liar’s Moon. You don’t have much time left for the giveaway, but I hope you can find the time to read her examples from Behind the Book. And maybe you’ll have the time to read Star-Crossed and Liar’s Moon by Elizabeth Bunce.

Because if you want to write the best darn novel, you’ll need to know what a darn good novel is, right? (Over and out!)

A few weeks ago, I received a letter from an Adams Media editor that one of my stories would be included in a project called 12 Days of Christmas Prayer. And today, I remembered to look for the e-book, and deck the Halls with boughs of holly! There was my story, appearing on the First Day of Christmas!

I love the story, “Advent at the Hall House.” It originally appeared in a Cup of Comfort Book of Christmas Prayer. And that was swell, to have it published and sitting pretty on the shelves in big bookstores during the holidays. But that’s not why I love that story so much.

I loved those days when the kids could barely read, and we gathered around the Advent wreath to share a few prayers, the kind of prayers that started out with a very holy, “Dear Jesus.” But somehow ended with a discussion of dogs, or firetrucks or what Mommy shouldn’t have said to that man in the grocery store. It’s that kind of a story.

My, that was some Christmas praying. Anyway, I’m sure the rest of the stories are just as wonderful as “Advent at the Hall House.” You can find the e-book here for just a few dollars. It seems like a reasonable price for 12 Days of Christmas Prayer.

‘Tis the season, friends. Fa-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la!