Welcome to the Christian Writer’s Den! We have a lot to cover today, but let’s start with an encouraging interview with author Sharyn Kopf!
Happy Tuesday, friends! I know I say this every time I post an author interview, but it’s true—I’m thrilled to introduce our guest today, my friend, Sharyn Kopf! Sharyn and I met several years ago when I was teaching at the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference where I was privileged to read a draft of one of her manuscripts. I was highly impressed with her writing and voice! And now I’m happy to see that after her disappointing contract experience, she decided to self-publish her book Spinstered.
I know you’re going to love the opportunity to get to know Sharyn and her book! Don’t forget to leave a comment for Sharyn and you’ll be in the drawing for a free copy. Just remember to check back next week to see if you’re the winner!
Now, let’s start at the beginning—how long have you wanted to be a writer and what did you envision for your writing life?
I knew I wanted to be a writer when I wrote my first poem at the age of 5. And, for the longest time, that dream meant being a romance novelist. In my 20s, I saw myself becoming the clean, Christian version of Kathleen Turner’s character in Romancing the Stone—enjoying a life of adventure and romance and lots of bestsellers.
So, what happened?
Well, things didn’t turn out the way I imagined. (Do they ever?) Next week I turn 51 and, though I suppose I’ve had a few mild adventures, I’m still dreaming of true love and being such a popular novelist that even people in the jungles of Columbia have heard of me.
But in my 40s, I realized I needed to write about my single heart and broken dreams. When I started writing Spinstered, it was a nonfiction book about grieving singleness. I took the seven stages of grief—denial, disbelief, bargaining, guilt, anger, depression and hope—and applied them to what I was dealing with as a 40-something single woman.
A few years later, while at the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference (which is where I met Vonda!), a friend encouraged me to focus on my fiction writing. As a result, Spinstered the Novel was born.
I’ve always been impressed with your writing, but what would you say are some of your strengths as a writer?
Years ago, I had the privilege to work for the in-house radio marketing department at Focus on the Family. I learned I not only love writing scripts and dialog but I’m pretty good at it. I even won a few awards while I was there. I’m also passionately committed to making my manuscript as good as I can. Though that can also be a detriment because I’m a bit OCD about it, which means I have a hard time letting something I wrote go until it’s perfect. And it’s never perfect.
Sharyn with first purchaser of Spinstered, at Labor Day Singles Retreat
And to follow up: What are some of your weaknesses?
Well, to be honest, I don’t write as much as I should. I think it’s a mixture of fear and laziness. Fear that what I write won’t be any good. And the laziness that comes from letting other things distract me from what I know needs to be done. Like spending too much time on Facebook.
Why did you decide to self-publish Spinstered?
That’s a long, sad story but suffice it to say I went through a disappointing contract experience that did not end with a published book. In the meantime, numerous interactions with singles fed the urgency I felt to get this book to the audience I know is out there.
My choice was to start over with submitting to agents or editors—a process that can take years—or self-publish. Since the novel had already gone through several rounds of edits, I knew I could have it ready within a week or two. In fact, I was able to make my goal of taking copies to the Labor Day Singles Retreat at Ridgecrest Conference Center near Asheville, NC. I sold several copies there and made some great connections. It also led to my first 5-star review!
What’s next for you and your writing?
Sharyn with a family gift after she finished Spinstered
First, I hope to finish and self-publish the nonfiction version—Spinstered: Surviving Singleness After 40—in the next month or two. In addition, I wrote an unrelated novella titled Cold Read that I’d love to have available by the end of October. Finally, I have two sequels to Spinstered the Novel in the works. Book two will be titled Inconceived and I’ll probably name book 3 Altared. Of course, all of that could change. I’m open to whatever God wants to do!
Sharyn, I LOVE those titles, but my goodness, you have quite a To-Do list ahead! I’ll look forward to reading all of them. Thanks for joining us today at the Christian Writer’s Den.
And readers, don’t forget to leave your comment so you can be in the drawing for a copy of Sharyn’s book!
Bio: Spinstered is Sharyn Kopf’s first novel. Over the years, her work has included co-authoring a book about traumatic brain injury, penning scripts for stage, and writing for newspaper as well as Focus on the Family radio.
Every Friday, Sharyn ponders the over-40 single life at the blog she shares with two other authors. For her day job(s), she works as a literary publicist for Route 1 Manuscripts and teaches high school English at a small Christian school.
She lives in Bellefontaine, Ohio, just five minutes from her favorite people in the world—her family. You can connect with Sharyn through her blog or on Facebook.
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Now it’s time to hear about your Kudos and MoGo7000 Totals!
Okay, friends, now it’s time to hear from you! We want to know what you’ve been up to. Have you had something exciting happen recently in your writing or speaking life? Maybe you’ve had an article published, signed a book contract, released a new book, got an agent, or started a new blog. If so, we want to hear from you!
It’s really simple, but I do ask that you contact me with the info in this format and order ONLY:
**Your name
**Your state in two-letter abbreviation
**Link to your website or blog
**Your good news
**Link to your good news, if online (online bookstore, online article, etc)
I can’t wait for us to celebrate with you!
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Who Worked on Their MoGo7000 in September?
If you wrote at least 7000 new words on a book project in September, you can receive an entry in the drawing for the 2014 MoGo7000 $100 cash prize! It’s open to everyone who qualifies.
To report your September results, please leave a comment below with your total new words written on a book project in September. (Please do not send your totals by email or through the Contact page. Totals must be left as a comment here by next Sunday).
If you missed out on last year’s money-winning writing challenge, don’t worry, the 2014 challenge continues! Here are the MoGo7000 Challenge rules. All you have to do is write at least 7000 NEW words on a book project in any month and you’ll receive an entry into the end-of-the-year drawing for $100.
Each month that you qualify with 7000 new words, your name goes in the “hat” for the drawing. Reach the goal one month and you’ll have one entry. Just starting out? Don’t worry! Meet it the next 3 months and you’ll have 3 entries!
So what are you waiting for? Get started now and you could have and extra $100 next year. And it doesn’t cost you a cent. 
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And finally, who won Sarah Meece’s book, A Dose of Hope?
And Random.org has selected Cathy Baker! Congratulations! Just contact me with your mailing address and Sarah will get the book right out to you!
Readers, here’s a direct Amazon link to A Dose of Hope. I know you’ll enjoy it!
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Well, that does it for another first Tuesday edition of The Christian Writer’s Den. I hope you enjoyed it! I look forward to seeing you on Friday when we open God’s Word and see what He has for us.
I pray God’s blessing on the work of your hands and your hearts,
Vonda
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Happy 3rd Tuesday to you, dear friends! Let’s start with a list of writing opportunities and contests selected just for you!
