My New Blog...

I'm back! Well...temporarily. I'm still over at the new www.joannebischof.com and if you followed this blog on blogger, GOOD NEWS! I finally figured out how you can get my new blog fed into your blogger dashboard. *hooray!*

So here's what to do: when you're in blogger, find the white "ADD" button on the left hand side, then copy and paste this url: http://www.joannebischof.com/blog/ into the box. Easy squeezy. I hope! Let me know if it works out for you!

I've Moved!

I just wanted to let you all know that I have officially made the move. Yep, I've got a new website and I hope you will visit me there!  http://www.joannebischof.com/

This will be my last post here :(. If you have been following this blog and would like to follow my new one, you can do that here: http://www.joannebischof.com/blog/  There's an option to subscribe to posts or get all the fun right in your email inbox each week! There's a lot of fun new extras, so I hope you'll poke around. 

I hope to see you soon!

Curve Ahead ~ My Cyber Home

I'm excited (news flash, right?)

But seriously, I'm thrilled to be moving to a new cyber home. Yeppers, I'm getting a makeover. Well not me. Of course I could use one. I mean the whole mom hair isn't the greatest and the post-pregnancy clothes could use a little...and now I've gotten distracted. Where was I? Oh, right. My blog.

This blog has always felt pretty cozy to me and I've been snug as a bug in a rug the last two years, and have loved the fact that you all stop in to say hi now and again. Great, now I'm getting emotional.

Sniff...sniff.

Let me just snatch a kleenex. Why am I sad? Because this feeling is bittersweet. Because the time has come to stretch my legs. I need a little elbow room now that I have a few more stuff to squeeze on here like a historical romance series (woohoo!) a newsletter, and some other fun things I can't wait to integrate into my cyber home. I'm also looking forward to sharing a little more about myself, where I came from and why I write the stories that I do.

So to pull it all off, I've enlisted the help of some pros and... *cracksnuckles*...I am once again going to put on my designer hat and see what sort of place we can create.


I can't wait to see the end results and more than that, can't wait to share it with all of you. So in the next couple of weeks, changes will be underfoot, and once the dust settles, I hope you'll stop by for another cup of tea. Shoot, stop by before the dust settles, I could use a friend to talk to while I sweep the floors :)

3 Fun Facts with Joanne

I have no idea how to edit out my bloopers so you get it all :] The video maker and I were not getting along and I am technologically handicapped.

Thank you for watching!

Adventures in Country Living: Raising Chickens

So these are our lovely ladies. They are a great group of chickens and there's nothin' like fresh eggs.

The yolks are a deep orange that make the yummiest fried eggs, rich quiches and are a blessing to have on hand when throwing together a cake or batch of brownies. What? No eggs in the fridge? Time to trek out to the coop! And I must admit, I'm the #1 go to person on our street for "Do you have an egg to spare?" :D

As you can see they're a hodgepodge of different breeds. We started out with a quad of beautiful Rhode Island Reds.

And then we got a dog.

Turns out chickens and ADD Labrador teenagers (who know how to dig) don't mesh well. I'm pretty sure he meant well but no, they weren't moving toys. So the Labrador went to a neighbor (thanks Kelly). And she posted this picture on Facebook a few days later...

"If I don't make eye contact, they can't see me"

This would have been our backyard.
And those feathers would not have been a pillow.

So fortunately now, Zak has a home that is chicken-free with a super loving family, and a BFF named Kaya to play with all day long.

Keeping chickens is incredibly easy. All they need is a little shelter from varmints, food, water and room to roam when the weather is nice. Ours love walking the yard and eating grass and worms. This makes for happier chickens. I used to run a country store with my mother-in-law. We had a sign out front for "Happy Chicken Eggs." They sold as quick as we could put them into cartons. There's nothing like a farm fresh egg and the experience is all the more enjoyable knowing they come from happy chickens :) 


My favorite way to eat eggs is fried with crumbled goat cheese on top. SO good! How about you?

Book Contract: How It All Happened

I write Appalachian romance. And if you read last weeks post, know that I recently signed a three book contract for the Cadence of Grace Series with WaterBrook Press. Yippee!

The first book in the series, Be Still My Soul, drops readers in the midst of the Blue Ridge Mountains at the turn of the last century at a time when honor and duty walked the same path as hope and faith. It's my prayer that this love story will touch hearts and encourage readers.

When I originally sent out queries, I knew this series was going to be a tough sell to agents. If I managed to get an agent, I knew it would be an even tougher sell to a publisher. Which is why I am throwing confetti in the air in honor of my fabulous agent, Sandra Bishop (MacGregor Literary). The woman is a rock star and not only saw potential in my story, but had enough faith in it to sign me on and pitch it to publishers.

When she informed me that WaterBrook Press was considering my proposal, I was over the moon. I've long admired their taste in fiction and am a huge fan of titles from authors like Liz Curtis Higgs, Susan Meissner and Kristen Heitzmann. The journey continued for months and months as my proposal went farther down the conveyor belt, constantly under the scrutiny of publishing pros. I was prepared that most likely, nothing would come of it. If by some miracle anything did, they just might want one...maybe two books. But all three?

As the waiting continued, I checked my email every day, chewed my fingernails down to stubs, and wore holes in my jeans for all the time I spent talking to God about it.

Then one day, I got The Call. Hearing my agent's voice on the other line with that mysterious-happy-restrained tone, my heart went into over drive. When she broke the good news that all three books had been chosen for publication, I wanted to cry. I think I might have. I immediately called my husband and of course my mom and I know I did the happy dance. I was REALLY pregnant then and let's just say...no that wasn't an earthquake you felt. :] That was one happy author!

Photo credit: Cold Mountain, 2003

A Dream Come True ~ 3 Book Contract!

I'm so excited!! 

Today is the day I can finally announce my big news!! Yep, that's a book contract! And it has a line for my name! And lines for other people's names. Really important book publishing people!!

With the help of my incredible agent, I've signed a 3 book contract with WaterBrook Press!

*SQUEAL!*

I am so grateful to my agent, Sandra Bishop and the amazing team at WaterBrook Press for believing in this project!

The wait is officially over. I am fidgety with excitment about getting this series into the hands of readers. This story is so near and dear to my heart. God has played the HUGEST role in leading the way as I navigated toward this moment and I am SOOO thankful. My family has been incredibly supportive over the years and I owe my husband a big fat kiss for all of his faith in me.

A huge, wiggly hug to all the readers who have been so supportive and enthusiastic about this Blue Ridge Mountain love story, a massive thanks to all the critiquers who've been invaluable in molding my writing over the years, and a hug to all my blog followers and commenters, you guys mean so much to me!! Hats off to you all!

Next week I'll share more about how it all happened. And I can't wait to share more about the series and introduce you to the first title, Be Still My Soul, which is set to release in the fall of 2012!

Time to celebrate! I think tonight just might be a date night :D

The Winds of Change

It's one of those times of life for me. Great change is on the horizon. I feel it coming. It's exhilarating. Thrilling...and a little... intimidating. 

Why? Because change is different. The old will be no more and the new will come. 

I've been waiting for this for a very long time. It's the type of change I've prayed about, worked like crazy for, and knew that if it was in God's plan, it would eventually come to be. Standing on the threshold of that change fills me with an overwhelming urge to laugh, cry, and to celebrate. The road will be hard and the road will be incredible. There is nothing to do now but continue to place my hand in the Lord's and with the confidence that we're in this together, take one step at a time. I hope you will be with me to share in this journey. Your comments and support mean so much to me!

Tell me, have you experienced change lately? Looking back now, what advice would you have given to yourself as you were on the threshold of that change? 

Photo credit: Pride and Prejudice, 2005

What Songs Move You?

I'm really curious. Because music is super important to what I do.

I'm a writer. But I'm also a mom. A mom with three kids at home (all day long!) It's not easy to balance homeschooling, a newborn, and writing. So when I sit down to write between the spelling lesson in the morning and the peanut butter catastrophe that's sure to happen in the next hour, I need something to help transport me to the world my characters live in.

I have dozens of play lists put together. Countless songs for particular emotions, experiences or settings. But I'll name just a few. Keep in mind the list changes as I do. It changes as my characters evolve. As they grow. As they experience their world--emotions that are as unique as the characters themselves.

Sorrow. Joy. Tension. Anger. Bittersweet yearning.

So without further adieu, here are a few of my top choices right now:

Don't wait for me by Josh Garrels
Silver coin by Angus and Julia Stone
I will exalt you by Hillsong United

...and of course lots of Adele and Iron and Wine

Often times, I listen to folk music, like the Cold Mountain soundtrack. It helps me feel my setting and my surroundings. Helps me dive into the Appalachian culture I write about. I'm excited to expand on this in another post soon.

I'd love to hear from you. What songs stir your emotions? If you're a writer, what songs do you listen to that reflect the setting of your stories?

Photo credit: Cold Mountain, 2003

"OK, God. When Does it Get Good?"

We drove to Utah this last week. Two toddlers, one newborn, eight hours. Yep. Fun times.

Well, the anticipation for this trip has been building for a while. It's our annual ski/snowboard trip in the mountains. I know, I know--leave the mountains to go to the mountains? Our's isn't exactly the ski-resort type. It's more the mountain man/bed and breakfast type. Point in case, no slopes.

But this is the first year our son was going to snowboard and he was thrilled as we left our little home and drove and drove and drove. And drove some more.

Out of California, through the tips of Arizona and Nevada and into Utah.

Even after this, our five-year old son kept looking up at random mountain ranges and asking, "Is that Utah?"

And we would constantly remind him, "We're in Utah, we've been in it for a while."

But he would still look up to the mountain tops, clearly confused. And we knew why. To his little mind, Utah was snow, slopes and boarding. Not this flat, red state with cliffs and bluffs.

And it hit me that so many times in our lives, we ask God the same question. When are we going to get there? When is my luck finally going to pan out? Surely, this can't be as good as it's going to get.

I know I've had those moments in my life. And what a waste. It's a waste because one day, we could turn around, find ourselves 90 and completely alone, just wishing the grand kids would come for a visit or that our loved ones would send us a card. I hope that in my old age, I will be able to look back and be grateful I counted the little moments--the moments that really mattered. Because, before we ask "When does it get good," perhaps stop and think that today is a day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.

If we just live for those Academy Award moments like, a larger home, job promotions or book contracts, we could waste a lot of time realizing that we're already there. God has already blessed us abundantly if we would just look around and see it. 

So how about you? What are you thankful for this very day?

What Are Your Reading Quirks?

I'm curious...what do readers do, act like, think like while their reading. Seriously, its time to dish on your reading quirks. I want to know what's the strangest thing you've ever used as a bookmark. And whether or not you read the ending first. And how many pages do you actually give a book to prove itself? I'm looking to learn more about you. your fancies, your whims. What makes you tick?

And this is not just to see if I'm the only crazy person in the world. Girlscouts honor ;)

To kick things off, I'll give you my own quirks:

When I'm in a bookstore, I study the publishing logos. Yep, I literally run my finger along the top edge of the shelf and do a roll call. Which publishing houses are here, which have the most on the shelves, which houses publish the books I love.

I read every bit of text in a book. From the copyright data to the cover credits on the back. I like to know who edited it, who it was dedicated to, the authors bio, everything. Maybe it's a writer thing. Of course I only do this on books I read. And I'll admit it, I rarely give a book more than 5 pages to get me. I know. I'm a horrible person.

If I get to a really exciting scene, I tend to skip words. I basically just read too fast. It's kind of like eating too fast but without the indigestion. And once I get through it, I might go back and read it more slowly. I should probably develop better patience :)

Ok, I dished. Now your turn. What are your reading quirks?


Photo credit: Beauty and the Beast, 1991

Blogging Break, But Good News on the Way!!

Hi everyone.

I'm spending the week writing, editing and trekking around with the fam so I'm taking a break from blogging this week, but I'll be back next Tuesday!

And I have good news on the way. I am SOOOO excited. I can't wait to share!

Happy 2012 and I will see you next week.