With A Thankful Heart

By Debra DuPree Williams @DDuPreeWilliams

The older I get, the more quickly the year passes. It seems we just observed the Fourth of July and here it is, Thanksgiving. Here’s the kicker—Christmas is less than a month away. As usual, I haven’t purchased the first gift. Heavy sigh.

But, this week, we celebrate Thanksgiving. Two of our four sons will be with us this year. One is our married son who will have our lovely granddaughters with him, along with his beautiful wife, our Daughter-in-Love. It is always so good to hear the laughter of our two granddaughters filling our home. And, it’s such a blessing to see two of our boys communicating with one another as grown men.

Those are only a few of the things we are thankful for this year. 

My Life in a Nutshell

By Debra DuPree Williams @DDuPreeWilliams

Even though it is an entire year before my forthcoming book, Grave Consequences, A Charlotte Graves Southern Mystery, will be available, I realize that most of you don’t know me well, if at all. I thought I’d tell you a bit about me.

I began and lived most of my life in South Alabama. It’s no wonder that I grew up to write Southern fiction. As a genealogist, albeit an amateur, the South and all her glories are in my blood—indeed, my DNA. There is no way to remove myself from my roots and my heritage.

A Low-Tech Grandma in a High-Tech World

By Debra DuPree Williams @DDuPreeWilliams

Okay. I admit it. I’m no techie, especially when it comes to anything social media related, but I think y’all knew that. I’ve taken social media lessons for a while now from the best teacher I know, Edie Melson. Edie is the co-director of a handful of conferences for writers. You know most of my writing story, so you already know I had no idea I needed a writing conference . . . or twenty.

Some social media things have been more difficult than others. I usually do okay if I have things written down step by step. I refer to them when I need to do something I haven’t done in a while, or even if it’s things I do regularly but which have lots of steps. One of the functions I perform weekly has twenty-five separate steps. Now you see why I need to have them written down.

Lost

When learning something new, I perform the task while I’m on the video lessons with Edie. But when I’m left on my own, I can’t remember what comes next—unless I write it down. I have to remember to write it down. This morning, we went through a task that was difficult for me. We’d been over this before, long ago and again a month or so ago, but I couldn’t remember the steps. I invariably left out some. Thus, things I should have been doing went undone. Sigh.

So, we went over this again this morning and I performed the task without any questions or prompts from Edie and I did okay with it. I’m happy to say that once we signed off our meeting, I went back to this task and tried it on my own. I faltered in a couple of places, but I quickly realized where I had made mistakes and I corrected myself. One time . . . okay it was twice . . . I had to undo the whole thing and begin again. It was at that point that I wrote down every single step. I’m happy to report that this one has far fewer than twenty-five.

This is just another aspect of writing that most people don’t even think about. You see all the Twitter posts and Facebook posts, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and anything else out there that people do regularly these days, and you don’t even stop to think about how that was done. In my case, I was clueless. I’ve learned how to navigate those swirling waters with many lessons, repeats of those lessons, and a few emergency emails to Edie to say I’m stumped. I had no idea one had to learn so many new things to be a writer in today’s world.

To say that I’ve been blessed by the people God has placed in my path would be one of the biggest understatements in my life. And I’ve lived a long time.

Equipped for the Journey

There have been many times when I wanted to quit because learning so many new things has been a huge curve for me. Friends always come through with words of encouragement, reminding me that I’m not on this journey alone. This is a journey God has placed before me and I know He will walk with me and help me see it through to the end. See what I did there?

When life throws something your way you don’t think you can handle, remember the One who is always there with you. And look to those people He has placed in your path to lend a helping hand or a good word of encouragement when you need it the most.

Edie is one of many people I’ve met along this journey since I first walked into the doors of Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference back in 2014. Since that time, I’ve met countless conference directors, teachers, mentors, fellow writers, encouragers—the list is endless. I owe every one of them a huge debt of thanks.

A Work-in-Progress

I don’t have all the little details mastered, especially of all things social media related. Like my writing, I’m still a work in progress. I’m thankful for those with me on this journey. And that includes you. Thank you for being here and reading my blog posts. It means more to me than I can say.

Do you have trouble with techie or social media things? Share your experiences with us.

TWEETABLE

A Low-TechGrandma in a High-Tech World @DDuPreeWilliams (Click to Tweet)

But God-It's All About Trust

By Debra DuPree Williams @DDuPreeWilliams

Last week I shared a bit of the publishing process with you. You can see why it takes so long for a book to become a book and not simply a manuscript. The publishing process is long and there are many steps involved in bringing that book to market.

One thing that has happened in recent weeks is the publishing house I signed a contract with has recently been acquired by a larger company. My original house was Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas and the imprint I was under is Firefly Southern Fiction. None of that has changed. I will still be under the Firefly Southern Fiction imprint. 

A Mountaintop Experience

By Debra DuPree Williams @DDuPreeWilliams

Before you read my post, let me apologize for the tardiness in getting this out to you. The internet at Ridgecrest simply wouldn't let me get this done. Believe me, if you read my post about being technology challenged, you will undertand, it is likely the poster and not the entity with which she tried to post. Thank you for your understanding and your grace.

This is the week many of my writer friends and I eagerly await. The Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference is being held this week at Ridgecrest in Black Mountain, North Carolina. I’ve been coming to this for six years, ever since my first one in 2014.

I wish you could experience this with me. Imagine five-hundred writers, all feeling called to write for the Kingdom of God. Add to that, a fabulous faculty, a staff dedicated to making our experience one we will want to repeat, and two brilliant, creative, lovely, godly women who give of themselves all year to make this the best it can possibly be, and you have the makings of one spectacular conference.

Soul Care- Spending Creative Time with Our Creator

By Debra DuPree Williams @DDuPreeWilliams

For the past couple of weeks, I’ve participated in an online group, not a Bible study group, per se, but one that is doing a study called Soul Care. It’s based on the book by the same name written by Edie Melson, co-director of the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference, Mountainside Marketing Conference, and a soon to be Soul Care conference. 

This isn’t your ordinary Bible study. This is Edie’s way of taking us out of our busy days to not only spend time with God in prayer and rest, but using our creative selves to worship Him through “creative expression”. The back of the book blurb reads in part, “She has learned that sensory involvement deepens our relationship with the Father and gives rest to our weary souls. She will teach you to tap into your creativity.”

I’m so glad that I joined the online group. I missed last week due to being at a writing conference, so this week, I’ve been playing catch-up. The activities Edie has created that go along with the prayers and devotionals in Soul Care are not only fun, but are thought-provoking. I have found myself diving deep into the Word and spending time with my Father in a way I’ve never experienced. It’s life-altering and we’re only into week three.

Stepping Out of Your Comfort Zone

by Debra DuPree Williams @DDuPreeWilliams

Last week I and several of my writer friends attended the North Georgia Christian Writers Conference sponsored by Word Weavers International. Under the direction of Eva Marie Everson and Mark Hancock, it was a great conference and my eighth one. Wow! I have no idea how it became that many. The wonderful thing is—I have learned something new at every single conference I’ve attended.

My first conference was back in 2014, the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference. If you’ve read my blog, you will know that it was absolutely a God-incidence that I even wound up there. At that time, I was so naïve and green, I had no clue what I was doing or if I could even call myself a writer. I took a couple of picture books and some silly poems with me. Silly in that they really were silly in content, intentionally. I timidly showed those poems to Michelle Medlock Adams, noted children’s author, and Sally Apokedak, who now has her own literary agency. Am I a writer? That’s all I wanted to know.

Who's in Your Path?

By Debra DuPree Williams @DDuPreeWilliams

Have you ever thought about the people you come across on a daily basis, or even those that seem to be chance encounters? I’ve thought about this a great deal lately—mostly in regards to this writing journey I’ve been on since 2014.

One of the main influences upon me back then, and even today, is my sister Bobbie. She’s been a big influence upon my life since the day I was born, but for the majority of my life, I wasn’t aware of just how significant a role she played. I knew she was my big sister and that she loved me and I loved her, but I was a kid, a teen, a young married woman, then a busy mother raising four sons. Who had time to think about the things she may or may not have been pouring into me?

Have You Done Your Homework?

By Debra DuPree Williams @DDuPreeWilliams

That may seem an odd question to ask as school draws to a close for the summer. For many, this is just the start of a very busy season. Just because school is out doesn’t mean the work ends. I’m talking about for writers.

This time last week I was busy running around the hills and up and down the stairs on the campus at the Ridgecrest Conference Center in Black Mountain, North Carolina. I was there with my sister for the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference. This is a fabulous conference for those of you who may have any kind of interest or a calling to write. It is run by Edie Melson and DiAnn Mills, two outstanding authors and all-around fabulous women. Each of these ladies has the heart of a teacher.

BRMCWC 
BRMCWC, as the conference is called by many, is a full four days of learning the craft of writing from the very best teachers in the industry. If you go to this site https://www.blueridgeconference.com/  you will be able to read all about the faculty for this year. Delve deeper and you will find classes they taught. It is an intense week filled with not only learning opportunities, but appointments with agents, editors, and publishers, and just about anyone associated with the publishing industry. We also have a time of worship each morning and each evening followed by keynotes from member of the faculty.

Claim Your Domain

by Debra DuPree Williams @DDuPreeWilliams

I got a notice in my inbox that it’s time to renew my domain names at GoDaddy. I’m glad they sent me a notice, even though it is a bit early. It won’t renew until March. Maybe it’s a good thing they told me early as my credit card numbers have changed since I purchased the sites two years ago.

This prompted me to ask if you have purchased your domain name. Even if you are just an aspiring author or business owner, chances are, someone out there shares your name. Mine isn’t all that common, especially when my maiden name is thrown in there, but I have run across someone with my name. Even the spelling of Debra as I spell it.

If you are a new customer, odds are, you won’t have to pay too high a price for your name, but if you are renewing, you can expect the cost to rise. Then, you have to consider if you want to purchase just a dot com, a dot net, or a dot org, or perhaps all three. Maybe I didn’t need to do so, but I went ahead and purchased all three, using Debra DuPree Williams in each one.

An Unexpected Journey

by Debra DuPree Williams                                                                           @DDuPreeWilliams

Back in 2011, when my husband and I lived with our eldest son and his family for a few months, I spent a great deal of time with our then, fourteen-month-old granddaughter. She was a delight, as was her seven-year-old sister. Their needs were very different. Jim chauffeured P to all of her camps and activities while I remained at home with E.

E and I spent many happy hours devouring every little board book and every picture book in their home. She had her favorites. One of those was about a band. Since she comes from a long line of musicians, including her dad who plays guitar and drums, and her mother who was a drummer in a rock band back in her school days, I think it was just a genetic thing for her to be drawn to that little book.

But one of her books made me cringe every time I read it. The rhythm of the words was off. I had a hard time reading that book, but E loved it, so I read it anyway and tried not to make too many faces.

One night I thought, I can do this. I’ve written poetry all my life. I think I could write a children’s book. So, I set about giving it a go. I wrote a book about music, of course (I have two degrees in music). It wasn’t a grand book, but it was a start. It featured an adorable little conductor whom I called Maestro Musik. It taught some basic music lessons, too.

It's Never Too Late For Your Dreams

by Debra DuPree Williams @DDuPreeWilliams

It’s been a few weeks since I returned home from the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference. The conference gets better with each passing year. This was my fourth one.

The fact that I even went to that first conference back in 2014 was a miracle. At that time, I didn’t even know there were such things. And why on earth would I think I should attend one? Me, a writer? No way. I was a singer. That’s what I had done all my life. God was supposed to use me and my voice to reach people. Period. And then I got older and my hearing began to fail me. But God was already working in the shadows to give me a second voice.

It's Not a Coincidence, It's a God-Incidence

Indian Rocks Beach, Path from our Home There

  by Debra DuPree Williams
 @DDuPreeWilliams

I quote Jeremiah 29:11 and Proverbs 3:6, to my children all the time. If they remember nothing else of their mother, I know they’ll remember these two verses. Both of these scriptures speak of putting your faith and trust in God and following the paths He has set forth for your life.

Childhood Dreams

I never dreamed of the places I’ve been or the relationships I’ve formed over the past four years. I’m talking about in the writing world. When I was in the seventh grade in Andalusia, Alabama, I began writing a novel. Every night before I turned off my lights, time was spent putting another chapter into my idea of The Great American Novel. Let me tell you, it was pitiful. But a friend waited daily to read what I had written the previous night. Thank you, Anne Evers Mount Brown. I don’t know what happened to that great achievement.