Camy's friends

For readers--here are some authors and writers you might enjoy reading.

RubyZine: I am one of the editors of this Christian newsletter ezine for teenage girls. God really inspired my friend Becky Gomez to take a step of faith and start RubyZine, and I'm so excited to be part of this with her. Check out my "Real Life" Q&A section and my writing articles in the Writers Corner. RubyZine is also looking for articles, devotionals, poetry, and short stories. Visit our website and send us an e-mail for writers' guidelines.

At Home With Christian Fiction: A great place for lovers of Christian fiction.

Author websites:

Karen Ball: Karen is a fabulous speaker, writer, and editor. Her keynote talks at the 2005 ACFW conference were some of the funniest, most memorable, and most poignant I've ever heard. She was still at Zondervan when she and Sue Brower took my book to committee. I will always be so grateful to her for believing in me and in my story.

Shelley Bates: Shelley is a friend from ACFW, and I discovered she lives in the Bay Area also. Her books have been nominated for the prestigious RITA award, and Grounds to Believe, is a truly unique, engaging romantic suspense that won the RITA in 2005.

Kristin Billerbeck: Wonderful author, great person, and one of the funniest writers I know. I heard about her Ashley Stockingdale books before I "met" her through ACFW, where she participates in the email loop and gives awesome advice for writers. She's from the San Francisco Bay Area and was the first author to publish a Christian Chick-lit novel.

Robin Caroll: Robin's a close friend and she and I think frighteningly alike in many ways. Her suspense is action-packed and her debut novel, Bayou Justice, releases in October 2007. Her Critique Boutique service offers terrific feedback at great prices.

Laura Christianson: I met Laura at the 2006 Mount Hermon Christian Writers Conference in Ellie Kay's Media Mania class. She's a professional blogger for Adoption.com, doing the Christian Adoption blog. She also has a personal blog called Exploring Adoption, and she just got a contract for a non-fiction book, The Adoption Decision: 15 Things You Want to Know Before Adopting. She gave a blogging workshop and afterward, we ended up talking about blogging and marketing for almost two hours.

Colleen Coble: This amazing woman does more in a day than I could do in a year. Her latest suspense series is set in my home state of Hawaii. She's won the ACFW Mentor of the Year award twice and still manages to chug out books for multiple publishers. She's incredibly nice and a great writer.

Brandilyn Collins: I was lucky enough to meet this spunky, Godly woman at the 2004 Mount Hermon conference. She has an awesome story about her healing on her website. Also her writing book Getting Into Character is one of the most unique ways to create three-dimensional characters.

Brenda Coulter: Brenda always has something clever to say to both new and published writers on the Steeple Hill discussion boards and on her blog. She writes funny, fresh inspirational romance for Steeple Hill Love Inspired.

Margaret Daley: I met Margaret on the Steeple Hill discussion boards, and finally got to meet her in person at the 2004 ACFW conference in Denver. She's a wonderfully encouraging, energetic woman. Her Love Inspired titles are warm and tender, and I'm looking forward to her romantic suspense title coming out in 2006.

Meredith Efken: A fabulous writer who's as much of a night owl as I am, so we make great roommates for conferences. ;) Meredith was my unofficial mentor for my first Mount Hermon conference. Her books are the funniest I've read in a long time.

Donna Fleisher: I first met Donna at the 2004 Mount Hermon conference where she'd just received a contract from Karen Ball at Zondervan right there at the conference. Donna's journey toward publication was a winding, struggling, encouraging road. She's one of the few Christian women I know who truly understands what it is to be still and rest in God.

Marilynn Griffith: This amazing, wonderful woman of God is a terrific writer, has a four-book series coming out from Revell, and a three-book series from Steeple Hill. I met her through the Steeple Hill discussion boards, plus she also belongs to ACFW. Her blog is refreshing and inspiring. She also started a website for Steeple Hill Café (Chicklit) writers, called FaithChick.com.

Sharon Hinck: A dear friend I met at 2004 Mount Hermon conference, Sharon took me under her wing and selflessly mentored me the first year I started writing. She has been my supporter, a stern whip-cracker, and an awesome critique partner. She writes both Mom-lit and fantasy.

Marilyn C. Hilton: Marilyn and I kept each other company in the Denver airport after the 2004 ACFW conference. We both live in San Jose and are part of a San Jose writers group.

Randall Ingermanson: Randy is a real-life theoretical physicist, as well as a darn funny guy. He's reknowned for his Snowflake plotting method and his Advanced Fiction Writing ezine. Aside from this, he writes award-winning science fiction, historical fiction, and thrillers.

Wendy Lawton: I first met Wendy through Marilyn Hilton (above) when I already had agent #1, and I loved her to pieces. When I terminated with agent #1, she was the only agent I turned to because I knew she'd be a phenomenal match. She's a lovely woman of God who walks the talk. She's an agent with Janet Kobobel Grant's Books & Such Literary Agency, and she's also an award-winning doll maker and young adult fiction author.

Shirlee McCoy: Shirlee's a friend from the Steeple Hill discussion board, and I finally got to meet her at the 2005 ACFW conference in Nashville. Her romantic suspense novels were among the first titles released from Steeple Hill's Women's Fiction and Romantic Suspense lines.

Donita K. Paul: Donita is the award-winning author of the famous DragonKeeper Chronicles, which my high school kids absolutely love. I first met her at Mount Hermon conference. She's wonderfully down to earth and wasn't at all averse to talking to a newbie unpublished writer.

Gayle Roper: Gayle has blessed me in more ways than I can say. She ran the 2005 ACFW conference Fiction Mentoring Clinic, which is where I met her, and she's given me priceless advice about my writing, the writing business, and a writer's career. Gayle is known for her award-winning novels and her gift for teaching.

MaryLu Tyndall: She's got a lovely sarcastic sense of humor and is a fun member of our San Jose writers group. We knew her when! before she signed with Barbour for her Inspirational pirate romances, The Legacy of the King's Pirates series.

Laura Jensen Walker: Laura's a superbly funny author of both fiction and non-fiction. I met her at the 2004 Mount Hermon conference and she's been very supportive of my writing ever since.

Cheryl Wyatt: Affectionately called "Squirl," she's a bouncy bundle of energy and has a true heart for the orphans of India. Her military contemporary romances release next year: A Soldier's Promise (January 2008) and A Soldier's Family (March 2008).


Writer websites:

Gina Conroy: Gina is a cool writer who has a terrific blog specifically geared toward moms who write. She gives great tips and encouragement.

Linda Fulkerson: Linda was in my Mentoring Group at the 2005 ACFW conference in Nashville, and she's a sweetheart. She holds a monthly New Writers Showcase contest for beginning writers at her website, and the prize is publication on her website, announcements to a bunch of email loops, and a critique by me (15 manuscript pages and a 2-page synopsis).

Gina Holmes: I met Gina at the 2005 ACFW conference in Nashville, and she's got a terrific blog where she interviews Christian authors and posts book reviews. This is a fabulous place for both writers and readers. She's done a terrific job with it.

Pamela James: I first knew her as "Pammer" from the Steeple Hill discussion board, and we roomed together for the 2004 ACFW conference in Denver. With her spunk and spiritual maturity, she's like a sister to me.

Ronie Kendig: I met Ronie briefly at the 2005 ACFW conference in Nashville, but only got to talk one-on-one with her when we were waiting for our planes at the airport, and we immediately clicked. She's a sweet, lovely woman of God and her science fiction stories rock!

Dineen A. Miller: Dineen writes Christian romantic suspense with a twist of the paranormal. Real life struggles become the stage for fiction and inspiration. She's a wonderful friend who is also in our San Jose writers group.

Mirtika Schultz: Mir and I love the same foods even though culturally we're at opposite ends of the spectrum and geographically we're at opposite sides of the country. She's quirky and fun and hilarious, but she writes gritty, powerful speculative fiction.

Heather Tipton: Heather's my spiritual sister and fellow soldier, struggling along the path with me. Her blog is raw, honest and hopeful. She's also part of Out There Author Services as a very inexpensive virtual assistant for authors.

Other:

Citrus Moon: I got my faboo website background from this designer.