I first want to say a huge THANK YOU to those of you who have prayed this week as I edit Book 3 in the Dive Team Investigations series.

I have certainly felt your prayers!

My editor, bless her, found a rather significant plot hole. What’s crazy to me about this is that five people have read the book up to this point and none of us noticed! I’m thinking I may need to send her chocolates or something! 🙂

Thankfully, after a quick brainstorming session with my friend Lynette Eason (this involved a text where I said, “Can I call you…now?”), the plot hole has been filled. Whew!

Did you know that the editorial process involves a lot of back and forth between the author and editors? The part of the edit I’m working on now is usually the biggest and most daunting, but after this point there will be multiple emails over the next few months as we do everything we can to get Dive Team Investigations Book 3 to be the very best it can be.

So since this week is all about the editing, I’m keeping today’s blog post short and sweet.

I did an interview a few months ago with author Johnnie Alexander and the video is now live at her site, Novelists Unwind. Johnnie was an absolute joy to talk to you! We had such a great conversation! You can hear my southern accent and see how it’s impossible for me to talk without using my hands and also get the scoop on my writing journey, scuba diving, and all sorts of fun topics. I hope you’ll check it out!

Grace and peace,

It’s time to edit the third book in the Dive Team Investigations series. While this is exciting and wonderful because it means that this book is getting closer and closer to being in the hands of readers, I have to say that, well, editing and I don’t have the best relationship. Please note that I said editing – not to be confused with editors – my editors are amazing and I’m extremely thankful for them!

As I’ve been processing my feelings toward this part of the process, I wrote this prayer and I thought I’d share it with you. I’d be honored if you would pray with me over the next two weeks as I dive into this story and try to make it all it can possibly be.

Dear Heavenly Father,

It’s me. Again.

I’m dreading this. Again.

Dreading opening the file and seeing all the places I got it wrong. All the places my meaning was murky and my words were misunderstood. 

I’m dreading the hours of work ahead. The rewording, rearranging, and rewriting. 

I’m dreading having my mistakes pointed out to me—over and over and over again.

Deep in my core, I want perfection. 

In some ways, I know it’s because that’s what I was created for. A perfect world where every day began—and ended—with no mistakes in it.

But the same sin that ended that perfect place also corrupted my desires. 

Now, my perfectionism is more about control. More about saving face. More about longing to be be impressive. More about the desire to be praised than about the desire to put something into the world that will draw others to praise You. 

Father, pry my fingers from my words. Open my hands and my heart to the beauty that is waiting on the other side of this journey. Open my mind and my will to make changes that will better convey the story that You gave me, the story that You want told. 

Jesus, thank you for dying and rescuing me from my own tiny world where I want to reign and rule. Thank you for living now and interceding on my behalf, even when I regularly try to take the throne away and sit on it myself. As I dive into this story would you, the Word made flesh, fill my mind with the words that will best draw readers closer to You?

Spirit, I long for a fresh breath of Your creative power. I need You to give me the desire to do this work with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength. And when I falter, to remind me that all things are possible through You.

I’m so thankful that You’ve already gone before me into this day, into this story, into the future where readers will someday join me on this journey. You’ve proven yourself faithful—time and time again—as I wrote this story. Why would I doubt that You will be faithful as I finish it? Please help me see this part of the process, not as a painful necessity, but as a glorious opportunity to make every chapter, scene, paragraph, and word, matter for eternity. 

To You, the Author and Finisher, be the glory.

Amen

 

For my first post of 2019, I thought it might be fun to share some of my “what worked/what didn’t work” list with you. 

I got this idea several years ago from Anne Bogel (Modern Mrs. Darcy). It’s simple and filled with grace. This isn’t a “beat yourself up over your mistakes” method, but a calm approach to evaluating what is or isn’t working so that you can work to eliminate the negatives and repeat the positives. I like to use this method of reflection to help me think well about everything from vacations to book launches. (If you’re a writer, you might find this post interesting- it’s about how I use this method for my writing life). 

Here are a few things that made my lists for 2018.

What worked, and what didn’t work for me in 2018. #NewYear #DiveTeamInvestigations Share on X

What Didn’t Work for Me in 2018

Scrolling. I’m embarrassed to admit this, but my phone and I have an unhealthy relationship. It’s just so easy to scroll—when I’m tired, when I’m frustrated, when I’m bored. How many hours of my life have been lost to … what? The latest Instagram post? Don’t get me wrong. I enjoy social media and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with letting your mind disconnect and scrolling aimlessly. For a little while. But I found that it was becoming my default—standing in line at Costco, waiting on my kids’ during sports practices, at the end of a long day. There are much better ways I can spend that time. 

Not Reading Enough. I love to read. I was a reader before I became a writer. Books are my first love and best friends. Oh sure, I read my own words over and over and over again, but I didn’t spend enough time reading other people’s words. 

Traveling. I love to travel. But this fall I scheduled too many trips in too short a period of time. It wasn’t good for me or my family. Lesson learned. 

Running on Empty. I’m a very task-oriented person and it’s hard for me to give myself permission to relax when there’s work to be done. But when I don’t take the time to recharge my tanks—creatively, emotionally, spiritually, physically—I can’t do anything well. 

What Worked for Me in 2018

Audiobooks. I’m a visual learner and audiobooks are not my favorite way to consume stories and information, but they totally count as reading, and in the last half of 2018 I finally jumped on the Audible bandwagon. I’m so glad I did. Not only did my kids and I enjoy listening to books as we ran errands and zipped back and forth from ballgames, but I was able to “read” while I did laundry and cooked dinner. 

Saying No. I hate to say no to people. Truly hate it. But 2018 was the year I learned to say No more than I said Yes. Finally. There’s something very freeing about knowing your calling and knowing when saying no is the right thing. 

Learning New Things. I learned to scuba dive (barely – you can read my thoughts on the beginner life here) and I learned to crochet (you can read about that here). There’s something both terrifying and frustrating about being a beginner, but it’s also so rewarding. 

Choosing to Fuel My Creativity. My sister and I purchased season tickets to the Broadway series at our local performing arts center. It was a splurge and it felt very indulgent, but three shows in (and five more waiting on me in 2019) and I’m already planning for next year. I know that live performances are one of the best ways to recharge my creative well. Having set times to do that, already on the calendar and paid for, has already proven to be a true investment in my career. Plus, it’s just a lot of fun! 

As we dive into the new year, I’m contemplating all of these things (and many more) as I prayerfully consider what 2019 needs to look like.

I hope you’ll continue to join me on this journey! It’s going to be fun!

Grace and peace,

In Too Deep is here!

You can purchase In Too Deep in paper, ebook, and audio formats.

In Too Deep is Book 2 in the Dive Team Investigations series. I’m thrilled for you to get to know Adam and Sabrina in a whole new way. You met them in Beneath the Surface, but there is so much more to them than you’ve probably guessed. They are unique and so perfect for each other…I really hope they figure that out! 😉

In Too Deep tackles the very real issue of labor trafficking in the Carolinas. I wish I could tell you I’d made that all up, but unfortunately it is a pervasive tragedy taking place all around us. My prayer is that eyes will be opened and hearts will be stirred to pursue freedom for those trapped in modern day slavery.

I will be chatting live on Facebook at 9PM Eastern and I’d love for you to join me! (Click HERE to be taken to the event page) You can ask questions prior to or during the event and I will try to answer as many as possible. 

 

 

It's release day for In Too Deep, Book 2 in the Dive Team Investigations series. #InTooDeep #DiveTeamInvestigations #AdamandSabrina #romanticsuspense Share on X

 

I hope many of you were able to participate in the Fall Christian Fiction Scavenger Hunt over the weekend! Over 1000 readers made their way through the entire hunt!

If you signed up for my blog posts or newsletter or liked my author page, followed me on Twitter or Instagram, commented on the post – whatever you did, I am truly thankful and I’m so glad you’re here!

I wanted to pop into your inboxes and feeds to let you know that I’ve drawn the winners for the giveaway I held on my site during the scavenger hunt.

The winners are:

  • T. Kzoe – First prize! A copy of Beneath the Surface and In Too Deep as well a $20 Amazon gift card.
  • Natasha E. – Second prize! A $15 Amazon gift card.
  • Karen M. – Third prize! A $10 Amazon gift card!

The winners have been notified by email and prizes will be headed their way this week!

Grace and peace,

 

Welcome to the Christian Fiction Scavenger Hunt! If you’re just joining us, the hunt begins at www.LisaBergren.com, with Stop #1. If you complete the loop of 26 stops, writing down the clue on each author’s site, you can enter to win all 25 books as well as Amazon gift cards, an iPad and more!

Without further ado, it’s my pleasure to introduce you to my guest for the Scavenger Hunt, Cara Putman.

I was thrilled to join Cara on a panel at ACFW this past September. She is outgoing and kind and possibly the most energetic woman I’ve ever met!

Cara’s romantic legal suspense is gripping–you don’t want to miss it!

Here’s her professional bio: Cara Putman is the award-winning, best-selling author of more than 30 books. Her current novels are ripped from the headlines romantic supsense. You can read first chapters at www.caraputman.com/books.

Here’s the summary of her latest book: 

She had long given up the desire to be loved. Now she only needed to be heard. Jaime Nichols went to law school to find the voice she never had as a child, and her determination to protect girls and women in the path of harm drives her in ways both spoken and unspoken. As Jaime, now a criminal defense attorney, prepares to press charges against someone who wronged her long ago, she must face not only her demons but also the unimaginable forces that protect the powerful man who tore her childhood apart.

You can purchase this book at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, ChristianBook or your local bookstore.

And here’s her EXCLUSIVE content that you’ll only find in this hunt!

Building Deep Characters

Writing is hard work. To give readers an emotional experience I have to dig deep. I’ll need to cry. I’ll want to chortle. For any emotion to resonate, I have to be willing to go there.

For some books that’s relatively easy. I’m writing a book set in WWII on the home front. There’s rationing. There’s boys going to war. But there’s also dances. And games. And the importance of family.

Then there are the books that require deep things from me. Delayed Justice was one of those books. Jaime Nichols was a character who was shy to make her story known. In Beyond Justice, she said a few snarky lines and gratefully slid into the shadows. In Imperfect Justice, she hinted at darker secrets, but kept her difference. But in Delayed Justice her story erupted. It oozed with pain and angst…and to get her to a point of healing and hope, I had to walk through the pain, too.

That meant I had to research the lingering effects of childhood abuse on adults. I had to explore the trauma’s impacts in emotional and physical ways. I had to talk with survivors and read their stories, so I could honor their experience in the telling of Jaime’s. I also wanted to write the story in a way that conveys hope without triggering those who may have experienced the painful realities.

 

To do that I balanced Jaime’s journey with her stand-offish cat Simba and a lovable Golden Retriever named Aslan. The two of them provided comic relief and a mirror for the growing friendship between Jaime and Chandler Bolton. The animals also reflect the shifting nature of Jaime’s spiritual journey. I also surrounded Jaime with friends, and made sure she couldn’t escape one. It was impossible for her to continue to hide behind a mask when Caroline is around. We all need friends like that, don’t we?

 

Thanks for stopping by the hunt! Before you go, make sure you WRITE DOWN THIS CLUE: 

Secret Word: those

Got it down?? Great! Your next stop is #22, Cara Putman’s site!

But before you go, I’d love for you to take a moment to enter the giveaway I’m doing! You can win one of three great prizes!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

 

 

 

 

 

In Too Deep

is a Fall 2018 Okra Pick!

 

What’s an Okra Pick? 

Here’s the description from the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance (SIBA) website:

Okra Picks are a bushel of fresh titles chosen each season that SIBA Indie Bookstores want to handsell. These books should be southern in nature but can cover any genre, not just fiction. 

I’m thrilled that In Too Deep was chosen! I was able to attend #SIBA18 and had the chance to chat with booksellers and they were all just lovely. I adore independent bookstores and I can’t wait to see In Too Deep on store shelves! 

You can see all the amazing Okra Picks for Fall 2018 here! 

Grace and peace,

Hey y’all!

I’ve been gone a LONG time – but I’m back!

I can’t imagine a better way to get things rolling for the release of In Too Deep than by sharing this fabulous book trailer with you!

The team at Revell did an awesome job!

I can’t wait to hear what you think!

 

There’s going to be a lot more to talk about over the next few weeks!

Stay tuned!

Grace & peace,

March 2018

Wow. What a crazy month!

From time to time (in theory monthly but we’ll see about that) I’m going to be sharing a list of some of the thing I’ve learned in the past month.

This idea came from two of my favorite podcasters/authors, Emily P. Freeman and Anne Bogel (aka Modern Mrs. Darcy). I find it personally fulfilling to pause at the end of the month and record the big and small and weird things I’ve learned.

1. Having the right chair is a game changer. 

When my editor accepted In Too Deep, Book 2 in the Dive Team Investigations series, I celebrated.

By buying a chair.

I know. I know. I really should try not to be so wild. 🙂

Since we turned a storage area into an office last summer, I’ve been sitting in a folding chair from a card table set and it has been killing my legs and back.

But y’all. This chair makes me insanely happy. I went to several stores and sat in a lot of chairs. I knew as soon as I sat in it that this chair was going to make my office time much more pleasant.

And it has.

2. Sometimes you need to be willing to say “yes” but say “no” anyway.

I hate to see a need that I could meet and not volunteer for the job.

Of course, I’m also insanely busy and operating at the edge of my abilities. So lately, my default answer has been an emphatic “no.” But I’m learning that sometimes I need to be truly willing to say yes, even if I don’t know how I would manage it, and then wait for God to provide clarity and direction. Because sometimes in the waiting, He shows us more about Himself and His love for us than we ever would have seen if we’d jumped to the “no” without seeking Him first.

3. Sometimes you need to be willing to say “no” but say “yes” anyway. 

Regardless of how much I have going on, there are still things I really want to say “yes” to but I have to be willing to pass on. I have work to do. Books to write. Children to love and teach. A husband who puts up with an awful lot in order for me to do what I do. I need to eat and exercise and do ALL.THE.THINGS and even though it’s hard, I say “no” to a lot of stuff that I would really enjoy.

But sometimes, even though I’m willing to say “no,”  I get to say “yes” anyway. In March, I said “yes” and purchased plane tickets for a quick trip in April with my husband to Catalina Island. I will be doing a lot of writing on the plane, but I’m thrilled not to have to pass on the chance for some kid-free time with my husband.

4. Some advice is hard to follow.

There’s a general rule for writers when it comes to reviews.

“Don’t let the good reviews go to your head. Don’t let the bad reviews go to your heart.”

I haven’t figured out how to do that yet so I’ve decided the best approach to is to avoid the reviews as much as possible.

5. I cannot function without a written planner.

My love for my bullet journal is well-documented, but as much as I love it, sometimes I start thinking it will be okay if I don’t write things down for the next week.

WRONG!

I typically think through the coming week sometime during the weekend before. At least by Sunday night. But I spent Saturday and Sunday in SCUBA class and I was exhausted and crashed early. Then I tried to wing it for the next couple of days and, well, that wasn’t the best idea I’ve ever had. If I had paused on Friday to makes *sure* I remembered what I was committed to the next week it would have saved me from a couple of close calls (and I’m still not 100% sure I haven’t forgotten something). Needless to say, it’s Friday night and I have already planned out next week.

6. I was completely unprepared for #TeamGabe.

Have you read Beneath the Surface yet? Since its release in early March, one of the things that completely caught me off guard has been the love for Homicide Investigator Gabe Chavez. I’ve received emails, Facebook messages, and in-person questions about Gabe. Always the same question.

Does Gabe get his own book?

Answer: Yes. He does. I’m writing it now. And I love that y’all love Gabe!

7. Favorite quote of the month.

“Faith is acting like it is so,

even when it is not so,

so that it might be so,

simply because God said so.”

— Tony Evans

(quoted by Priscilla Shirer in her study, The Armor of God).

What did you learn in March? I’d love for you to share it with us in the comments!

Grace and peace,

Since the release of Beneath the Surface, I have fielded a ton of questions.

For example . . . “Why doesn’t more of the book take place underwater?”

Well . . . here’s the thing. Some people enjoy lots of details about regulators and buoyancy and diving techniques. But I have to tell you that when I’m reading a book and the author goes into a lot of specifics about something that is very cool but that I don’t know anything about, guess what I do? I SKIM—or even (gasp!) SKIP—THAT PARAGRAPH.

As a writer, I try to avoid writing paragraphs people will skip! If the information proves I did my research but doesn’t do anything to move the story forward, I make every effort to cut it.

Here’s another one  . . . “How do you pronounce (___)?”

  • Leigh is pronounced Lee, not Leah.

  • The “i” in Anissa is a long “e” sound. As in Lisa. Not a short “i” like Melissa. I realize it’s confusing.

  • Oh, and apparently I like the long “e” sound, because we also have Sabrina, another “i” with the long “e” sound.

  • No, I did NOT do this on purpose. 🙂

But this is the one question I’ve gotten the most.

Do YOU dive?

Until this weekend the answer to that question was no. Not because I didn’t want to. But because this series sold a lot faster than I ever dreamed it would, and instead of getting my SCUBA certification last spring, I was crazy busy writing Beneath the Surface.

This spring, I’m still crazy busy writing the third book in the series (#GabeandAnissa) but I’m carving out time to get my certification in advance of a family vacation this summer to the Florida Keys.

Saturday and Sunday I’ll be in class and then in the pool learning how to dive safely. Then in a couple of weeks I’ll do my open water dive.

I have to tell you this though . . . I am terrified. 

Truly. I’m not worried about the sessions in the pool (much). And I’m not worried about the physics and chemistry in the homework. I have a degree chemical engineering—I understand pressure and volume and density. I get it.

I am worried that I will panic fifty feet underwater. Or that I’ll do something really stupid and be put in a database of people who should never be allowed to dive. (I feel sure this exists!)

The instructor told me in all the years he’s been doing this he can count on one hand how many people have decided diving wasn’t for them after they finish the class.

What if I make him go to two hands? The shame!

Mostly, I’m afraid I will stink at it. I’m not the most coordinated person in the world. And I’m a little worried that they don’t make wetsuits my size. (I’ll take that in a short/chubby?)

So, feel free to pray for me this weekend. And pray for my instructor. He’s gonna need it.

Grace and peace,

P.S. I’ll be documenting this (as much as I can) on social media. Check out my Instagram and Facebook feeds if you want to follow along. 🙂

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