The Heart of Humor--Your Opinion Needed

 

By the time you read this, I'll be home from the Montrose Christian Writers Conference, for which I'm leading four workshops and one roundtable discussion.

And pitching my newest book to editors there ( please see my pitch below). 

"Welcome to a vacation from stress, worry, and global whining. Learn the secrets of how laughter can help you live longer, deepen your relationships, and find your keys without changing purses or moving. 

The Heart of Humor: Sixty Helpings of Hilarity to Nourish Your Soul is a 17,000 word compilation of 45 hilarious stories like Quit Pinching my Fruit and Swimsuit Shopping Stress. Nestled among the stories are comical drawings by a professional animator, articles, and lists that show you the benefits of laughter such as Got Pain? Laugh it away and Everybody Loves Dummies. 

This delightful book will give you hours of amusement, scores of ideas to add laughter to your life, and encouragement to trust a God with the sense of humor that gives a 90-year-old a baby.  

My writing credits include: 

• Bestselling book, Two Scoops of Grace with Chuckles on Top,
• A bi-weekly newspaper column since 2001;
• Devotions for CBN.com, The Upper Room, Christiandevotions.us, and Light from the Word;  
• Articles in Vista, The Christian Communicator, Country, and Birds and Blooms magazines;
• Stories in Bethany House, Oak Tara and Guideposts anthologies; and
• Greeting card verses for Leanin’ Tree."

This is where you come in. I'd love your opinion on the following:

 

If you were an editor at a writers conference seeking new material, would you ask for the proposal to this book?

As a reader looking for exciting, fun books, would you want to read this book?

And do you think I should change the title to Laughter ala Mode or Chuckles ala Mode?

Thanks for your input!

Pitch for a Prize: Win a Novel!

Help me with my pitch, I'll send you a prize--what can be more fun?

In three weeks, I'll be attending the Greater Philadelphia Christian Writers Conference, and I need help with one of the two books I'll be pitching.

Please read the pitch below and offer any suggestions for tightening and improving it. The three friends who give the most helpful suggestions will receive a Christian novel as a Thank You Prize. You may either post your suggestions here, or email me at jeanettelevellie(at)gmail(dot)com.

Pitch: When You Need a Prayer

 

Need a prayer? I’m likely to drop whatever I’m reading, buying, or munching on, grab your hand and pray for you, right here and now. Thirty-five years of marriage to a pastor and a heart for broken souls has equipped me to pray and write audacious yet Biblically based prayers, with remarkable, miraculous results for women unable to conceive children, people diagnosed with life-threatening physical diseases, and those with sicknesses of the soul.

A warm, insightful gift book of 60 prayers for friends in crisis, When You Need a Prayer will strengthen and encourage readers through their darkest times. Titles include “When Your Parent Is near Death,” “When You are Ready to Give Up on Your Dream,” “When Your Baby is Sick,” “When You’re Tempted to Condemn Yourself,” and “When Forgiveness Seems Impossible.”

When You Need a Prayer speaks to Christian women in crisis needing reassurance of a God interested in their deepest hurts. They need confidence in their value to the Lord. They long to live free of torment, worry and stress.

Readers will find their hearts opening to believe the Lord’s willingness to help and heal their pain. They will gain a new understanding of the Biblical basis for praying with bold assurance. They will be encouraged, strengthened, and comforted as God lifts them from the brokenness of their souls to the wholeness of His embrace.

When used as devotional readings, the Spirit-led prayers supported by Biblical truths offer courage, hope and a fresh glimpse of the Lord’s deep love. The book also serves ministry leaders, pastor’s wives, and caring friends as a handbook of specific prayers for other’s needs. Use When You Need a Prayer as a guide to pray for friends in crisis. The sixty topical petitions may serve as a springboard for deeper intercession, or can stand alone.

When You Need a Prayer is a glimpse into the bottomless heart of a faithful God, a powerful tool to help seekers find the perfect words in the midst of their brokenness, and a dare to believers to ask for more than they’ve ever imagined.

Contest ends at noon, Thursday, July 21. I will post the winners here on Friday the 22nd. Thank you in advance for helping me do my best at this conference.

Love you!

A Contest!!!

Win a Prize by Critiquing my Verbal Pitches!!!

I have been working on my verbal pitches for the Write to Publish conference June 3-6, and I need help!!! At the conference I attended in November, I was so clueless I sat and chitchatted with both editors I met with, until they finally asked how they could help me! (It must have been okay, because I’ve since sold five articles to one of them!)

This time I want to be prepared, and you can be part of my victory. Please take a look at the two pitches below, and then post a critique. It could be helpful criticism or suggestions for changes. Anything that may improve the pitches, making them shine.

For the top five critiques, I will send you a package of 75 bright yellow Super Sticky Post it notes. These are the real deal, from 3M, not the generic brand. For the #1 best critique, in addition to the Post-it notes I will send a set of two lovely “pink ribbon” Uni-ball gel pens. Part of the proceeds from the sale of these pens goes to help breast cancer research.

You have until 6:15 p.m., Central time Thursday to post. I will declare the winners on my Friday post. Thank you in advance for your kind help!

Here they are:

The first book, already completed and in the final stages of editing, is a devotional entitled God Is Bigger: Custom Made Grace for Hope Starved Hearts. It is a compilation of seventy articles, totaling approximately 175 pages. The articles are taken from my inspirational/humor column published over the last eight years in my local newspaper, with a readership of over 5,000. God Is Bigger offers a lighthearted look at God’s grace in four different areas: What we think of God, What we think of ourselves, What we think of others, and What we think of life’s challenges. My writing style is warm, homey, humorous and uplifting. Filled with funny and touching stories gleaned from my life and others’, along with truths from the Word, God Is Bigger offers hope for discouraged hearts.



My Work in Progress is titled, The Secret Life of a Preacher’s Wife. It is a humorous look at life behind the parsonage walls. I use my thirty-four years of experiences and stupid mistakes as a springboard for encouraging anyone who is in ministry, about to enter ministry, or simply curious about life as a pastor’s spouse. Secret Life is not a teaching book, but a homey, humorous look at what I did wrong and right, along with insights to help others on the ministry path. Some of the chapters are “When the Fishbowl Needs Cleaning,” “Can Preachers Have Sex on Sunday?” and “True Confessions of a Hypocrite.”


With a goal of 50,000, the book is 15% finished.