Tosca Lee Researching Book Number Three

Tosca is the award-winning author responsible for two Christian Fiction books, Demon: A Memoir and Havah: The Story of Eve.

The members of FCCW were in awe last Thursday night as Tosca Lee shared her writing experience and expertise.  Tosca's first book, Demon, challenged some of the Christian community with its unsettling title and cover.  "I wanted it to gain attention," Tosca said.  "I wanted people to think when they saw it." Demon is the account of history before the earth’s creation to the present day, as narrated by a fallen angel.

A management consultant, Tosca was driving home one day when the idea for Demon came to her.  At the time, she planned to complete a book about a woman warrior.  Demon’s story, however, did not let her rest until she completed the work.  Writing passionately for three months, the book was finished but did not sell for five years until she rewrote what was essentially a monologue into more traditional narrative form.  This doubled the length of the book—and won her a multi-book deal from NavPress.

As Demon went to press, Tosca was immediately under time constraints to complete the second book.  After six months of research and another six of writing, she completed Havah.  "Heinous and grievous," Tosca informed us.  "The first draft is always heinous." Havah, a retelling of Eve’s story, required expansive research or order to provide the known details regarding life back then.

She is now preparing to write her third book.

Tosca, the runner-up for Mrs. USA in 1998, is extremely approachable and human!  She answered our questions and had us sitting on the edge of our seats for more.  Her intelligence and creativity are obvious and alluring.

Her advice to writers: approach agents or editors with a stunning query. 

By Cyndi Rice, FCCW VP of Education

Cudd Writes to Help You Sell Your Home

Chrissie Cudd encourages writers to write about things they know and do. This is just what she did with her latest book.

First Coast Christian Writers was honored to have speaker Crissie Cudd, accomplished Realtor® and author, during their weekly meeting on May 14^th, 2009. Her story presented the possibility of writing in our own areas of expertise for the benefit of others. For Crissie, this area is Real Estate. Though Crissie Cudd has worked in real estate for all of her adult life, she has been writing for even longer. Her first book, A Day in Outer Space, was written when she was only four.

As she grew up, her love of writing continued until, as a young mother, she wrote children’s stories for her own daughter. Later, while living in Naples, Florida, she also began writing letters to the editor of the local newspaper, which eventually led to writing well received articles in the same paper. Chances are good that you have read her real estate advice in the past, because she has published over a dozen articles for the internet’s “Total Real Estate Solutions”. Many of her high demand articles have been reprinted and are now posted all over the World Wide Web.

Little did Crissie know that the Real Estate market would take the terrible downturn it has taken over the past few years, and that it would become, for many, easier to sell a house in outer space than in today’s market. But, guess what – Crissie can sell, has sold and is selling houses, even now. There are secrets to selling in a tough market, and Crissie has revealed them in her latest book, Sell Your Home in a Tough Market Now. Sell now? That’s right – now. Like many other homeowners, I have personally wondered if now is a good time to sell, or if I should wait for a better day that might not come. Crissie has given me quite a sparkle of hope.

Originally intended to be an article, four months and many hours later the ‘article’ emerged as this timely book. The tried and true tips and professional advice presented in the book apply to every single economic level of housing sales in the current market, but will apply even if the market changes. How grateful we are to Crissie for sharing her interesting and encouraging story with us, and how thankful we are that she has taken the time to record such invaluable economic help. Sell Your Home in a Tough Market Now can be purchased at either Amazon.com or Barnes and Noble.

Click here for Crissie's blog.

Click here for Crissie's website I Coach the Best.

By Claudia Barrington, FCCW Member

Thomason Encourages Writers to Get Feedback

Bruce Thomason’s career in law enforcement began as a dispatcher in 1967. 

In different jobs across three states there isn’t much that Bruce has not experienced--good and bad.  Yet, Bruce described the powerful feeling surrounding the privilege of serving citizens throughout his career.

Bruce’s first novel, Body Toll, is an action-packed cop thriller about a serial killer set in our very own oceanfront community of Jacksonville Beach.  Bruce shared that it took seven months to write the book.  Once Bruce began writing, ideas and stories from his lengthy career poured out more quickly than he could write, so he began recording his stories. 

Bruce shared his tips for both self publishing along and editing your manuscript.  While Bruce’s experience with self-publishing was a positive experience, he hopes to publish his next book with a major publisher. 

The single most important tip Bruce stressed to the group was to have a good editor.  Whether it’s a professional editor, friend or relative, it’s extremely important to receive straightforward constructive feedback.

Once you read, Body Toll you can look forward to reading Bruce’s second novel, The 6 O’clock Rule.

By Linda Harvey, FCCW Member