What's New from author Gail Gaymer Martin October 2011 via @gailgmartin

What's New?  From Author  Gail  Gaymer Martin  October 2011 September was a crazy month as I traveled on back to back trips. First I was on staff at the North Texas Christian Writers Conference in Fort Worth and enjoyed meeting many attendees who are working toward perfecting their writing and most longing to be a published author. When I returned home, I had one day's preparation to leave for St. Louis for the American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) annual conference where we celebrated its 10th Anniversary.   The organization was founded one year earlier in 2000. I am a co-founder along with five other women seen in the photo above, and I serve on the Advisory Board. Left to right: Me, Andrea Boeshaar, Tracie Peterson, Lynn Coleman, DiAnn Mills and Brandilyn Collins (also the Emcee). We had a great day filled with planning ACFW's future and during the conference, I attended workshops, served as a mentor for new writers, and spent time enjoying my writer friends and meeting new ones. Our Award Gala on Saturday evening found members dressed up in top-hats (see the photo of my writing buddy, Randy Ingermanson), some in kilts, fantasy costumes and evening wear. We had a great time. I did come home to face a root canal, having to visit urgent care on Saturday morning due to the swelling and pain. I'm doing well now and the root canal will be completed on Tuesday of this week. My proposal for the last book in my contract, Waiting For You, is on my editor's desk, and I received some interesting news that two of my older novels with a Christmas focus will be released this year. Upon A Midnight Clear, my first novel with Love Inspired in 2000, will be available next month. Here's a link http://www.harlequin.com/storeitem.html?iid=24427 that will show you the cover and back cover blurb. If you check periodically, the book should be available for purchase or look for it in the stores this month. Another re-release in November will be With Christmas In His Heart, which was released first in 2006 and is set on the romantic Michigan Mackinac Island. Both of these books won national awards. Now I'm working on new projects, catching up on my travels, and preparing for a writers' retreat in another week. I'm in rehearsal for the wonderful Detroit Lutheran Concerts and you can read a little about it and see our photo (I'm second from the right in the front row) at www.gailmartin.blogspot.com A Family Of Their Own is no longer in stores, but always available on Amazon and other Internet bookstores, but keep your eyes open for Small Town Christmas which was praised by Romantic Times, saying it has strong characters and touching scenes. I hope you enjoy this novel which I loved writing. You'll see a link below to pre-order if you are interested.   Christmas Gifts  a duet novel from Love Inspired including Gail's novel,  A Small Town Christmas November 2011 Click to pre-order Dreams Come True    Book 1 A Dad Of His Own  Love Inspired March 2011   Order Here       Book 2 A Family Of Their Own Love Inspired September 2011 Order Here   Book 3 A Dream Of His Own  Love Inspired Coming in June 2012 STILL AVAILABLE    Dad In Training           Click here to purchase  Groom In Training      Click here to purchase Bride In Training         Click here to purchase Monterey Memories    Click here to purchase      2011 APPEARANCES, TRAVEL AND EVENTS October 8 - 12 Writer's Retreat Cruise from Miami, FL to the Caribbean. October 16, Sunday - Detroit Lutheran Singers - two concerts (Details forthcoming) October 27 - 30, American Christian Writers Conference, Phoenix, AZ Held at Grace Inn Ahwatukee. Presenting multiple workshops and keynote address. November 13, Writers on the River, Monroe County Library System, 3700 S. Custer, Monroe, MI from noon to 3 PM. Meet over 40 authors, book signings, and gift basket raffle. RECIPE YORKSHIRE PUDDING The interesting part of this recipe is that Yorkshire Pudding is not a pudding, but a tasty bread or popover that offers your family and friends an amazing treat and makes your favorite beef roast a special occasion. Prepare your favorite beef roast, but make sure you add enough water to create a good amount of drippings for gravy and also for the Yorkshire Pudding. When the roast has another 20 to 25 minutes to bake, you will use some of the drippings to make this wonderful treat to add to your meal. Though it sounds complicated, it's worth every minute. Yorkshire Pudding Recipe The batter for this is best prepared a day ahead; one less thing to do on cooking day is always great. The recipe below can be doubled for a larger group. A single recipe makes 7-8 popovers or fills one 9x9" square pan, serving 7 or so. Ingredients: 3/4 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 tsp salt 1 teaspoon baking powder 3 eggs, room temperature 3/4 cup milk, room temperature 1/2 cup pan drippings from beef roast Mix eggs and milk until light and foamy. In a separate bowl, mix together flour, baking powder and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the egg/milk mix, stirring just until smooth; it will be a thin batter. Cover with plastic wrap, refrigerate at least 2 hours, or overnight. To bake, first preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Pour the cooked meat drippings into the baking pan or muffin tins of choice. For popovers, use at least 1 teaspoon of meat drippings in the bottom of each. Heat the pan in the oven for about 5 minutes, getting the drippings smoking hot. Carefully take the hot pan out of the oven. Whisk the refrigerated batter to add some air; quickly pour the batter into the hot pan, on top of the hot drippings. (If using a popover or muffin pan, fill each popover 1/3 full.) Bake in the 450 degree oven until puffed and dry, about 15-20 minutes. Remove from oven and serve hot. Enjoy. GAIL'S FREE BOOK CONTEST DRAWING  The winner of the September free autographed book and small gifts is Sara from Tennessee. The free book drawings are held six times a year: January, March, May, July, September, and November, offering you six opportunities to win, but you must sign the guestbook for each drawing. The next drawing will be in November, so please drop by www.gailmartin.com and look in the boxed area for the Read and Sign My Guestbook. I love to hear from you. SHARE THIS NEWSLETTER If you have friends or family who love to read, please share this newsletter, and invite your friends to subscribe for all the monthly news. DO YOU HAVE A NEW EMAIL ADDRESS? When you change email addresses, please don't forget to re-subscribe to this newsletter with your new email address. You can delete the old or you can let it stay and it will be deleted automatically by Ezine Director who manages my newsletter account. FAITH THOUGHT As we approach the holiday season of All Saints Day, Thanksgiving, Advent and Christmas, we begin to think of family and friends, and those people who may be in heaven who impacted us while they were on earth. These special days open our eyes to hospitality and how we enjoy others' company, but as well, how we touch each other in word and deed. The Bible has many verses on hospitality. It reminds us in Hebrew 13:2: Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it. But we also show love and affection to those we know, and we share with them when they have hard times. If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?1 John 3:17. While we can, tell those we love and those who have shown us kindness and generosity that we are grateful for all they've done. Sometimes we wait too long and our thoughts of kindness slip from our minds or our actions are covered by our busy schedules. Or death parts us before we have a chance. We are God's children, his footsteps on earth, and we can open our doors, our wallets, and our hearts to all those in need. Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me." Matt 25:40 May God's loving hand rest upon you and Jesus' open arms wrap around you. Blessings.                                   Gail