Check out the discussion we have going on “Ask Candy . . .” and “Ask Uncle Warney . . .” Better yet, chime in and post a question or comment!

Much to my surpise, with thanks to Melanie Theofiles, Language Arts teacher at Epworth Christian School, for taking the initiative to submit this, the following appeared in yesterday’s Delaware State News. What a GREAT group of students, the first to study Gavin from cover to cover.

In 2003, Nancy Rue offered a mentoring clinic for beginners who were serious about writing young adult fiction. I submitted an application and was among eight accepted into the weekend retreat. Since then, the group has grown to eleven members from seven states (DE, IL, MD, NJ, NY, PA, and TN) who have bonded into a critique group that prays for and nurtures one another throughout the year. Last weekend the “Writeen Crue” had their best-ever semi-annual retreat. Brenda and Ron Ulman hosted the Crue at their lovely home in Gambrills, MD, the Crue’s fifth time there, and one of the highlights was Pam Halter’s “Dwarf Feast” on Saturday night, featuring “red meat off the bone” (grilled ribs) and Cornish hens which she insisted we eat with our fingers to stay in character (she’s writing a series about fairies and dwarfs and other fantasy creatures).

My husband Drew snapped this picture as the weekend came to a close. That’s me (Candy) on the left and Nancy Rue on the right. She’s planning to post this picture on her website to promote Gavin. Hey, there’s an idea for anybody who has a website . . . let’s take lots of pictures and put our smiling faces and Gavin Goodfellow all over the place!

Visit “Ask Candy” and check out the great discussion we have going with the 8th grade students at Epworth Christian School. Feel free to chime in and let us know which character you think is best developed and why.

Although I still have a good supply of Gavin Goodfellow: The Lure of Burnt Swamp on hand at home, the warehouse is almost empty, so the first reprint of book one is underway! Bookstores may still have a small supply in stock, but if you know of anyone who is looking for Gavin and can’t find him, please refer them to “Fennemore’s Dollar Store” on this web site. I’ll be delighted to fill the order pronto!

Book two, Gavin Goodfellow: The Gathering at Burnt Swamp, is well underway! I thought you might enjoy periodic reports on how things are going. My current goal is to have two chapters done by Wednesday to send to my mentoring group, the  Writeen Crue, in advance of our retreat in Maryland, Jan. 18-20. I’m up to page 16 on my goal of 20 pages . . . but I’m such a slow writer. One of these days I hope to be able to “free write” and let the creative process flow (I guess it’s the “secretary” in me that insists on editing as I write). But it seems I am tuned in to the Holy Spirit’s nudges.

A neat thing happened with my husband, Drew, this morning as I was trying to think up a hand signal Bea Daark could use to get her coven to repeat after her, “Be still my heart.” I was telling him that I didn’t know if it should be a fist, open palm, etc., or how I should describe it. He tried placing his hand in a few positions and we decided we might run into trouble if the method we chose means something in sign language. I no sooner got back to my computer to research hand signals on the Internet when he came into my office all excited. He had picked up the newspaper and his eyes fell on the words in an article that said, “hand over heart.” I think the Lord was confirming I’m on the right track but not to complicate it. So I’m going with a simpIe “hand over her heart.” It’s fun to see hubby and God chiming in together to lead me down the right path.

Hi! This is the author, Candy Abbott. If you have any trivia questions about the book or want to know more about me or my writing, fire away! It will be great to get some discussion going.

Greetings, young saints . . . or maybe you’re somebody who feels like you’re carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders. This is your friend, Dexter. It would be my honor to help in any way I can, especially if you’re interested in finding Scriptures that are relevant to your questions or concerns. So, what do you say? Let’s get acquainted. I’m here for you.

Howdy, this is yer favorite Uncle Warney. If’n ya got somethin’ on yer mind, I got a heap o’ wisdom ta share. Come on, spit it right out. Don’t be shy. No matter how tough or how silly ya think yer question is, even if I cain’t come up with an answer ta suit, ya can always count on muh prayers.

Yo, guys. What’s up? Your pal, Eric.

Hello girlfriends, this is Molly. I thought maybe we could keep this post for girls only. Do you have any questions for me? If I don’t know the answers, I’ll do some research and get right back to you.

Hey kids, this is Gavin. What’s on your mind?

On 1/3/07 Jean Pence from Mount Carmel Christian Church in Meadowview, VA, wrote: I began reading “Gavin” to my class last night at church. They love it! They are completely hooked. I asked why they thought God had Gavin eating a book.  One young lady said, “I think it’s like being baptized.” I expanded on that and talked about how being baptized was getting ready to follow God, etc.  I thought that was a neat insight. Another wanted to know if the donkey was Balaam’s donkey. :) We only read chapter one but had a lot of discussion, and we ate dried apricots, Granny Smith Apples and 7-up (as in Gavin’s vision). They all left class saying they had “eaten a book”.

My mentor and dear friend Nancy Rue is co-authoring “the Sullivan Crisp Series” with Stephen Arterburn, founder of New Life Ministries, and I just finished reading book one, “Healing Stones.” Although Nancy has written tons of books for tweens (The Lily Series, The Sophie Series, The Christian Heritage Series, etc.), this is her latest adult book; set on a the campus of a Christian college, the plot is based on John 8. Nancy is a gifted novelist who senses the heartbeat of God and has a knack for holding up a mirror for readers to see things about themselves they may not have known were there. I highly recommend “Healing Stones” to anyone who believes in forgiveness, and if kids are not familiar with her tween writing, click on one of the above links and look around.