Hello my Peeps,

BIG NEWS!!! I've got some big news to share with you. It's something that happened just a few weeks ago. But before I get to that, I better catch you up on other things in my life.

EIGHT MONTHS! That's how long it's been since I sent out a newsletter update. I'm so sorry for not touching base on a monthly basis like I said I would. I've thought about it, knowing I needed to say hello to you, my faithful followers, but I just haven't been able to find the inertia. For the first couple of months of 2022, I was unusually sad. Oh I still saw joy in life. I still smiled and laughed and sang. I wrote, but not much because there was an undercurrent of feeling low that I couldn't understand and that seemed to prevent me from doing what I should be doing as a writer and author.

I DID write to help process the sadness. And out of that writing came a poem titled, "The Visitor," which I then turned into a blogpost. It's about what I've been struggling with--YET, there's HOPE. There's ALWAYS hope! If you're interested in my poem and blogpost, here's the link:

Also, if you're interested in reading more of my writing, here's the link to my blog: https://www.conniemaeinglis.ca/blog

BUT GOD!

But God has remained and continues to remain faithful, gracious and kind. One of my March highlights was the birth of granddaughter #4, Calla Jean McDougall. What a joy and shear delight she is. I'm so thankful that Doug and I have already spent hours getting to know this little precious one. Here's a picture of us with Calla and her two older sisters on our family camping trip in July:

God has also been good to me in my author world and has given me opportunities to share about my book. In December I spoke at a ladies Christmas brunch for a church here in Edmonton. It was a great opportunity to talk about my book and share some of my own personal story with a focus on hope--ALWAYS HOPE!

In April, I expanded my author horizons. I had the privilege of leading four different writing workshops for four different age groups of school kids on three different topics in two libraries in Northern Alberta and I LOVED it! I forgot how much I enjoyed teaching. Here I am, leading a workshop at the La Glace library for grade 6-8 students:

Also, this fall, I'm leading a workshop at a writers conference here in Edmonton. This workshop will focus on the importance of good dialogue. The title of the workshop is, "Good dialogue tells a good story."

After realizing that I do enjoy speaking and leading workshops, I decided to create a one-page speaker sheet to make people/libraries/church groups/organizations aware of my availability in this area. So, my peeps, I'm letting you know that if you have an event coming up and you're looking for a speaker OR if you or someone you know would like to host a writers' workshop OR if you know your local library would be interested in a visit from me, please look at my speaker sheet and give me a shout.

Speaker/workshop leader availability (pdf):

Please note, as well, that I'm not limited to the topic list on my speaker sheet. The list just gives you an idea of my focus. But I'm happy to speak/teach on other ministry-related or author-related topics as well. My email contact information is at the bottom of the sheet but I'll give it to you here too: inglis.connie@gmail.com

I'd love to hear from you!

BIG NEWS!!!

And now for the big news: On July 19th, Rewriting Adam received some Canada-wide recognition!

My novel made the short list (is a finalist) in the speculative fiction category for The Word Guild, a Canada-wide organization promoting many genres of writing done by Christians across our country. My novel is one of two books in this category. I am both honoured and humbled by this recognition and by all the positive response and accolades given me and my novel. Again, all I can say is, BUT GOD! Even in my present inertia, He remains faithful!

I'll know the final outcome in mid-September. But until then, I'll bask in the joy of being given this award. It's nice when others acknowledge your work, especially when those others are people you don't even know.

SHARE MY BOOK!

I can't say that I've sold all the books I had printed, but that's okay. I'm in it for the long haul.

But I WILL say, that I've enjoyed a lot of positive feedback from you, my readers, about my novel. That makes my heart sing! So please, if you enjoyed my book, then pass it along. Share it with a friend, a family member, or even a stranger. I didn't write my book to make loads of money. I wrote my book to share the message of hope--to let people know that there's always opportunity for healing, restoration, and redemption. That the Trinity lives among us! If you read my book and it spoke to you, then pass the message on to someone else. You never know who needs it (Though Melody does. Hehehe!)