Monday, June 24, 2013

Carol Kent and Jeanette Windle are Winners on my Writing/Speaking Journey

Write and speak were never on my life's to-do list. But God had other plans. I thank Him for people He places on my path as I journey.

On my way, I learned of an organization called AWSA which stands for the Advanced Writers and Speakers Association.  What a delight these women are in my life as we encourage each other to be the best writer and speaker for the glory of God. If you want to grow in your writing and speaking skills, I recommend this organization of the 300 top Christian women communicators who both publish books and speak around the country. See www.AWSA.com

AWSA's annual conference was held last weekend with the Golden Scroll Banquet awards being a highlight.

My face burst in smiles when I read the names of the Golden Scroll Award winners. Two of them   had a major impact on my writing/speaking life. I'm thrilled they were recognized for their hearts for writing, speaking, encouraging, and equipping others to write and speak for the glory of God.

 
Carol Kent received the AWSA Member of the Year Golden Scroll Award. Carol isn't content enjoying her own success as a writer/speaker, she has a passion to train others to communicate Christ to the masses. I attended her Speak Up conference (www.Speakupspeakerservices.com) where she taught, trained, mentored, and critiqued me. Four days with Carol and her staff were the most spiritually profitable days of my life. Thank you, Carol and Gene, for your love and encouragement to me over the years. Thank you for believing in and endorsing We All Married Idiots. Twenty-five people in the last five months have accepted Christ through my speaking ministry. I don't know if that would be so without Carol Kent in my life.

Jeanette Windle's book Congo Dawn won the Gold Scroll Award for Novel of the Year. Congratulations, my friend.

I met Jeanette at the Greater Philadelphia Christian Writer's Conference. She was the first  writer/editor to look at my new manuscript We All Married Idiots. One of the scariest moments in a writer's life is handing your work to a professional for their critique. I sat and watched Jeanette as she read Idiots. Smiles. Laughter. And then she spoke, "This is great! This will be published!" Those beautiful words played in my head as rejection after rejection came from publishers (rejections are the story of a writer's life, you know). Thank you, Jeanette, for your encouragement to me to keep submitting my manuscript until it reached the right publisher at the right time.

There are lots of people who splash serenity in life. Carol and Jeanette are two of mine. They truly are Golden Scroll Award winners!

 I'd love to know who encouraged you on your writing/speaking journey?


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2 comments:

  1. Elaine,

    Congratulations to both these amazing women. I'm thankful for your obedience to God as you model all you've learned from both. All three of you are true witnesses of the women of God we're called to be.

    In Christ's Love,
    Lisa M Buske
    http://LisaMBuske.com

    ReplyDelete
  2. Lisa, What joy to mentor you a bit on your journey as well. I'd have you on my writer's hall of fame because you challenge me to be all I can be for Christ. Thank you!

    Love you,
    Elaine

    ReplyDelete

I would love hearing from you! Thanks for sharing!