A White Christmas

Here in my hometown of Madisonville we don't often have a beautiful, white Christmas! We have sleet, ice and on occassion snow that falls then immediatly melts when it hits the ground. But every once in a while we have a winter, wonder land of snowfall...and it's happening as I write this. It is beautiful and I almost missed it! LOL I've been working on my next book all afternoon and four hours ago, my son and daughter-in-law stopped by and as they were leaving it had started to sleet. Thinking the evening was just going to be miserable I went back to work. Little did I know it was snowing until my mother called and told me. Imagine my surprise when I walked out of my office and looked out my back door to white, snowy fields! Of course I immediatly pulled on my boots and gloves and went for a walk in the fields and the moonlight. It was such a lovely surprise, a gift from God to enjoy and I'm just happy I didn't miss it buried in work... :)

Merry Christmas!
Debra

A Few Fun Coincidences with Debbie Macomber

I'm a huge fan of author Debbie Macomber. She is such a wonderful author and person who writes fantastic books. Through the years I've gone to many workshops she has presented at conferences and like all authors out there can only hope to have small portion of a career such as hers. To touch so many lives in a positive way is truly inspiring.

Often I run over to her website debbiemacomber.com so I can see what she has coming out next or I read her blog. It's been a little while since I was there last and so yesterday when I dropped by I found out a new fun tidbit that we share. You see I publish under the name of Debra but all my friends call me Debbie. So we have that in common. Also, Debbie's husband's name is Wayne and my wonderful late husband's name was also Wayne. But wait--there's more. Last night I saw that Debbie and Wayne have a new puppy and they've named him Bogie! LOL this is a picture of my Bogie, he was my husband's puppy...he is even featured in my book Next Door Daddy. No they are not the same breed of dog but they are both adorable (my Bogie is a Chinese Shar Pei and Debbie's Bogie is a tiny mix of Pomeranian and Shih Tzu. ) I hope the Macomber's Bogie brings them as much joy as my Bogie has brought me :)

So as my good friend and fellow author Linda Goodnight says that is a really fun coinkydink! I love it and can't think of anyone whom I would like sharing such a fun coincidence with...hmmm, I wonder what her childrens names are? :)

Okay back to working on the latest Mule Hollow book. Be sure an keep an eye out for TEXAS RANGER DAD in April 2009. I'll be posting the cover soon!

Debra Clopton

You are invited! New blog Craftie Ladies of Romance

Hi Everyone!

Starting tomorrow I'll be posting on a regular basis on a new site that I'm starting with several of my fellow Love Inspired author friends. I'll still be posting here but at craftieladiesofromance.blogspot.com we hope to make it a bit more interactive. It will be a site celebrating faith, family,friends and fun. I hope you'll drop over. The first official post is tomorrow and it's my day to post. Each of us will post on a different day so there will always be something new going up on the site. Then on the 9th we will start our first contest The Twelve Days of Christmas with a twist! The authors of the new site will be me--Debra Clopton, Janet Tronstad, Lyn Cote, Lenora Worth, Linda Goodnight, Margaret Daley, Patricia Davids, Missy Tippins, Pamela Tracy, and Valerie Hansen.

I hope you'll stop by!
Debra

I hope everyone had a blessed Thanksgiving. I know I felt blessed to have my family with me. And I wanted to stop in and say that I'm also so blessed to have the support of so many of you who read my books. And I'm blessed to have such wonderful publishers and editors at Steeple Hill also. I couldn't let the day get completely away from me without saying thank you.
God bless!

Hi Everyone!

Boy has it been a busy summer. I've been writing furiously on the four Mule Hollow books that will be out in 09! So I've basically been a hermit and was more than ready to head off to San Francisco in July to the National Romance Writers of America conference. When I go to conference I'm like a kid in a candy store hanging out with my fellow Love Inspired authors, meeting with my editor and seeing readers. This was a wonderful conference in part because my good friend and fellow author Linda Goodnight won the Rita Award for Best Inspirational (the Rita is like winning the Oscar for romance writers so it was just a wonderful time for us) We are celebrating after the award in the above picture. Left to right Debby Giusti, Lenora Worth, Janet Dean, Missy Tippins, Linda Goodnight with Rita, behind her is Alley Pleiter, Me--Debra Clopton, Pamela Tracy who was also up for the award, and Merrillee Whren. If you real Love Inspired and Love Inspired Suspense then you will know all of them! They are a great bunch of ladies. After this picture was taken we headed up the elevator to the top of the Marriott so we could look out over the lights of SF. It was gorgeous!



Also, my book OPERATION: MARRIED BY CHRISTMAS was awarded Booksellers Best in the Inspirational category. I loved winning this award but was just happy to be nominated with such a wonderful group of talented authors. I was totally shocked when they called my name.





I came home and again disappeared as a deadline for one book was due and the proposal for another and I got them both finished just in time to head to Minneapolis Minnesota for the National conference of American Christian Fiction Writers just last week. It was a great conference and we had a huge book signing at the Mall of America with over a hundred Christian authors. And again, Linda Goodnight won The Book Of The Year in the Inspirational Category for the second year in a row, and my editor Krista Stroever won Editor of the Year for the second year in a row!



Now I'm home again and--you guessed it I'm buried in the 3rd book of next year with the deadline looming. But the book is looking good and I also just saw the cover for the two in one book I'm doing with Janet Tronstad for next year and can I say--IT IS BEAUTIFUL! Janet and I have really worked hard on these two novellas that will take two cousins on journeys to falling in love. My book takes place in Mule Hollow and Janet's takes place in Dry Creek so for all of you fans of the two series I really think you will enjoy this collaboration with Janet.

Okay it's back to work, God bless y'all!
Debra

Fun new Mule Hollow book by Debra Clopton! THE COWBOY TAKES A BRIDE

Hi Everyone!


I wanted to post about my new book that hits shelves in July. Many of you have already read it if you are a member of the book club and many of you have posted such nice things about it here on the blog or emailed me or sent it with a stamp. I just want you to know how much those letters and notes mean to me! This book was such fun to write but at the same time Sugar Rae Lenox really had a problem. She wanted her career so much that she was willing to do almost anything to make it happen...even if that meant ignoring the quiet urging of the Lord to give it up. Here is the blurb:





Small Town... Big Dreams
Sugar Rae Lenox is famous... in Mule Hollow. For wanting her name in lights on a Hollywood marquee. For wanting to leave. And for thinking the local matchmakers are might mistaken! Why applaud the attraction between her and a too-handsome cowboy with boots of lead?
Ross Denton lives on the outskirts of town on some dusty ranch. And the only place he wants to see his name is on a marriage certificate. So why isn't she singing and dancing away from that ranch? She can't possibly want a staring role in Ross's life as his bride... can she?



excerpt fromBy:Published by:Available:ISBN-13:ISBN-10:copyright:
The Cowboy Takes a BrideDebra CloptonLove Inspired - Steeple HillJuly, 2008 978-0-373-87490-30-373-87490-12008 by Debra Clopton


I'm not the best blogger out there, and have said to anyone who will listen that my God given talent is in writing fiction not real life...but I really want to share my thoughts with you today.



When I write a story it is my goal to put you as my reader in the story and to keep you reading as fast as possible. I try very hard to give you a completely entertaining story that will leave you smiling and wanting to come back and see my small crazy town of Mule Hollow. Many of you know that desire came from the fact that when my 47 year old husband died 5 years ago this coming July 5th that I needed to read something myself that would help me smile when I couldn't smile for myself. I had been trying to get published for 10 years but God's timing just hadn't been right. Three months after Wayne died I turned back to writing with the need to tell stories that would help others like me smile in their darkest hours. And that was when Mule Hollow came alive. The story had almost sold prior to that but something was missing and as I revised the book and inserted the faith element into the story I felt almost certain this time God's timing for my writing would be right. I submitted the book The Trouble With Lacy Brown to Love Inspired and they bought it. It was 7 months after my husband's death and God gave me a new purpose. In these five years I've missed my husband with all my heart but I know that God's plans are the only plans I want to follow because I know that I may not understand why something happens but I know He does.

I know it might seem like I'm rambling but God laid this on my heart and I feel like I should share it. You see, in my bio I state that I write what I do so that I can help others laugh in their darkest hour. And to be honest I still have a hard time getting through the last weeks of June leading up to July 5th. I don't know why the weeks prior are harder than the weeks after the day of my sweethearts death but it is. Yes I can happily say that Wayne's death was a homecoming and that one day I will see him again praise the Lord...but still, I miss him. And even though I have a wonderful full life and a fantastic writing career now and a true purpose the fact that I miss him is still there. Soooo what am I getting at well it is this. GOD knows our hearts and I just have to tell you that He has been using readers in the last two weeks to bless my soul. I have received many touching emails from readers telling me how much the Mule Hollow series has made them smile and many have shared the fact that my books have helped them in their own time of sorrow. It seems that I've especially received those type of letters from this story. And I needed to hear that. I needed to know that readers could watch a wacky, wanna be movie star and a reluctant cowboy fall in love and that the story could brighten your day. It really makes me smile to know that I've helped.

Thank you, everyone who has written YOU have touched my heart.

I think THE COWBOY TAKES A BRIDE is fun and touching love story and I hope if you haven't read it that you will and that you are smiling with your heart and you lips when you reach the last page!

I'll end this post like I end my Dear Reader letters.
Until next time, live, laugh and seek God with all your hearts,

Debra Clopton

Exciting News!

I'm so pleased! It is contest season for last years books. (A book can only be entered into a contest in the year after its publication copyright date so this is the reason you don't see current books listed as finalist or winners)

Anyway, I'm excited because I got the call on Friday that DREAM A LITTLE DREAM was given an Award of Merritt in the Holt Medalion Contest in the romantic comedy catagory! This means that it finaled but didn't win :( but still I'm just thrilled anytime my books final in a contest and the Holt is wonderful contest to final in. I chose to take a chance and enter this book in the romantic comedy catagory just to see how it would measure up against other books other than just Inspirational. I was very pleased to see it win an Award of Merritt.

But wait there's more! LOL. On Saturday I got the call that OPERATION:MARRIED BY CHRISTMAS is a finalist in the BOOKSELLERS BEST Contest in the Inspirational catagory! The winner will be anounced in July at the Romance Writers of America conference in San Francisco. This will be my first trip to SF so this will make it an extra special trip.

Whew!!! It's been crazy around here!

Hi everyone! Whew has it ever been crazy around my house. As you know I've been writing on the new books due out in 2009 so as always my life is crazy with deadlines (which I absolutely love--I do not like it with lag time inbetween) anyway, on top of that my youngest son got married!!! If you read the dedication of HER BABY DREAMS you see that I dedicated the book to my first daughter in law, Heidi. I got a bit ahead of the curve by dedicating that book to her since they didn't actually get married until April 19 but :) I was just so excited about it. So there is my excuse for not having been here to blog lately.

News about the books--hold on to your hats because Sugar Rae Lenox is coming to town in my July Mule Hollow book and it is a really fun book! I think you will enjoy it. I'll post the blurb later when I post the picture.

Also, just finished the following book that will come out in April of 09 and it's a bit different...:) in a good way.

And now I'm working on the June 09 book which is a 2-n-1 book which means I'm doing a book and Janet Tronstad who writes the Dry Creek series for Love Inspired is doing the other book!!! Janet and I are really excited about this and it has been in the works since July of last year. Both of our writing scedules were so full that we couldn't fit the book in until now but I really do believe it will be a really cool book. And of course my book is set in Mule HOllow and Janet's is set in Dry Creek. So stay tuned!!!

Celebrating!

It is now official!!! I've just signed a four book contract to continue my MULE HOLLOW SERIES with Love Inspired. I am so excited and feel blessed at the opportunity. These books will hit the bookshelves in 2009.

For 2008 I still have 2 books coming out so I hope you run right out and pick up copies and join in the fun. HER BABY DREAMS will be on the shelves across the country in April. It received 4 stars from Romantic Times magazine and also 4 stars from Cataromance.com This makes me smile--but my hope is that it makes YOU smile! As you know if you've read my bio at debraclopton.com making readers smile is my goal.

Don't you just love this sweet cover!!! I thought the art department did an outstanding job with this darling cover. HER BABY DREAMS has what I consider my most fun hero that I've ever created. Dan Dawson is a big ole flirt who wants to make you smile as much as I do...but he really wants to make my heroine Ashby Templeton smile. The only problem is she thinks he's just-- a "big ole flirt"--and that's the problem! :) Now, he's going to have to prove there's more to him than meets the eye.

I'm on deadline crunch right now with the first book in the new contract so I'll say goodnight. But please drop me a note I love hearing what you think!

Hello, I'm ducking in from deadline crunch to let everyone know that NEXT DOOR DADDY is indeed on shelves now! It just came to my attention that on my actual web page it is listed as a Feb release when it is actually a JANUARY release--goodness, all this time and I didn't catch that mistake. Thanks Sherrie for the heads up. I hope that hasn't messed too many of you up and you can catch it on shelves now. There is a lovely review of it over on cataromance.com if you want to read it. Okay, I've got to get back to finishing up a proposal for one of the my next books.
Also, just got the word that AND BABY MAKES FIVE won the Barclay Gold contest and NO PLACE LIKE HOME took 3rd in the same contest. I'd thought all the contest for 07 were over so it was a very nice end of the year surprise. Thank anyone and everyone who voted for them!