Lines from Linda

Welcome to Lines from Linda (archives)!

All posts from Lines from Linda, the former blog of Linda Fulkerson, have been archived to this location. To visit Linda's new site, please go to this link: http://lindafulkerson.com. Thank you!

Look before You Leap!

Unfortunately, I've learned that the phrase "for Dummies" is trade-marked. I should have looked it up before registering a domain with the name Blog Tips for Dummies. So, I won't be starting that site at this time.

Coming Soon!

A new site: Blog Tips for Dummies. (Yes, this was inspired & titled from my own experience!) The site isn't even far enough along to be called "under construction" at this point. In fact, if it were a building, I'd be posing with a shovel full of dirt. I'll let you know when there's something more than a "Coming Soon!" sign posted.

A Man of Faith

The 2008 Presidential Campaign is well underway, and I wanted to announce my support of whom I believe to be the best candidate for the job--Mike Huckabee.

Wish Me Luck! (Please?)

Those of you who know me well, know that I'm not particularly adventurous. Canoing in still, shallow waters with life vest in tact is about as daring as my life gets, so I'm a bit nervous about my latest undertaking.

I'm launching a column. That's right. Me, whose comfort zone is 15 inches from my Mac's monitor, will shortly be sending out query packets to 1oo newspaper editors scattered throughout Arkansas and a few neighboring states. Probably on Monday, if I finish updating the first volley's database this weekend.

The column, which some of you are familiar with, is Overweight & Underorganized. During the past few weeks, I've totally re-designed the web site, polished four sample columns, developed a "Creator/Client" contract, written a query letter, designed a one sheet, and developed a database, which is "not quite" ready for the mail merge. I also designed a logo, letterhead, and matching return address labels. It's been a lot of work, but a lot of fun, too.

I hope this launch goes well, because I dropped out of NaNoWriMo to prepare for it. If you have time, I'd love for you to stop by Overweight & Underorganized and let me know what you think of the columns. When I wiped the site's brain of the old design, I (oops!) lost the old comments, so now my posts are commentless. I'd be so grateful if my cyberfriends would take a few minutes to read a post or two and leave some sort of positive (or not) remark in order to impress potential subscribers. No bribes, just a request for those who may be incredibly bored this weekend.

You can peek at the One Sheet on the OU web site by clicking on the "Media" tab. If you'd like to see this column in your local newspaper, please contact me and I'll send a packet to your editor.

Thanks so much for your help & support during my new endeavor!

Robin’s Blog Tour

My friend Robin Miller (writing as Robin Caroll) is launching a Blog Tour to celebrate the release of her first novel this month, Bayou Justice published by Steeple Hill.

Here are the stops--be sure to stop by as many as you can. Robin is a great storyteller & Bayou Justice is an awesome book!

Oct 1 Ronie Kendig will be reviewing Bayou Justice on her blog http://supernaturalcraving.blogspot.com/

Oct 2 Heather Diane Tipton will host Robin on her blog as she discusses her spiritual journey http://heatherdianetipton.blogspot.com

Oct 3 Camy Tang hosts Robin as she discusses southern cooking and how Robin used that to “flavor” the setting of Bayou Justice http://camys-loft.blogspot.com/

Oct 4 Linda Fulkerson will interview Robin on her blogs http://linesfromlinda.com and http://fictionfundamentals.com

Oct 5 Girls Write Out is hosting Robin and allowing her to gab with the girls on their blog http://girlswriteout.blogspot.com

Oct 6 Cara Putnam is featuring Robin on her blog http://carasmusings.blogspot.com

Oct 7 Ane Mulligan will host Robin on her blog www.anemulligan.blogspot.com

Oct 8 Cynthia Hickey is featuring Robin on her blog http://cynthiahickey.blogspot.com/

Oct 9 Dineen Miller hosts Robin on her blog http://dineenmiller.blogspot.com/

Oct 10 Novel Journey is interviewing Robin www.noveljourney.blogspot.com

Oct 11 Pam Meyers will feature Robin on her blog http://pammeyerswrites.blogspot.com/

Oct 12 Tracey Aaron (Robin's best bud extraordinaire) will feature Robin on her space! http://blog.myspace.com/traceygayle

Oct 13 Sabrina Fox-Butcher is hosting Robin on her blog www.sabrinalfox.blogspot.com

Oct 14 Pammer James is featuring Robin on her blog http://pammer.blogspot.com/

No One’s Home…

You have reached the blog of Linda Fulkerson. Linda is away from her blog due to the ACFW Conference in Dallas. Please leave a message and she will get back to you as soon as possible. Thank you!

Frustration…

I think if it weren't for kids & computers, I probably wouldn't have to color my hair. Oh, yes, I love them all--but if you have either in your life, you understand. The kids will leave for college soon. (I know, I know--I'll MISS them!) But, unfortunately, the computers aren't going anywhere. Except the brain dead one from my office, that is.

But Linda, you say, I thought you had a Mac! Yes. I do. At home. And there's a bit of frustration in that arena, too, but Mr. Mac isn't at fault. My ISP changed hands and the smtp server needs a new password to authenticate outgoing mail. I keep forgetting to contact said ISP and obtain a password, therefore I cannot send outgoing mail from my regular account. But I do have .mac and gmail for such times as these. A minor inconvenience, which I hope to remedy tomorrow.

So, what's the REAL frustration? My office PC died. Yes, died. The computer repair genius from our town said it's a hopeless case PLUS--he can't retrieve ANY data. :( This means, of course, that four years of my life are gone. Well, except the things on my flash drive, which is a lot, actually. But not everything. I plan to take the thing to another computer repair genius person tomorrow and see if he can help. Oh, and my dad got me a great present--an external hard drive. Woo-hoo! (Thanks, Dad!)

In the meantime, I'm acquainting myself with Vista and the new Microsoft Office 2007 suite. Plus I got a cool 19" flat screen in the package deal. I guess that's why they make credit cards...

Anyway, tomorrow we'll get back on track with another great guest blogger. And then, Lord willing, either Thursday or Friday I'll post the next segment of Robin Miller's character class.

Until then...happy writing!

ACFW Conference Registration is OPEN!

Conference registration for the annual American Christian Fiction Writers conference opened this morning. If you'd like to know more about the ACFW conference, a blog tour is in progress that will give information from a variety of perspectives.

I joined this organization shortly before the very first conference was held. The group had just under 300 members at the time. Today, more than 1300 Christian fiction writers belong to ACFW. It's a great organization for instruction, networking, friendship, encouragement, and prayer.

What’s Happ’nin’?

If you're wondering about the ever-changing appearance of my site, no, it's not you. It's me. Or rather, it's me attempting to find a WordPress theme I like. Actually, I like a lot of them. It's finding one that best suits this site that is the challenge. So, I've been changing them around a bit. Okay, quite a bit. And I've found yet another one I like, however, it needs some code work before it'll be "just right." So, please bear with me. Thanks for your patience!

Now that I've explained that little issue, here's what else is happening. In June, I'll be reviving my old "Wednesday is Friends' Day" topic. Some great guest bloggers are scheduled: Jill Elizabeth Nelson, Tricia Goyer, Cyndy Salzmann, and Linda Windsor--all outstanding authors with new books you'll want to read!