Highlights of ICRS 2013

My heart is so full, my brain so stimulated, and my body so wiped out that it’s taking me a few days to process our experience at the International Christian Retail Show 2013. I had hoped to recap the event nightly during our stay, but the night before leaving for St. Louis, we discovered my computer was fried from the two tornadoes that hit in the four days prior. I had to leave home without it.

So now, I will share many of the highlights in random order as they come to me. I'm sure I'll probably forget something, but maybe some of the authors will remind me in the comments.

My own travel plans changed at the last minute due to the two tornadoes and some major family issues that still are not resolved. Tim stayed home to deal with some of it, and I rode to ICRS with Fay Lamb – we met for the first time at Catch the Wave last year where we both taught workshops, and both friendship and professional relationship developed. I’m honored to be publishing several of Fay’s books, and thrilled we had the opportunity to spend more time together during ICRS. Fay is hilarious, fun, curious, courageous, passionate, creative, intelligent, has a heart made of gold, and loves the Lord with all her might. (She’s all that, and I didn’t even have to tell you she considers herself a klutz, too!)

There were 10 of us representing Write Integrity Press and Pix-N-Pens Publishing: Fay Lamb, Vicki Tiede, Peggy Cunningham and her husband Chuck, Dianne E. Butts and her husband Hal, Marie Wells Coutu and her husband Ed, volunteer assistant Suzy Moore, and myself.

Highlights:

Peggy Cunningham and Marie Wells Coutu
at Bailey's Range - what a fun place!

Meeting some of our authors for the very first time and getting to know them personally. When we offer contracts, I talk to most of them on the phone, and we exchange e-mails regularly, so I get a good feel for their personality, but until we’re face-to-face, it’s impossible to know if my impressions are on target. Many times during ICRS, I marveled at how special these ladies are – professionally and personally. Hardworking, dedicated, passionate, creative, intelligent, fun. And just so lovely, inside and out. Their smiles, laughter, joy are contagious and if I ever get stranded on a deserted island, I’d want every one of them with me. I’m truly grateful to God for bringing all of us together.

Hearing Peggy Cunningham’s voice for the first time. Peggy and Chuck are missionaries in Bolivia so our contract negotiations all took place by e-mail. From looking at her headshot, and reading her words, my brain thought she had a soft, Southern, genteel voice – and I was so WRONG! Peggy’s voice is bold with a Pennsylvania accent – and every word she speaks is filled with such fun I’m sitting here smiling at the memory of it.

Dianne E. Butts during her booksigning

Seeing with my own eyes that Dianne E. Butts’ voice and mannerisms are as soft as they seem in phone conversations yet her body and spirit are tough as they come. Dianne is a walking miracle, and I say that in awe of our Mighty God. A week or so before ICRS Dianne had a motorcycle accident that could have been much, much worse. She was traveling 60 mph on the interstate with her husband (riding in front of her) and a friend (riding behind her), when her front tire went flat. She sideswiped an RV before going down, rolling over and over. The good Lord gave her the ability to process everything as it was happening, and she realized she was in the middle of the highway and could get run over, so she dragged herself (by damaged elbow) to the side of the road. She has a chipped ankle, a cut requiring stitches on her elbow, and lots of road rash on arms and legs. Later, after viewing her full-face helmet, they discovered she may have landed on her face during the initial fall. Her face is beautiful and blemish-free. Dianne’s presence and active participation at ICRS was an inspiration to us all, and a reminder to take nothing in this life for granted.

Storms outside St. Louis, just before we arrived.

I continue to marvel at the very presence of all of us in attendance at ICRS. The weeks leading up the event were mind-boggling with crazy events occurring for all of us. The enemy obviously didn’t want us there, but we all persevered. In those weeks before the conference, we experienced the motorcycle accident, two tornadoes and a tree in a house, major health issues, major plumbing problems, major car problems, book and marketing issues, travel ordeals, food poisoning, trips to the ER, fried computer, fried modem, and major family issues. And 30 minutes outside St. Louis, Fay and I encountered another storm that looked like it had a funnel cloud. When her phone started blasting out warnings of flash floods we pulled over to wait out the storm! With the battles each of us went through, it’s a wonder any of us are still standing, and a great testimony to God that we all made it to ICRS. [After we left St. Louis heading home, we learned of the underground explosions across the street from the convention center. All of this is a bit overwhelming, don’t you think?]

Marie Wells Coutu during her booksigning

Discovering that Marie Wells Coutu and her husband Ed know EVERYONE. She works for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and has attended ICRS in previous years. But it was amazing and fun to discover just how many people know them.

Hanging with Vicki Tiede twice in the same year! What a blessing. But I keep wondering if she set any records with the number of media interviews she had? Wow! And she never lost her voice at all! (Keep an eye out – we’ll be sharing some of those interviews in the coming days and weeks.)

Vicki Tiede and Shaun Tabatt

Meeting Shaun Tabatt, owner of Cross Focused Media. What a special man. He interviewed so many people – including all our authors. Watch for those too! (Shaun is also one who knew the Coutus – Ed was his Boy Scout leader years ago!)

Meeting in person for the first time several precious prayer warriors I’ve known online for years: Pam Meyers, Laura Hilton, Martha Rogers, Bonnie Calhoun. These precious ladies have been a blessing to me for years, and meeting them in person was an honor and a heart blessing.

Visiting with Cecil Murphey for the second time this year, and FINALLY, FINALLY, FINALLY meeting the incredible Twila Belk.

Discovering how special the husbands truly are – Chuck Cunningham, Hal Butts, Ed Coutu – supported, participated, assisted, encouraged, prayed. The ones who weren’t – Marc Lamb, Mike Tiede, Tim Ruckman, Lanny Moore – held down the forts at home, at times managing some pretty difficult situations yet also provided support, encouragement, and prayers for all of us in our absence. (Marc and Fay lost a beloved pet during our trip, Tim dealt with all the storm mess I left behind, and Mike dealt with a houseful of kids – in addition to all their regular responsibilities.)  The support and love I witnessed between all the couples just brings me to tears as I write this. What a blessing.

Left side, front to back: Hal and Dianne E. Butts, Vicki Tiede, Suzy Moore.
Right side, front to back: Chuck Cunningham, Hal Coutu,
Marie Wells Coutu, Peggy Cunningham, and Tracy Ruckman. Fay Lamb is behind the camera.

Suzy Moore. My goodness. I only met Suzy online a few weeks ago, through Dianne. Suzy lives in the St. Louis area, and volunteered her services to assist us any way we needed while we were in town. She is incredible – and such fun. She fit right in with all of us, and instantly became part of the WIP/PNP family. Suzy, thank you for all you did – you went above and beyond every step of the way, and we all appreciate you so much.

I find it interesting that I’m already at 1000 words on this post, and I haven’t even mentioned the book signings, which is why we were there in the first place! Each author had one hour to sign and give away 60 books. (I realized sometime between the 4th and 5th signings that we were actually giving away 65 books each, because I’d taken 5 extra copies of each book to get the authors to sign them for the FaithFunder campaign. I’ll be gathering and sending those out in the coming weeks!)

Our book signings were brisk and fun, and we met book buyers from Nigeria, Finland, Scotland, Australia, New
Zealand (Debbie Roome, you’ll be proud to know I recognized their accents!), the UK, Canada, Mexico, and all over the United States. A representative from one of the large publishing houses told one of our authors that the only way we’d give out all of our books was if we offered chocolate – but we didn’t need to do that! One of our authors gave away 65 books in 28 minutes! Talk about a fast signing! We averaged about 40 minutes for each of the signings – what a blessing.

Teamwork. I’ve never experienced a group of people acting as a team as much as this group at ICRS – and it wasn’t even intentionally done. We all seemed to operate in sync – and it was so remarkable I know it was truly God’s hand directing us. At one point, several of us were walking down one of the aisles – surrounded by the big guys like Zondervan and Harper Collins. I heard someone we passed say, “There goes Write Integrity.” Only God could have made that happen!!

One personal note about the trip. On Monday, I had brunch with a dear friend I haven’t seen since I graduated high school. Maggie Madonia showed me around St. Louis – the town really is incredible and I hope we can go visit and play there some more! The architecture is beautiful! I just don’t understand how Maggie hasn’t aged a bit in all these years!! Maggie, thank you for the awesome bag of St. Louis goodies. And for the recommendation of Bailey's Range - the food, atmosphere, and service were awesome.That gooey butter cake made it home to Tim safe and sound – and we love it!! Pete – I’m so sorry we didn’t get a chance to meet.

A special, public thank you to all those who contributed to the FaithFunder campaign. None of this would have happened without you – we’re truly grateful to you for making the book signings possible. You’ll be hearing from me in the next couple of weeks!

When I returned home, I had a check waiting to replace the computer that was fried. It arrived just moments ago. The check came from a friend who believes in our mission, believes in our company, and wanted to bless us in a tangible way. I’m grateful beyond words.

Fay and I returned to North Carolina on Wednesday, Tim's birthday, so I was able to spend the rest of the day with him, celebrating his special day.

Hopefully, from this massive list, you’ll see why my heart is so full – overflowing, actually – with God’s goodness and mercy. I am encouraged by our authors and challenged anew to publish, support, encourage, and promote their books with my whole being – and I encourage YOU to support and encourage them too. How? Buy their books for yourself and to give as gifts. Leave reviews. Visit their websites and blogs – leave comments. Send notes. Invite them to your church or local bookstore, writer’s group, civic group, for a book signing, reading, or even a Skype session. Talk about their books with your family and friends. Pray for them. Our books are our mission field, and the more people we encounter, the larger our field – and potential to impact more lives – grows.

A grateful heart, indeed.

Magnificent Hope Learns that Book Signings are Not Just About Selling Books

Hi! Dianne E. Butts here. I was so surprised when Magnificent Hope made an unannounced appearance last Saturday! There I was with author Elsi Dodge signing books at Mardel Christian Bookstore in Littleton, Colorado, when suddenly Maggie Hope’s head popped up out of nowhere!

Elsi and I were so pleased Magnificent Hope chose to make an appearance at our book signing. We took the opportunity to get our photo taken with Maggie and Dana, the store manager.

Elsi and I signed our books in the store from 10:00 to 2:00 and really kept busy. The store was in constant motion with activity and we not only signed books, but we talked with lots of people about a lot of different topics and you know what? It was all ministry. Elsi said it, and Magnificent Hope agreed, “We ministered to a lot of people. It’s not just about selling books; it’s about ministry.” I so agree. That’s the value of a book signing. We did pretty well selling books, too, but the opportunity to talk with people about Jesus was so wonderful.

For example, I got to talk with a customer about filmmaking and how I made a short film last February based on a true story in Deliver Me. You can see the film on YouTube if you want to. It runs 10 minutes: The Choice film. I talked with others about the story I wrote for Chicken Soup for the Christian Soul 2, which is also in Chicken Soup’s 101 Best Stories of Faith. The story is about how my husband and I tried to tell his Dad about Jesus and he just wouldn’t hear it. But then we learned a year after Dad died that a neighbor had visited him and told him about Jesus and Dad accepted Christ literally hours before he died! And we didn’t even know the Lord answered our fervent prayers for a whole year.

Another thing that happened was a lady walked in and said, “Dianne! You have another book out?!” It was Victoria, who I’ve ridden motorcycles with through Christian Motorcyclists Association! I hadn’t seen her for a long time! (So long she didn’t know about my Deliver Me book.) That was so fun!

Both Elsi and I had numerous books on our table. Elsi had her books about her traveling adventures in her RV with her cat friend, Dolphin. She also has two books from her trip to Israel. (I brought one of those home!)

I signed my latest book, Deliver Me, which just won a “Book of the Year” award from Christian Small Publisher’s Association and is now a finalist for the 2012 Golden Scroll Nonfiction Book of the Year (winner announced July 15). I also signed my first book Dear America, plus several other books I’ve contributed to, including the just-released, brand new Chicken Soup for the Soul: Say Goodbye to Stress.

You may know it already, but in case you don’t my coauthor Renee Gray-Wilburn and I have a new book with Pix-N-Pens Publishing coming out in August titled, Grandparenting Through Obstacles: Overcoming Family Challenges to Reach Your Grandchildren for Christ. It’s a compilation of twenty incredible stories of grandparents going the extra mile and creating really neat opportunities to tell their grandkids about Jesus. Elsi Dodge is one of our writers with a story in that book.

Elsi and I were thrilled when Dana, the manager at Mardel’s invited us, plus co-author Renee, back in September to sign our new Grandparenting Through Obstacles book, just in time for Grandparents Day! But you don’t have to wait—you can pre-order your copy. Pre-order Grandparenting Through Obstacles here now. We just unveiled the book’s cover on Tuesday, June 19, on our new grandparenting blog.

A funny thing happened on the way to the book signing! It was a two-hour drive for me from my home in Pueblo through Colorado Springs to the Mardel store in Littleton. I was listening to the radio, but of course the stations I usually listen to were fading as I got farther away from my home. So I went searching for another station to listen to. I heard a familiar voice—that of a host of a radio show in Colorado Springs I’m sort of familiar with. But the thing is, that day he wasn’t in Colorado Springs. He was broadcasting live from Las Vegas, Nevada. So I listened to that station to see what in the world he was doing in Las Vegas. While I was listening, he took a call from a man named Derrick back home in Colorado Springs. Hey! I know a Derrick in Colorado Springs. Could it possibly be? Yes! It was! And if you think Derrick Wilburn’s name sounds familiar but you can’t quite place it, it’s because he’s the husband of my Grandparenting Through Obstacles coauthor, Renee Gray-Wilburn! How do ya figure that? A hundred miles away from home on my way to a book signing and I catch my coauthor’s husband on a radio station I never listen to broadcasting from Las Vegas! At that moment, I knew it was going to be a blessed day.

When I told Hope about it, she just smiled. She doesn’t believe in coincidences—only God-incidents, she said.

I would like to give a hearty thanks to Dana, Heidi, Mary, and all the staff (that I’m forgetting to name!) at Mardel Christian Bookstore in Littleton, Colorado. They were so gracious in supporting me and Elsi and Magnificent Hope. They were a real blessing to us. I pray we were a blessing to them and to the store, and I believe we were.

Bio: Dianne E. Butts and Renee Gray-Wilburn co-authored Grandparenting through Obstacles: Overcoming Family Obstacles to Reach Your Grandchildren for Christ, releasing from Pix-N-Pens Publishing in August 2012. The Choice film was inspired by a true story in Dianne’s latest book, Deliver Me: Hope, Help, & Healing through True Stories of Unplanned Pregnancy, a finalist for the 2012 Golden Scroll Nonfiction Book of the Year and a “Book of the Year” award-winner at Christian Small Publishers Association. Dianne writes frequently for print magazines, www.FindingGodDaily.com , www.ThinkingAboutSuicide.com, and www.TheChristianPulse.com.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Dianne received notice after she submitted this article that she is a DOUBLE finalist in Write Integrity's Books of Hope Contest - she finaled in both the fiction and nonfiction categories! 

Read more about Magnificent Hope's Journey:

Dreams Can Come True by Ruth O'Neil

Week 4: Where in the World is Magnificent Hope?

A Special Treat from Jennifer Fromke (and a huge hint for the Week 2 photo!)

Week 3: Where in the World is Magnificent Hope? Pays Respect

Magnificent Hope Encounters Dianne E. Butts at the CCWC

Where in the World is Magnificent Hope? Contest - Week 2

Magnificent Hope Arrives at the Colorado Christian Writers Conference with Elsi Dodge

Magnificent Hope visits a Recording Studio with Zillah Williams

Where in the World is Magnificent Hope? Contest - Week 1

Books of Hope Manuscript Contest Announced

Rides motorcycles with Dianne E. Butts

Attends the Shrimp Festival with Annie Keys

The Power of a Book at the Healing Hands Youth Ranch with Tim and Tracy Ruckman