I’ve gotten my first review for Sins of the Father.  Thanks, Tea!

Join me over at ReadersRooms.com on Friday, June 12 where I’ll share my ideas on story ideas and how we get them.

Drum roll, please!

The four lucky winners are:

2. DonnaD
5. Sonya
11. Marta Daniels
13. AJ

I need to receive mailing addresses for each of the winners by June 12. If I don’t hear from you by then, I’ll have to select a replacement winner.  Send your mailing address to books [at] angelabenson.com

I wish I could have provided a book for everyone who signed the blog, but my supply was limited. I’ll be getting copies of the final book in early August and I’ll host another drawing then so there’s still hope.

Aa always, thanks for your support.

Happy Reading!

I have a busy summer in front of me.  The good news is that it includes attending two great conferences: the Southern Christian Writers Conference (SCWC) and the Faith and Fiction Retreat.

Southern Christian Writers Conference (SCWC) is a local conference for me, as it’s held at the First Baptist Church in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.  It starts at 11am on Friday, June 12 and ends around 4pm on Saturday, June 13.  The conference cost, including meals, is only $100.  The keynote speakers are Cecil Murphy and Vanessa Davis Griggs, people I know.

I met Cec years ago at a conference on St. Simons Island.  It was during his workshop session that I began developing the idea for what became The Amen Sisters.  In fact, I wrote the first draft of the article, Helping a Friend through the Trauma of Leaving an Abusive Church, during his session.  I respect him as a writer and teacher and look forward to his message.

I met Vanessa a couple of years ago but it feels as though I’ve known her longer. She’s one of the most encouraging and loving people I know, in addition to being a wonderful writer.  Her keynote is bound to inspire as well as teach. I look forward to it as well.

You can find out more about the Southern Christian Writers Conference (SCWC) here.

The Faith and Fiction Retreat will be my getaway for the summer.  It will be held in Orlando on July 16-19. Patricia Woodside has an excellent recap of last year’s event here.  This year, I’ll be a featured author alongside ReShonda Tate Billingsley, Tia McCollors and Tiffany Warren.

The schedule for the Retreat is jam-packed with sessions for readers and bookclubs and sessions for aspiring and established authors.  I’m especially looking forward to the late night book discussions with the featured authors.  That should be a lot of fun.

The Retreat is reasonably priced at $119. Actually, that price is a steal when you look at the agenda.  The hotel starts at $139 a night, not a bad price for the location especially if you share.  If you don’t have a sharing buddy, just let the conference organizers know and they’ll hook you up.

You can find out more about the Faith and Fiction Retreat here.  I hope to see you there!

NOTE: That picture has nothing to do with the Retreat.  It’s me and my mom in New Zealand several years ago.  I’ve given up on trying to find pictures that match the content of the post.  From now on, I’ll just share pictures that tell you something about me.

Advanced Reading Copies (ARCs) of my September release, Sins of the Father, arrived on Monday.  If you’re interested in a copy, please comment on this blog post.  All I ask in return is that you write a review on your blog or on Amazon or anywhere and let me know where you post it.  The winners will be announced on June 1.

Sins of Father by Angela Benson

Successful media mogul Abraham Martin has great wealth, an elegant wife, Saralyn, and a rebellious son, Isaac. He also has a secret: a second family that no one knows about. Now, after thirty years—driven by the urging of his long dormant conscience—Abraham is determined to do the right thing by finally bringing his illegitimate children into the light…and into the family fold.

But beautiful, manipulative Saralyn will never accept the proof of her husband’s indiscretions. Isaac the heir, shaken by his father’s revelations, will fight mercilessly when his world is threatened, and may lose everything that matters as a result. And while Abraham’s forgotten daughter Deborah is open to the undreamed-of possibilities suddenly awaiting her, son Michael cannot forgive the man who cruelly abandoned them to near poverty. And he’s driven by only one desire: revenge!

Sins of the Father is a powerful story of a house bitterly divided—a rich, multilayered family saga of betrayal and redemption, rage and compassion, faith, forgiveness, and ultimately, of love.

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Marilynn Griffith stops by today to provide a peek into her world of motherhood and family. She’s the author of eight novels, mother to seven children, wife to a deacon and proof of God’s enduring mercy.  You can catch Marilynn sharing her family adventures all week on the Mom’s the Word Blog Tour.

“…You are trying to destroy a city that is a mother in Israel. Why
do you want to swallow up the LORD’s inheritance?”

“Far be it from me!” Joab replied, “Far be it from me to swallow up or
destroy! …A man named Sheba son of Bicri, from the hill country of
Ephraim, has lifted up his hand against the king, against David. Hand
over this one man, and I’ll withdraw from the city.”

The woman said to Joab, “His head will be thrown to you from the wall.”

Then the woman went to all the people with her wise advice, and they cut off the head of Sheba son of Bicri and threw it to Joab. So he sounded the trumpet, and his men dispersed from the city, each returning to his home. And Joab went back to the king in Jerusalem.”
(2 Samuel 20:1-22, NIV)

With Mother’s Day this past Sunday, mothers are on all our minds. My latest novel, Mom’s the Word deals with motherhood and marriage and next Sunday I’m headed back to Ohio to speak at Second Missionary Baptist Church in Springfield, Ohio, where my own mother grew up. One thing I’ve thought a lot about is the concept of being a “spiritual mother” to someone. I’ve never been real big on the concept, simply because God has no grandchildren, only children. Also, I’ve seen people use the “mother” or “child” tag as excuses to either manipulate or never take responsibility.

What I do have in my life, however, are women who I refer to as “Mothers in Israel”,  woman who’ve thrown something over wall to save something or someone. Women like the one in the passage above. When Joab came riding to the wall with Amasa’s blood still wet on his
dagger, the men gathered around the gate didn’t respond. Joab was ready to kill anyone and everyone if necessary. But a woman, somebody’s mama, had the sense to speak up and say, “Are you Joab? C’mere boy, listen to what I have to say!” Though others were afraid, she only had one question: What do I need to throw over this wall to get some peace up in here?

To me, that is a spiritual mother, a Mother in Israel. Behind all the pretty suits, big hats and long titles it comes down to this:What have you thrown over the wall? Who did you help? From the time I was young, God brought these kinds of women into my life: Miss Juanita, my mother’s friend who raised all her grandchildren and always had room for one more; Mrs. Schall, the blond babysitter with a smile and a freezer full of deer meat; Mrs. Colaric, who had more kids than I have now, but always had a place for me; Debbie, who had no children but claimed me when I wandered the complex ; the Indian woman upstairs who fed me curry for my colds and looked out for me; My aunts: Gertrude, Charlene, Barbara Jean, Betty Lou and Donna Jean, who clothed me, fed me, read to me, sewed for me and prayed for me; Miss Janie Wilcoxson from Canaan Missionary Baptist Church, who taught me how to dance and how to pray; Shirley Porter and Joyce Stone, who taught me to love words (and good shoes); Dr. Margaret Peters, who told me I could write; Mary Harris, who taught me there’s always more to do, more to be; Michelle Rogers, who showed me how to be friends; Nancy Estes, who is my friend even when I forgot how to be one; Joy Subramanyam, who taught me how to be a mother long after I’d become one; Dr. Gail Hayes, who reminded me who I was; Claudia Mair Burney, who reminded me why I was; Sharon Ewell Foster, for writing words that compelled me to write and Donna Lee McElrath, for giving birth to me, both in the flesh and the Spirit.

And that’s the short list.  Mother’s Day has past, but still, take stock and think about the women who not only caused you to be in the natural but caused you to BE in the Spirit everything you are now and will become. As in any harvest, some plant, some water and some reap. Who died to release the seed that became you? Are you ready to become a Mother in Israel?

About the Book

When her tall, dark, delicious husband joins their three kids in calling her “Mom,” Karol Simons has an identity crisis. Sure she loves the pint-size trio, but what’s happened to her dreams of writing a novel? Determined to have it all, she turns to her neighbor for help.

Dyanne Thornton is thrilled to stand in as Mom for three weeks so Karol can write. Bursting with baby fever, the career-woman trades her glamorous clothes and four-inch heels for the playground and potty training. She hopes to convince her reluctant husband they should start a family of their own, right away.

Everyone’s in for some big surprises…

Order your copy of Mom’s the Word from Amazon.com .

Follow the blog tour at http://bit.ly/MomsTheWord.

Visit Marilynn online at http://marilynngriffith.com/.

Join Marilynn’s social network at http://www.sistahfaith.ning.com.

I’m still enjoying the new NBC show, Kings, but it’s in trouble.  It’s been moved from Sunday nights to Saturday nights, the place shows go before they are cancelled.  I’m really disappointed that the show hasn’t garnered much of a following.  Some cool things are happening:

• Abner, the head of Silas’ army, has turned on him, but Silas doesn’t know it yet
• David is more committed to Silas than ever
• Silas’ son finally admitted the reason for his hatred of David
• Silas misses the girlfriend he gave up to save his son

I’d like to see where each of these storylines end. I hope I get the chance.

Quiz time: What is this book about?

Publication date: September 1, 2009

If you live in the Bowling Green, KY area, I invite you attend the Southern Kentucky Bookfest this Saturday, April 18, at the Sloan Convention Center in Bowling Green.  It’s an all-day event that is FREE to the public.  There are over 150 authors and illustrators on the program, including Kevin Clash, aka Elmo!  In additon to more than 25 author panels, there will be a host of activities for children.  You can see/download the full program HERE.

I hope to see you there. It looks like we’ll have a good time!

Like many of you, I’ve joined a great many of the online social networks — myspace, shelfari, librarything, gather, and shoutlife. I’ve joined all of them but I haven’t been active. I’ve also tried to be a regular blogger here, but without much success. You know why? It’s too much work.

Facebook is different. Facebook is easy. All I have to give Facebook is a status, which is by definition short. I don’t have to add a picture to it to make it look better. I don’t have to go to a special page to do. I can post to Facebook from my iTouch.

I’m leaning towards focusing my efforts on Facebook and this blog while phasing out my presence on those other sites. What do you think? Which service do you like best? Where are you most active?