A Warm Welcome

Welcome to the Christian Fiction Book Club blog. I'm glad you've stopped by. If you like to read Christian fiction, talk about books you like, or find out about some new authors, you're in the right place. :) Please feel free to comment when you like and subscribe to my blog feed as well.

The first post in a blog seems to be the hardest one. I think I'll take a minute to introduce myself to you and let you know why I made this blog.

My name is Monica Willyard, and I live in Georgia in the United States. I'm a single mom with a teenaged daughter, and I work as a freelance writer and part-time computer technician. I love to read, cook, chat with friends, make homemade lotions and soaps, and write short stories and articles. I was born totally blind, and I use a piece of software called a screenreader to listen to what I type and what comes across my computer screen as I browse the web. I use a scanner to scan pages of print books and then listen to what I've scanned.

I've been a Christian for around 15 years now, and I'm excited to see how good Christian fiction has become a new rule instead of the exception it used to be. Authors like Joel Rosenberg, Angela Hunt, Karen Kingsbury, Bill Myers, Ted Dekker, and Lynn Cote know how to tell a great story, weaving their love for God and His word into their novels like golden threads through an ornate tapestry. These authors teach, entertain, and change hearts through their books, and I created this blog to celebrate their work and share it with people who are just discovering this genre of excellent fiction.

So what's the deal with the book club part of this blog? I'd like to extend an invitation to each of you who are reading this. I host a Christian fiction book club online that meets twice a month. We discuss a book we've read, share our thoughts about the characters, and chat about other books we're reading on our own. We meet on the first and third Friday of each month at 1 P.M. Pacific, 4 P.M. Eastern time. The book club is open to everyone, and there is no cost involved. All you need to participate are your computer running Windows 2000, XP, or Vista and a sound card with speakers and a microphone or headset so you can talk to other people in the room. Mac users can currently listen to the chat but can only participate through text chatting at this point. The company who makes the software is hard at work to provide voice support for Mac users, and I hope to announce that soon. To join us for the chat, visit http://conference321.com/masteradmin/room.asp?id=rs7867a2369e0e . The first time you visit us, you will be asked to download a small and safe program that will run the chat room for you. The software is easy to use, and it's easy to install. Once it's running, just put your first name in the first box and leave the password blank. Pressing the control key and holding it down will let you talk, and you are welcome to come a little early if you'd like some help with adjusting your microphone volume. I'll be in the chat room at least a half an hour before the book club begins. See you there! :)