Hello, my friend! February came and went and what do you know... I completely missed our monthly chat. I'm so glad we're back together this month, though, and I've got a few special goodies for you, so let's get comfy and visit for a bit!

A debrief, if you will

Part of the reason I missed sending a letter in February is how packed my schedule has been lately. Where I usually had space in the cold winter months, I had none this time around. I'm not about to bore you with a detailed list of everything that went on over the last two months, but I'll touch on a few in particular that made me smile.

I won a contest!

This is a pretty fun one. The Christian Mommy Writers hosts a "Make Me Swoon" contest each February, where we enter a swoony portion of either a completed novel or our work in progress. I submitted a portion of my current novel, and whaddya know... I got first place!

I will admit that these two characters in my current novel have a lot of, um... *tension* between them. It is definitely NOT romantic at first, until suddenly it is... and ahhh, I can't wait until I can tell you more about them!

Birthday month

March is my birthday month, and I like to take off work on my birthday and fill the day with my favorite things. This year's birthday DELIVERED. Not only was the weather gorgeous (a sneak peek of the Springtime on its way!), but I also got to spend FIVE HOURS at my favorite coffee shop, working on my novel. It was such a refreshing time. The coffee and muffin were delicious, and I got to work alongside one of my closest friends, which made the afternoon even sweeter.

When I got home, my 17 year old had baked me cinnamon brownies from scratch, all on her own. My husband took care of dinner and we spent the evening watching a movie with our two oldest girls while the youngest was at play rehearsal. Every one of them made me feel very loved and it was such a good day.

Broadway, baby

This might be my favorite of all, even as much as I loved winning the contest and my birthday. At the beginning of March, I got to take my 17 year old and her best friend to New York City to see a show on Broadway. I won't lie and say I wasn't a little nervous to be the only adult and going to such a huge place like NYC, but once we got there, we settled right in and had the best time! We did some sightseeing, including visiting the MoMA and seeing Van Gogh's Starry Night (I still cannot believe my eyeballs got to see that in real life), Times Square, the Empire State Building, and walking down Fifth Ave all the way to the Harry Potter store. Of course, the main event was the Broadway show. We saw The Great Gatsby, and as much as I disliked the novel when I was a teenager, the stage adaptation was honestly breathtaking. My theatre-loving teenager was in all her glory, too, and I'd pay double to get to experience that with her again!

What made you smile?

Those were a few things that made me smile lately, but I'd love to hear from you, too! Email me back with something - big or small - and tell me what made you smile. Everyone who responds will be entered to win a $10 Amazon gift card. And I really just love hearing from you. There's enough complaining and negativity in the world as it is... I think it does us a whole lot more good to talk about the good things!

I'll announce the winner in April's newsletter!

Writing Update

As I mentioned at the beginning, I've been running at nonstop speeds for a while now. And I'll be transparent with you - it's affecting my writing. Not only is there not as much time, but when I do have time, my mind feels pretty depleted and it's hard to focus. The various activities my kids were in have concluded for now, so I'm hopeful I'll have evenings back to write and edit, but even that can be challenging because there is just always something.

However, I recognize this is just a season, and not even one I necessarily want to rush out of. My three girls are getting older (my oldest is starting to apply to colleges!! So. Many. Emotions.) and I want to be as present as possible for them. In the Christian Mommy Writer's group, the amazing Laura Frantz was recently asked advice on how to balance writing and motherhood. Her advice was to the point. "Babies trump books, always." And while my kids are definitely not babies anymore, the sentiment remains the same. If that means I take a bit longer to finish a book, so be it.

That said, I would absolutely covet your prayers that God would give me opportunities to work on my novel, and that when I do work on it, I have a clear and focused mind. While I don't have a set deadline for this book, I did meet with three publishers at ACFW last fall who were very interested in this novel. I don't want to keep them waiting much longer! I am so thankful that I can trust God and His timing, because even when I was pitching this book to the publishers, He knew I was about to enter the season I'm in.

What I'm reading

I've managed to squeeze in the novel of a friend who asked for feedback, and my book club has recently started reading my FAVORITE book series of ALL time.

I'm not kidding. Of. All. Time.

"Thorn in My Heart" by Liz Curtis Higgs came out like twenty years ago, and I've re-read it and it's subsequent novels at least five times. But it continues to sit at the top of my favorite list. Set in Scotland in the 1700s, the story parallels that of Jacob, Leah, and Rachel. If you haven't read it before, I can't recommend it enough!

Author Spotlight

Each month I am highlighting a different author and a freebie they are giving away and oohh this month's is so good!

The author spotlight this month is Lynette Eason!

Lynette Eason is the best-selling, award-winning author of over sixty books.

Her books have appeared on the USA TODAY, Publisher’s Weekly, CBA, ECPA, and Parable bestseller lists. She has won numerous awards including the Carol, the Selah, the Golden Scroll and more. Her novel, Her Stolen Past was made into a movie for the Lifetime Movie Network.

Lynette teaches at writing conferences all over the country and is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW), Mystery Writers of America (MWA), International Thriller Writers (ITW), and Faith, Hope, and Love.

Lynette can be found online at www.lynetteeason.com and www.facebook.com/lynette.eason and @lynetteeason on Twitter.

Sign up for Lynette's newsletter and receive a FREE copy of her short story, The Other Brother. You can sign up for her newsletter HERE.

A little bit about The Other Brother...

Six half-siblings who are strangers, millions of dollars, a dead man and a will. What could go wrong?

Addy Manning has just discovered she's the daughter of millionaire, Richard Manning, and that she has five half-siblings. She's been notified that in order to inherit her share, she must attend the funeral and stay in the creepy mansion to get to know her brothers and sisters. Detective Rhys Beckett is there to arrest one of them for kidnapping—or possibly murder. But when someone starts killing off the siblings, Rhys and Addy find themselves in the fight of their lives to stay alive.

A note from Lynette: Thank you so much for downloading The Other Brother. This was a short story that I wrote several years ago and decided that I needed to launch it out into the world rather than keep it on my hard drive. It's not connected to any of my other series. Meaning it's a complete stand-alone story, but I may decide to revisit it in the future some time. I hope you enjoy it!

I really enjoyed our time together today, my friend. I can't wait to hear from you and hear all about the smile-worthy things you've experienced. Praying blessings over you, and already looking forward to our chat next month!

Until next time,