I recently received an exciting bit of news. A Taste of Murder, the first book in the Classical Trio series, has been named a finalist in the Inspirational category of the Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense! The winner will be announced at an award ceremony in July during the Romance Writers of America’s national conference.

Since A Taste of Murder is out of print, you might have trouble finding it in stores. If you’d like to purchase an autographed copy for $4 plus postage, send me a note through the Contact page of my website. Or just press Reply to this email.

Uplifting Devotional Book

ChristianDevotions.US spreads the Word of God through relatable devotions from a variety of excellent Christian writers. They have released their first book, Spirit & Heart, a Devotional Journey. Included are heartwarming, uplifting, and thought-provoking devotions written by beloved authors like Diann Mills, Robin Shope, Ann Tatlock, Yvonne Lehman, Candy Arrington, and – me! With a cover price of $9.95, this book is a not-to-be-missed addition to your library, and will add depth and meaning to your daily prayer time. To order your copy click here.

This Place Is a Zoo!
                                           By Virginia Smith

A few weeks ago I received the phone call every writer loves to get – my agent delivered the good news that I’d been offered a new book contract. Even after ten books, I still do a victory dance and offer up loud prayers of thanksgiving. Normally, my next act is to dive for my computer and begin cranking out words. This time, however, I wasn’t quite ready to start writing. The book I’d proposed is set in a zoo. I’d done enough research to produce a plausible-sounding proposal, but since I’ve never actually worked in a zoo, I needed to learn a lot more.

Some people assume that fiction is false. I don’t agree. True, my novels feature made-up people who never existed, doing things that never happened. But as a writer, I have a commitment to my readers to spin a tale that is as close to reality as I can make it. The purpose of fiction is to create a vivid, entertaining experience for a reader, one which allows him or her to step into the shoes of the characters and live there for a while. If my story is about a baseball team, and I put twelve players on the field instead of nine, my readers will lose faith in my ability to transport them into my fictitious world. In the same way, if my book is about a zookeeper who works with exotic animals, I’d better know something about the profession.

With that in mind, I set out to get an insider’s view of a zoo. Utah’s Hogle Zoo, located in Salt Lake City, offers an educational program called Keeper for a Day. Since the heroine in my new book goes to work as a zookeeper with no prior experience, the program was tailor-made for my purposes. I placed a few phone calls, obtained the necessary documentation (including proof of a negative TB test), and a week later, reported for duty.

The keeper I was assigned to work with loved her job, and her enthusiasm was contagious. Zookeepers are trained to care for all exotic animals, but they’re typically given responsibility for a specific set of animals. I spent most of my day taking care of a delightful collection of small animals including a personable pair of crested porcupines, a dainty desert fox, cottontail rabbits, rock cavys, a skunk (descented, my keeper promised), a grey wolf, burrowing owls, a dozen South American penguins, and five meerkats that looked like they were straight off of the Discovery Channel’s hit reality show. I chopped fresh fruit and vegetables, and mixed up delicious-looking salads exactly like I would feed my family. Uh, except for the king mealworms wriggling on top. (Your skin stops crawling after you handle a few dozen.) I learned tons about zoo procedures, including how to shift the animals into safe locations while I went into their environments. And, of course, I cleaned, trying desperately to breathe through my mouth and ignore the odors.

After lunch I was handed off to the keeper in charge of the big cats, and spent a fascinating ninety minutes learning how to care for tigers, snow leopards, cougars, and various other exotic felines. Then I was allowed an up-close encounter with the most delightful giraffe I’ve ever been privileged to meet. (Okay, the only giraffe I’ve ever met, but still.)

Some elements of a zookeeper’s job came as no surprise. I expected to spend a lot of time cleaning cages. I knew I’d come away exhausted and smelling like raw fish from the penguins’ lunch. (That was actually one of the nicest odors I encountered!)

What I didn’t expect was the deep affinity that develops between a keeper and her charges. Who would have thought that penguins could even tell one person from another, much less prefer one keeper enough to vie jealously for her attention? That a cheetah would recognize his special keeper and rush to the front of his cage when that person walks by? Or that a porcupine could be so charming? Physical contact is kept at an absolute minimum with most animals. Nevertheless, a relationship develops between keeper and animal that is based on deep trust and mutual respect. What an incredible opportunity to witness that relationship up close.

I could have learned about the procedures from books and the Internet. But that special bond had to be experienced in person. That is what I will attempt to portray in my book. My story, and my readers’ experience, will be so much richer because I took the time for personal research.

And besides, I had a blast!

(This article appeared last month on Tracy Ruckman’s column at Examiner.Com.  Watch future issues of this newsletter for more information on my new book, currently titled The Zookeeper’s Daughter.)

On June 19-20, I’ll head down to Elizabethtown, Kentucky to teach at the Kentucky Christian Writers Conference. I’ll teach a workshop called, “Make Your Point Without Preaching,” and another one called, “Tickling Those Elusive Funny Bones,” about how to write funny fiction. If you’re in the area, KCWC is a great local conference to attend. This year’s keynote speaker is a veteran in the Christian publishing industry, W. Terry Whalin. If you come, be sure to find me and say hello.

When I teach at conferences, attendees frequently ask if they can hire me to critique their manuscripts. Well, now the answer is Yes! I’ve recently launched Next Step Critiques, a manuscript editing service designed to help writers take the Next Step in their writing career. For prices and more information, visit www.NextStepCritiques.com
 

Conferences are an excellent way for writers to learn the craft of writing. But by the time you add up the cost of registration, airfare, hotel, and food, a good conference can be pretty expensive. Now there’s an alternative. Write Integrity Editorial Services offers a lineup of excellent online writing courses taught by some of the best writers in Christian publishing, and you don’t even have to leave your home. I’m teaching a session that begins in July called “Introduction to Writing Christian Novels,” a six-week course that addresses the fundamentals of novel writing for the Christian market, and then builds on basic skills to take writers a step beyond – everything you need to help you craft a compelling story from beginning to end. Visit WEIS to sign up!