Okay, quiet down. Standing here on the porch of the Literary Lodge, I’m delighted at how many of you showed up each day. And I know each of these authors standing up here with me are excited about and for each of you writers. We will be getting to the prizes, I promise, but first I wanted to say a few words.

First off, thank you. Thank you each and everyone of you who came and joined this party. You don’t know how much it means to us that you choose to spend some of each day here at the Literary Lodge and at all the Conference Rooms participating, commenting, and sharing. We are thrilled at the number of people who came. So, I know I’ve said it once, but thank you.

Second, I want to encourage you all. If you are a published author, don’t stop writing. The world needs godly stories that edify and encourage, that are founded on God’s Word. And if you are not yet a published author, keep writing. Even if you don’t plan on publishing and selling your stories, they can be an encouragement to you. Often God uses the stories we write to teach us lessons. And if you do plan on someday publishing your stories, don’t publish them for fame or fortune, but because you want to be a light and a blessing to those around you. Yes, writing can be hard. Yes, editing can be overwhelming, and yes, publishing and marketing can be confusing, but don’t give up. Each of us here would be more than happy to answer questions and share about our publishing journey. Just ask.

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Now, I want to thank a few other people. First off my fellow party planner and conspirator, Kate Willis! Without Kate’s enthusiasm, ideas, and help, this party would never have been. She tossed ideas back and forth with me until the right one popped out. She shared her thoughts, tweaked my ideas, and was willing to do just about anything. 🙂 So, thanks Kate!

*Great applause*

Next I need to thank Victoria Lynn for all the graphics for this party. Not only did she volunteer at once to make them, but it hardly took her any time at all! Thank you Victoria! You saved me hours of trying to design some simple banner or graphic that wouldn’t have looked nearly as good as what you did. 🙂

*Applause*

And a special thank you to all our authors, Kelsey Bryant (who couldn’t be here today as she’s off on a trip with her family), Erika Mathews, Hope Ann, Faith Blum, Victoria Lynn, and of course, Kate Willis. It was so much fun reading all your posts. Thank you for your patience as Kate and I worked out all the little details of this party.

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And now, our 3rd place winner of a $5.00 Amazon Gift Card is . . .

CutePolarBear

Our 2nd place winner of a $10.00 Amazon Gift Card is . . .

Hannah Grace

And the winner of our Grand Prize which contains:

• Paper copy of The Emotion Thesaurus
• $5.00 Amazon Gift Card
• Free Cover Design by Victoria Lynn
• $30 Blog Tour Orchestration by Faith Blum
• Free Edit of up to 5000 words by Erika Mathews

Is . . .

Bethany W.

*Long Applause, Cheers, and Whistles*

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Now, before you all run off, there is still some ice cream and Popsicles in the kitchen, so grab something and then head over to the Conference rooms one last time for a word of encouragement. And thank you all for coming!

Oh, wait. One more thing. If you haven’t gotten your Free download of Writing Inspiration, you’ve got one more chance. Just click the image.

And if you are anything like me, you don’t remember the titles of all those recommended books about writing. So, here’s a download with all the titles. Just click here.

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