Center of Influence
A point of origin, as of influence, ideas, or actions that produces an effect without any apparent exertion of force or direct exercise of command.
Does the above definition sound like you? I assure you it does. It is a perfect
description of you. Every thing you do influences someone or something in some way. Have you ever tossed a pebble into a river? Did you notice how the impact of the stone moved a circle of water out until it finally returned to the calm apparent before the incident? Your words and actions are like that of the stone. They cause a “ripple effect” and literally move things around you. Whether the effect is good or bad depends on you.
Have you noticed?
* How an action in the Middle East causes the stock market to move?
* How an accident on the freeway backs up traffic for miles?
* How a stuck stoplight disrupts traffic?
* How an injured player stops a game?
* How a comedy scene makes a whole audience laugh?
* How an unkind word in a crowd can bring all those who hear become silent?
We could go on and on and on.
Take a piece of paper and draw a small circle in the middle. Write your name in the circle. Then draw a circle for every person with whom you have a relationship. Place their name in the circle. These don’t have to be close relationships. Include family members, friends, fellow employees, neighbors, people you do business with, church members, other organization members, and so on. Then connect all of those circles to the number of other circles representing people with whom they are connected. You will be amazed at your circle of influence.
Do you notice how many of them are people you like or love? Can you see how every word and action affects this vast number of people? I say vast because most weddings and funerals have approximately 200 people in attendance. I say 200 people is a vast number because 200 x 200 = 40,000. Amazing isn’t it? And that is only about two ripples in the water.
Tom Blubaugh is a freelance writer living in Southwest Missouri with Barbara, his wife. They have six children and fourteen grandchildren. Tom has written non-fiction most of his adult life, but has recently written a historical fiction titled Night of the Cossack, published by Bound by Faith Publishers. This is Tom’s first novel. He co-wrote a devotional journal in 2009 for Barbour Publishing titled The Great Adventure. His other writings include articles for a denominational magazine and an insurance publication. He also self-published a book, Behind the Scenes of the Bus Ministry in 1974.
Tom started writing poetry at the age of fourteen. His vision of turning them into lyrics for rock and roll songs for popular artists didn’t develop. He considers writing to be a God-given talent and feels led to develop it. His first novel was published at his age of 69. Tom says it’s never too late. He is now writing a sequel.
Tom spent twelve years as an insurance agent and eleven years as a financial planner. He is the past president of Jericho Commission, Inc., and still serves on the board of directors.
Write the first several posts. What should you write about? Write about anything and everything. What caught your attention this week? What do you like to write about most? What has been on your heart lately? Since I wanted to present myself as an author, I focused on writing. My posts about my writing journey were a mishmash of writing, inspiration, and a journal. Your posts may be all over the place to begin with, but that’s okay. You’ll start wide, then narrow your focus.
SUZANNE HARTMANN is a homeschool mom of three and lives in the St. Louis area. She loves spending time with her wonderful husband, and treasures the opportunity to train up her children in the way they should go. To relax, she enjoys scrapbooking, reading, and Bible study.
Wanda had just returned from a month-long book signing tour when she got the news that A Log Cabin Christmas had made the NYT Best Seller list. To top off that wonderful news, she also learned that her newest release, The Healing also made the NYT Best Seller list that week.
Margaret’s story: Snow Angel
To be honest, I attributed the NYT honor to the other authors and not me! The Courting Quilt is my first novella and Log Cabin Christmas my first chance to be part of a collection so I'm giving credit to all the other authors who have written novellas and romances and written them well. Wanda had another title on the list as well so her fans must be commended for noticing good things! I love being in the company of these fine writers. An email from Wanda Brunstetter forwarded by the editor is how I learned of the news. When I announced the NYT listing at a signing I had for another title of mine, the crowd applauded and then they bought the book! That was a delight! Jane Kirkpatrick
Like several of the other authors in this collection, I was at the American 
I had the pleasure of finding out about the best seller’s list from our wonderful editor, Becky Germany. She discovered me talking to a friend at the ACFW conference in St. Louis and tapped me on my shoulder. With a grin, she said she had some exciting news and then told me we had made the list. The rest of the day, my friend announced my news to everyone we met. What a thrill! 
I’ve written my own blog post about the experience 
The idea for a twist of NASCAR came after my daughter decided she liked watching stock car races and one day announced that she had chosen a favorite driver. I knew nothing about NASCAR at that point, so I had no idea if this driver was someone we should encourage her to root for. I decided I’d better educate myself and started paying more attention when my husband watched a race (instead of taking a nap).
Suzanne Hartmann is a homeschool mom of three and lives in the St. Louis area. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Composition & Linguistics from Western Illinois University. To relax, she enjoys scrapbooking, reading, and Bible study. She began writing fiction when her children were young, and four of her short stories were published in a Milliken Publishing reading workbook. PERIL: Fast Track Thriller Bk. #1 is her debut novel.
I’ve always said that I learn best by doing, and Board to Death is a perfect example of that. Sometime in 2009 or early 2010, I got an idea about a murder mystery involving board games. I was having separate e-mail conversations with Amy Barkman and Debbie Roome at the time, and I tossed them the idea just to get a reaction. They had their own ideas so we decided to write a book of novellas, each one with a different game. We brainstormed briefly, then went our separate ways to start writing. Originally, we were going to use real board games, but could not get permission to do it from the manufacturers. So we created and designed our own board games. (We used those designs in our book trailer, and in the book as section dividers. If we ever strike oil, we’ll manufacture the games and set up a cottage industry! LOL!) 
But it’s funny how that worked out. Amy read the first version and then when I finished, the second version. She wasn’t sure what I had changed to make it different, but I did, and the stories are not alike at all. I discovered during rewrites that much of the foundation was already in place for me to make the necessary changes without requiring major cutting. A few details changed the entire story. 
I was amazed by Hana's story and told her I knew one medic—maybe he remembered who that man was. I gave Hana the contact information and I soon heard the good news. My friend LeRoy “Pete” Petersohn was the medic who'd saved her life! The two were soon reunited! After all these years Hana was able to look into the eyes of the man who saved her and thanked him. After all these years Pete was able to meet the woman he saved. “Baby!” he called out when he met her.
Tricia Goyer is a homeschooling mom of four and an acclaimed and prolific writer, publishing hundreds of articles in national magazines. She has also written books on marriage and parenting and contributed notes to the Women of Faith Study Bible. Tricia's written numerous novels inspired by World War II veterans, including her new release Remembering You. Tricia lives with her husband and four children in Arkansas. You can find out more information about Tricia at 
My writing experience and knowledge of kids helped the transition from one genre to another. However, I didn’t want to get too far-fetched like some fantasy authors who use hard to pronounce names and go out of their way to make up ‘things’ to take the place of common items just to be different. I wanted the kids to be able to understand the names and associate with the characters and settings.
