NEW NEEDS FOR "LOVE IS A FLAME"

Hi Writers,
Sometimes book projects evolve as they go along. That's what's happening with Love is a Flame. While we do want stories of rekindled and dramatically changed marriages, the shift has changed a bit to be more inclusive on the topic of What Makes a Marriage Work.

We'd like to hear a story about something you've learned works in marriage. Tell us about a time when you faced a challenge or conflict and how that was resolved, or a story from your life that illustrates what makes a marriage work. You don't have to talk about an experience of bringing your marriage back from the brink of disaster (although we'd like some of those, too), but we're looking for slices of married life (again, a story about something that happened--not an article or words of marital advice or Bible study, though scripture use is fine), that are focused on one lesson or incident.

Here are ideas of some of the specific topics that we'd love to see covered, too:

*dealing with spouse's pornography
*remarriage--can old dogs learn new tricks?
*marriage in senior years
*dealing with infidelity--physically or emotionally
*dealing with child issues (loss of a child, differing discipline styles, stepchildren, combined front with children, etc.)
*overcoming step family challenges
*learning to forgive your spouse
*what happens when beauty fades
*how does a marriage survive addictions
*overcoming the little vines that spoil the vineyard
*not everyone we're around respects marriage, so dealing with temptations
*being nice to your spouse
*keeping flames alive when boredom sets in
*setting boundaries in marriage
*spiritual life of a married couple; growing together spiritually, dealing with one not being at the same spiritual level, etc.
*sexual issues
*Empty nest
*communication
*surviving lifechanges (menopause, mid-life crisis, depression, etc.)
(using pseudonyms is fine! just put the pen name you'd like to use on the byline below your title)

--Changes you might want to be aware of:
* The powers that be have decreed that besides the payments on the guidelines (attached), stories of over 2000 words (after editing) will net $100 each for the author.
* Since we know you have a busy holiday season, the deadline's been changed to Dec. 31 (although we're delighted to receive them sooner).

To give you an idea of the kinds of thing we're looking for, I've attached a sample story (with the author's permission).

All that said, I hope to hear from you, and hope you get a fresh glimpse of Christ during this fun Christmas season. =)
Thank you!
Jeanette
Jeanette Gardner Littleton
Editorial Associate
Love is a Flame (Bethany House)
A James Stuart Bell Project