Friday, Sept. 18, 2003, about one hundred people gathered in Salon B of the Houston Airport Marriott to kick off the ACRW conference with a meet-and-greet, Texas style. We loaded our plates with fajitas and fruit, then cruised the room, chatting and laughing with people whose names appear in our E-mail boxes each day.

The entire evening was spectacular, but the highlight for me came when the Petersons and Rebecca Germany were called to the front of the room. There, before a roomful of rowdy writers, they presented Rhonda Gibson with her first contract for her story, “Love of a Lifetime,” which will appear in the Scraps of Love anthology releasing December 2004.

What a wonderful experience to share with the ACRWers gathered there! Rhonda received one hundred hugs and congratulations, and didn‚t stop grinning the rest of the conference.

I hope you enjoy this look “Behind the Scenes” into the up-and-coming writing career of Rhonda Gibson.

Q: How many years have you been writing?
A: I have been writing since forever but only started writing "seriously" three years ago.

Q: How much time do you spend writing daily?
A: I write two hours a day, Monday through Friday. My writing time begins at 8:00 p.m. and extends to around 10:00 p.m. Sometimes I get started and don't stop until the early morning hours. Saturday writing times depend on family events. I am a full-time writer. When I'm not writing, I'm thinking writing. My day job as a librarian for an elementary school on the Navajo Reservation in New Mexico is very secondary to me.

Q: Do you set daily goals for your writing?
A: I try to write five pages a day or edit 14 a day. If I am working on a new project, I may set a goal of writing the chapter-by-chapter synopsis during the two hours I've allotted for the evening. My goals vary from day to day depending on where I am in the writing process.

Q: Where do you write?
A: I have a writing cottage. My husband built me my own room separate from the house. It has a cute little porch, with a large window that looks out to the hummingbird feeders. Perfect for setting the mood to write.

Q: Do you plot or not?
A: I start out as a seat-of-the-pants writer. Then after several pages I outline the rest of the story, making sure the plots carry the story through to the end.

Q: Is your first draft rough, or do you aim for a polished manuscript the first time through?
A: My first draft is always rough. I run everything I write past Colleen Coble and then do the rewrites she suggests.

Q: How does your Christian walk influence your writing?
A: I believe prayer before every writing session is the only way to write. I do this and I never have to "force" the Christian aspect into my writing because God sprinkles it with just the right amount.

Q: Do you have any advice for a new writer?
A: Read! Write! And learn from others. If there is a writing class, take it. If there is a published author who is kind enough to take you under his or her wing, listen and learn. Above all, place your writing in God's hands and let Him bless you.