Interview with Jim Hughes and update on "Some Happy Day"

Some Happy Day Update

Some Happy Day is the first book in the series I have just begun writing. Rescued...A Series of Hope follows the Nan's Heritage Series. It is being released this month. For the whole month of February 2012, I am offering "Some Happy Day" for a lower price which includes tax and shipping. After February, the price will go up.

If you want to pre-order, please go to elainelittau.com to get in on the lower price. Your book will be sent to you as soon as they arrive at my house. Thank you.


I would like to introduce you to my friend, Jim Hughes. He is an encourager and prayer warrior as well as an inspiration to many.


1. I need you to tell me your name as seen on your books, your genre, and your title(s), and your website address.

My name is Jim Hughes. I write mainly non-fiction. My book is, C Through Marriage. My website is: www.cthroughmarriage.com.

2. How long have you been an author and when did the desire to write (the writing bug) bite?

My book was published in May, 2009. I never had any inclinations to being an author. I often wrote things down for my own benefit as a part of my pastoral ministry.

3. Why did you choose the genre you write in? Are there plans to write in another genre?
The Lord planned it. I was concerned about the many divorces happening in the church and thought I would put down some thoughts I had on what might help to make stronger marriages. It was never my intention to make it into a book. I have written a study guide for my book and I also have another book on Christian marriages written, but not published yet.

4. Please tell about each title here:
The title of “C Through Marriage” stems from the fact I cover 48 different topics relating to marriage, all beginning with the letter C.

5. Do you do speaking engagements? Tell about your subject matter.
I am a preacher so I do a lot of speaking. I rarely have about my book, although I hope to get that opportunity along the way.
6. What has been your most rewarding experience as an author?
The opportunities to do good and minister to people’s needs. I have been able to reach a lot more people with the Gospel because I am an author than I did as a pastor.
7. Where can your books be purchased? Through most Christian book outlets, both online and in stores. Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Tate Publishing & Enterprises are just some of the online sites where it is available.

7. How can readers reach you through twitter? through facebook? through your blog? through your website?I tweet at 4248. I have a C Through Marriage facebook page. My blog is listed at www.cthroughmarriage.blogspot.com. My website is www.cthroughmarriage.com.

8. What was your biggest surprise at being an author?
I am still amazed at how well my book is being received by those who have read it. I have been surprised at all that is involved in the marketing end of being an author and the commitment it takes.
9. We all know that writing can be a lonely occupation, what do your family and friends do to lift you up when you are down?
They take an interest in what I am doing. They are supportive of my efforts, even when it involves so much of my time. They understand that writing is a ministry to me.
10. What is your favorite hobby besides reading or writing?I enjoy sports. I am a couch potato sports enthusiast. I also like to connect with people on the net.

Thank you so much for the great interview, Jim.


I am selling all 5 of my books:

Nan's Journey

Elk's Resolve

Luke's Legacy

The Eyes of a Stranger

Timothy's Home


Print versions for $55

Review for Nan's Journey by Gailya Keller

Nan's Journey written by Author Elaine Littau
Join Nan as she finds escape for herself and her little brother from a horrible situation. Nan and her brother Elmer grab your heart and take it with them. You will want to gather them up and let them know it will be ok. They manage to start a new, wonderful life thanks to a special couple. They have wonderful adventures and more heartache as they attempt to heal. Nan finds true love as she learns to trust others and to trust God. Life comes full circle in the appearance of an unexpected person which causes her to question God and His Will. Travel on her Journey and share all the heartaches and wonderful blessings and grow your own faith in God.


Gailya Keller
Review by Author, The Secret of Smiley’s Woods

"Elk's Resolve" will be in my hands the end of April!

I will get my copies for sale here and on the Tate Publishing website at the end of April. Order here at the Paypal button to get a signed copy and I will send you a signed and numbered copy of "Elk's Resolve" and "Nan's Journey" if you haven't read it.

"Elk's Resolve" will be released worldwide in June/July of 2009 to bookstores and amazon.com, target.com, barnesandnoble.com, borders.com...etc.

When you read your copy, do me a great favor and write a review on your blog, facebook page, myspace page, and amazon.com. Word of mouth is the absolute best way to get the word out for books. Also, if you have an event coming up that is in need of a speaker...I'M YOUR GIRL! (or old lady depending on who you are...hee hee) Contact me here to set things up.

"Nan's Journey" is now on the Christian Book Video website!

On Friday I was happy to see the book trailer for "Nan's Journey" on the Christian Book Video website. I am blessed to have my book listed among the other titles. There are some very creative book trailers on there and the books look like the kind I really like to read....so many books....so little time...

This first week of March I am supposed to get the "mach-up" for "Elk's Resolve" in the mail to review and sign the approval form. I will keep you posted. You will probably see one happy author holding a brand new book!

Narrator Choices, Cover Choices

Today I made the final choices for narrator of "Elk's Resolve". For this book we decided to go with a male voice because of the main charactor being male. We were asked to give our first, second, and third choice of narrator. My second choice was the woman who voiced "Nan's Journey". She did a great job and we were very pleased with her work. The narrative voices we chose from were very good and it was a difficult decision.

I also sent in our choice for the cover. It will be a sepia tone-similar to "Nan's Journey" with a tepee on it in place of the railroad tracks. I wanted the "flavor" of the books to be similar since they are in the same series. The official name of the series is "Nan's Heritage Series".

The next step will be layout and design. That will be paper choice, font and size. We will go with the same format as "Nan's Journey". I think that things are going very well. They will send me a mach up of the finished product for us to proofread. After that the audio team will send us the audio book to listen to and proof. When they sent us the proof of "Nan's Journey" I had to laugh. The narrator said, "Nan and Elmer put the dishes in the dishwasher." It should have been: "Nan and Elmer put the dishes in the dish water." I noted the change and they gladly fixed it. I have wondered what listeners would have thought if we hadn't changed it. I wonder if they would have noticed? That was a very fun process.

They offered to do a book trailer for me in lieu of the audio book, but we chose the audio cds. The reason for our decision is that we have about a half dozen close friends who depend on books presented audibly. They have been patiently waiting for "Elk's Resolve" to be made available on cd for them and we couldn't disappoint them. We have sold a number of the audio version and know that there is definitely a market for them. We will make a book trailer for it also. It will be somewhat like the one we have of "Nan's Journey".

Progress Continues on "Elk's Resolve" the Sequel to "Nan's Journey"

I am happy to say that the progress on the sequel to "Nan's Journey" is moving along steadily. At this time the script for the "Elk's Resolve" audio book is completed. Terry and I have made our selections on the voice to deliver the story. Also, the book cover selections have been sent to me and I polled our family and some of our friends about their opinion on them. Tate does such a good job that is it difficult to make the selection. Soon I will post the finished product selection for the book cover of "Elk's Resolve"."Elk's Resolve" is the continuation of the story begun in "Nan's Journey". The question of "What happened to the baby?" is answered and more issues are addressed. The main thought behind this book is dealing with depression, prejudice and demonic attack. Hopefully, the reader will be encouraged and uplifted after finishing the last page of this book.I don't want to write for the sake of writing. I want to bring hope and help to people who read my stuff. I have been in prayer for everyone who reads these stories, praying that they will find the help they need through our Lord.

Libraries and Prisons

Libraries and Prisons??? What are you talking about? I just wanted to say that they are my favorite places to give books to. This morning I gave a copy of my audio book to my local library. I have also given away a bunch of hard copies of "Nan's Journey" to school and public libraries and prison libraries.There is a process for giving to prisons. You have to find someone connected to a ministry or service to a particular prison that is authorized to take a copy in to the library. If you are reading this and have access to this type of ministry, contact me. We will see about getting a copy into the prison or library you have in mind.Right now I am in the middle of preparing the manuscript for "Elk's Resolve" for the audio process. It is exciting to see the sequel to "Nan's Journey" come along. It has made it through the first stage of the conceptual edits and now I am waiting for the next editing step. I should get some selections to choose from for the book cover soon. It is a fun process. I will keep you updated. Be sure to check in and not miss anything.

Elks Resolve edits are Moving Along

I am excited. It looks like I will make my deadline on the edits to Elk's Resolve! Another point of interest is that the pre-orders are moving along very well. If you want to be sure that you are on the list for a pre-release copy of Elk's Resolve, comment here.

The editor I have been assigned to on this book is great. She has given me many encouraging notes on what I have written. She has also guided me and helped me correct some of the things I overlooked in the manuscript. In many ways I believe that Elk's Resolve is even better than Nan's Journey. If course Nan will always have a special place in my heart.

I can hardly wait to get the copies of Elk's Resolve in my hands.

If you have read the older posts on this blog, you know that the third book is written. Luke's Legacy carries on the story. Right now it is in a contest. One of the specifications was that the manuscript could not be one under consideration by a publisher. I am very excited about Luke! The Fourth book is still in the first chapter. I have had a lot on my plate this month so I haven't written on it since Thanksgiving. You are going to love it! It is yet un-named.

I want you to know that I am working very hard to be sure that each book is able to stand on its own, but it is somehow connected with the other ...so far. Each book will be unpredictable and have characters that you will care about. I hope my love for writing is reflected in each book.

Tell Me About Twitter.

I just joined twitter. What do you think of it? My name on there is nansjourney.

Things are Moving Along

A lot of things have happened in the past week. Terry finished the hardwood floor! I will post a detailed account of that, but right now I want to talk about the craft show. It was sooooo fun! I visited with a bunch of very sweet people who came by my booth. They were very encouraging and many of them purchased copies of "Nan's Journey" to give for gifts as well as signing my list for the pre-orders of "Elk's Resolve". I appreciate everybody who stopped by.alsoMy editor returned my marked up copy of "Elk's Resolve" for my corrections. I have until Dec 15 to get it back to her. She was very thorough. I think she is just right for this book. The book cover designer will phone me tomorrow and discuss ideas for the cover of "Elk's Resolve". Things are really moving along.Do you have any cool ideas for the book cover?

New Mexico Here I Come!

On Friday, September 26, I will be heading out to New Mexico after work. I will spend the night with my brother and his family and on Saturday hold two book signings. The first one will be at The Art of Beauty Salon and Spa located at 6200 NE BLVD Ste B in Albuquerque from 1-3 p.m. and the next will be at Hastings Booksellers at 12501 Candelaria Rd NE from 4-6 p.m.On Sunday I will be speaking at the First Assembly of God Church in Estancia, NM and enjoying a ladies luncheon following the services.I cannot tell you how excited I am about these events. It is great to visit with people and see their "take" on "Nan's Journey". Hopefully some of the issues represented withing the pages have rung true to real life. I am very interested in what the readers have to say.If you are in the area, please stop by and visit. I would like to meet you.One note of interest.... the second book in the series already has 82 people signed up for copies as soon as I get them. (about 3 months before the release date) If you have not emailed me or left a comment requesting one or more, please do it. I don't want you to have to wait to see..."What happened to the other baby?"

Using Time Wisely

Right now the publisher has "Elk's Resolve" in the hands of the editors. This process is very slow. When they were working over "Nan's Journey" it drove me CRAZY! When I got frustrated at the process I began writing the sequel ...Elk. That really helped me deal with the pace of actually getting a book produced and released. It reminds me of having a baby. It takes 9 to 10 months. (My sons were born in their 10th month!!!)

At this time I am 3/4 through the third book in the series. I am very excited about it also. Other book ideas fly through my mind and I am taking notes and writing a few outlines for them also. I find the whole process of writing exciting! It is sort of like watching a movie in my mind. Writing while I am waiting through the steps to the release of the next book is a good use of time.

Balance is the key. I am still working on that. While going through the editing process and writing the new book I still am marketing and promoting "Nan's Journey". I have two book signings on Saturday. The first one is in Amarillo at Hastings at 2020 Georgia Street from 2-4 p.m. The next one is at Canyon, Texas at Hastings next to the new Walmart from 6-8 p.m. On September 27 I have several book signings at Albuquerque. One is at Hastings and one is at my niece's hair salon/spa. I will have a speaking engagement at her church,the Assembly of God in Moriarty, NM on September 28. After that I have some time at home before getting back on the road in October. It is fun because I love meeting the readers.

If you are interested in setting up a book signing for "Nan's Journey" or "Elk's Resolve" (when it is released) please leave a comment here.