Speed Weeks Day 2: What is NASCAR?

What is NASCAR? What is the big thrill of continuous left turns to complete an oval? NASCAR - NASCAR is love- The love of a fast car! The thrill of out foxing your competitors! The thrill of victory when you swoosh down that last straightaway rolling under the checkered flag to the roar of approving fans!

Yeah, that's NASCAR !

The acronym stands for National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing or NASCAR. This body governs or oversees the rules for three major racing series:

• Sprint Cup Series
• Nationwide Series
• Craftman Truck Series

Unlike the old days where Detroit model cars (stock cars) were souped up to run fast, today's autos have gotten it down to a science. Most teams build their cars from the ground up adhering to the provisions of the governing body. Comparing a Detroit model to a racing vehicle is like looking at snails compared to a thoroughbred.

Sprint cup racers weigh in at 3,400 pounds and carry a monster V8 cubic inch engine that will generate 750 horsepower to move the vehicle down that track at speeds up to and over 180 miles per hour. A showroom model may have a 400 horsepower with a tame V8.

A stock car is built for one thing and one thing only S P E E D !

Reminder -- Leave a comment and you may win three books!

In celebration of the 2010 NASCAR season, my dear author friend Nancy O'Berry and I are running a contest!

Leave a comment on this blog and/or Nancy's before the green flag drops on the Daytona 500 on Sunday and you'll be registered to win three NASCAR-related books. The covers for the books are shown below in the previous blog post.

Gentlemen & Ladies -- Start your Engines and Win Books!

In celebration of the 2010 NASCAR season, my dear author friend Nancy O'Berry and I are running a contest!

Leave a comment on this blog and/or Nancy's before the green flag drops on the Daytona 500 on Sunday and you'll be registered to win three NASCAR-related books. The covers for the books are shown below.

Let's go racin'!

Looking for excitement?
Does the roar of the crowd, the smell of burnt rubber and gasoline make your heart race? This week we'll be exploring the exciting world of NASCAR and stock car racing as Speed Week takes over Daytona Florida.

Whether you like your men in those flashy fire suits, you enjoy watching cars careen around a track at breathtaking speeds, or your trying to find the happy medium in a house full of NASCAR fans, we'll try to figure out the ins and outs of this fast paced sport together and along the way find a bit of romance.

So buckle in tight and LET'S GO RACIN'

If you enjoy NASCAR, leave a comment before the green flag on Sunday, and you'll be registered to win these titles:

Amy Clipston's story "Kevin Harvick's Gift of Caring" is featured in the new Chicken Soup for the Soul: Nascar: 101 Stories of Family, Fortitude, and Fast Cars, which will be available in stores February 16.

Nancy O'Berry's Destination Daytona is available through Red Rose Publishing and debuted in August 2009.

Amy Clipston's Betrayed debuted with Five Star/Gale Publishing in September 2009.

Vote on the Top 4 Names!

Thank you all so much for your wonderful suggestions for the middle name for my character, Alexander Stewart. I've narrowed it down to my top four favorites and now I need you to vote for your favorite.

Here are the top names:

• Alexander James Stewart
• Alexander Cole Stewart
• Alexander Dean Stewart
• Alexander Grayson Stewart

To help you, I'll attaching a photo of how I see Alexander.

Thanks for your help!
Sincerely,
Amy

Help Me Name A Character!

I need your help. I'm working on a book and I need a middle name to go with the first name Alexander. His full name is Alexander Stewart.

Here's more information for you -- his father is a surgeon. His mother spends her days doing charity work. Oh, and his older brother is in medical school and his name is Andrew.

So, what should Alexander Stewart's middle name be?

Thanks for your help!

Everyone Needs Some Chicken Soup Sometimes

Last night I took my son to his usual Thursday guitar lesson. When we arrived home, I found a large box waiting for me on the dining room table.

I assumed the box contained the copies of my book Betrayed, which I'd ordered earlier in the week.

However, when I opened it and found a surprise: ten copies of Chicken Soup for the Soul: Nascar: 101 Stories of Family, Fortitude, and Fast Cars. While I'd known that my story, "Kevin Harvick's Gift of Caring," had made it to the final submission round, I didn¹t know my story appeared on page 143 until I received the package!

Needless to say, I did some dancing and screaming. To further celebrate, my family and I enjoyed some Baskin Robbins treats.

Chicken Soup for the Soul: Nascar: 101 Stories of Family, Fortitude, and Fast Cars will be available on-line and in bookstores on February 16. I hope you'll pick up a copy and check out my essay. The story is dear to my heart.

Have a great weekend!

Sincerely,

Amy

Book Signings & Book Covers!

Hi everyone!

Thank you to all of you who joined me for my book signing in Virginia Beach last week! I enjoyed seeing so many wonderful friends and also making new friends. I'm so thankful for everyone who took the time to come and see me.

Today I received the final cover for A Plain & Simple Christmas, my novella that will release in August. I'm so excited to share the cover with you! Please leave a comment and let me know what you think. 

Here's a blurb for the book:

In the tradition of her widely popular Kauffman Amish Bakery series, author Amy Clipston tells the tale of Anna Mae McDonough who was shunned by her family four years ago when she left her Amish community in Lancaster County, PA, to marry an “Englisher” (non Amish) man and move with him to Baltimore. Now, eight months pregnant when her first child, she longs to return home for Christmas to reconcile with her family, especially her stern father, who is the religious leader for her former Amish church district.

So Anne Mae writes a letter to Kathryn Beiler, her brother’s wife, to enlist her help. Kathryn asks her husband, David, if she should arrange Anna Mae’s visit. David cautions her that a visit would cause too much stress in the family and instead suggests they visit Anna Mae and her husband in the spring. However, Kathryn arranges the visit anyway, believing in her heart that it’s God’s will for the family to heal.

When Anna Mae arrives in Lancaster for Christmas, she doesn’t receive the welcome she expects and her world begins to fall apart, leaving her to question her place in her family – and her faith in God.

A book filled with love, the pain of being separated from one’s family, and the determination to follow God’s will regardless of the outcome, A Plain and Simple Christmas is an inspiring page-turner that will keep you guessing what happens next…right to the very last page.

 

Join Me for a Book Siging in Virginia Beach on January 9

Please join me on Saturday, January 9, at 2 p.m. for a book signing at the Books-A-Million at Landstown Commons in Virginia Beach! I'll be signing copies of my book A Gift of Grace, and I'll be joined by bestselling author Judi McCoy! I hope to see you there!