Tag: Carlton Hughes

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A3 Contributor Book Release

A3 Columnist Book Release: Adventures in Fatherhood

Almost an Author is pleased to announce an upcoming book by two regular columnists, Carlton Hughes (A Lighter Look at the Writer’s Life) and Holland Webb (The Afterword Podcast).

Adventures in Fatherhood—60-Day Devotional by Carlton Hughes and Holland Webb

From the Publisher:

Being a great father is not for the weak of heart! It’s an adventure every step of the way. Whether you’re fixing boo-boos and changing diapers, or coaching soccer and carpooling teenagers, you’ll find spiritual insight and practical advice in this devotional by Carlton Hughes and Holland Webb. The authors blend personal experiences with humor and spiritual application to encourage you, dad, to do your best for God and for your family.

Ellie Claire’s devotionals offer short inspirational readings, paired with inspiring quotes and Scripture verses to encourage your heart.

Scheduled for release on April 7.

Carlton Hughes

Carlton Hughes, represented by Cyle Young of Hartline Literary, wears many hats. By day, he is a professor of communication. On Wednesday evenings and Sunday mornings, he serves as a children’s pastor. In his “spare time,” he is a freelance writer. Carlton is an empty-nesting dad and devoted husband who likes long walks on the beach, old sitcoms, and chocolate–all the chocolate. His work has been featured in Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Dating Game, The Wonders of Nature, Let the Earth Rejoice, Just Breathe, So God Made a Dog, and Everyday Grace for Men. His latest book is Adventures in Fatherhood, co-authored with Holland Webb and released by the Elle Claire imprint of Worthy/Hachette Publishing. He is a founding columnist at AlmostAnAuthor.com and is also a contributor to InspiredPrompt.com.

Holland Webb:

In March 2004, Holland Webb received the life-changing phone call that he would be adopting two boys, ages three and four. Since that day, as a single dad, he’s had several more life-changing phone calls—from the principal, the children’s pastor, and the highway patrol. Holland couldn’t be more proud of his boys, Geoffrey and John-Paul. They have found adventure in the mountains of Guatemala, the deserts of Morocco, and the cornfields of Iowa. They now live in South Carolina, where the boys are entering adulthood and Holland is entering his dotage. A full-time freelance writer, Holland produces content for businesses, marketing agencies, and universities. He also writes for Devozine and Keys for Kids and cohosts a podcast called The Afterword: A Conversation about the Future of Words.

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A Lighter Look at the Writer's Life

Whatever!

lighter look at a writer's life

“What do you write?”

Sit down with a group at a writers conference or anywhere else writers gather, and that will be the first question asked. The answers usually vary widely.

“Speculative.”

“Amish.”

“Romantic suspense.”

“Women’s Bible studies.”

“Amish speculative with a touch of romantic suspense, and a secret baby included for good measure.”

(Okay, maybe I’m exaggerating about that last one . . . but it could happen.)

My answer is a bit different: “Whatever God gives me to write.”

That may seem like a super-spiritual reply, but it is truly the way things have happened since God called me to write. Time after time, God has opened unlikely opportunities for me, and all I had to do was to say, “Yes, whatever.”

So, in the last ten years, I have written:

–devotionals

–children’s Christmas plays

–test questions and chapter summaries for a textbook

–standardized test questions for an educational company

–sports stories for an online track and field/cross country website

–blog posts

–news articles

–general nonfiction

–fiction

I’m sure there’s more, but you get the idea.  I don’t share this list to brag on myself, but to brag on God. He’s the One Who has opened (and closed) the doors, and it was up to me to be obedient and to walk through (or to accept the slammed-shut ones). Each assignment has sharpened my skills, taught me about deadlines, and generally stretched me as a writer.

My advice then is not to pigeonhole yourself into one genre or specific type of writing. Sure, it’s okay to specialize and to hone your skills in one area (maybe God has called you to that), but it’s also important to be obedient to God’s leading when He makes a way for you to stretch your wings.

Now, back to Levi and Martha, who are waiting to get out of the time warp . . .  

Carlton Hughes wears many hats—some serious, some goofy.

During weekdays, he sounds like Charlie Brown’s teacher (wah-wah wah-wah-wah) as a community college professor of communication and journalism. On Sundays and Wednesdays, you’ll find him playing games, performing songs with motions, and doing object lessons in his role as a children’s pastor. He and his wife also attempt to keep up with their two college-age boys.

In his “spare” time, Carlton is a freelance writer who has been published in numerous books, including several recent releases from Worthy Publishing: The Wonders of Nature, So God Made a Dog, Just Breathe, Let the Earth Rejoice, and Everyday Grace for Men. He has been featured in Chicken Soup for the Soul and other publications and is represented by Cyle Young of the Hartline Agency. He contributes regularly to two writing blogs, almostanauthor.com and inspiredprompt.com. He specializes in humorous observations of everyday life, connecting those experiences with spiritual application.

Carlton loves watching classic sitcoms like I Love Lucy, eating way too much chocolate, and rooting for his favorite college and high school basketball teams. He is on the planning committee for Kentucky Christian Writers Conference and a year-round volunteer for Operation Christmas Child.

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A Lighter Look at the Writer's Life

Kickin’ It, Bi-Vocational Style

lighter look at a writer's life

Throughout April and early May last year, in the lead-up to Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference, writers flooded the Blue Ridge Writers Facebook page detailing all the activity and preparation they were doing before the event.

“I’ve been working on my notebook, compiling everything in it.”

“My one sheets are complete for every project that I am pitching.”

“I’ve just completed my latest proposal.”

Meanwhile, I was over here in the recliner like, “Today I answered 50 emails, graded a bunch of papers, drove across a mountain and back to teach some classes, and survived work today. Word.”

I guess you could call me a “Bi-Vocational Writer.” That sounds important, doesn’t it? It means I have a day job because I enjoy luxuries like electricity, food, and a roof over my head. I definitely feel called to write, but I also feel called to my job as a college professor—not to mention, it pays the bills.

Because I am teacher, I measure time in “school years,” August to May. This year has been one for the books—possibly the busiest one ever in my long career.

Circumstances have necessitated me to teach at three different course sites. I’ve been pushed and pulled in so many directions that I have felt like Stretch Armstrong at a ‘70s birthday party. I enjoy my job and have loved getting to know diverse students at these separate places, but I really need a nap.

In the midst of all the madness, I have been able to do some writing—devotionals for a project, monthly pieces for this blog, bi-monthly pieces for another blog, and other stuff for local publications. It’s been anything but easy, but in my weakness God has been strong.

I know this hectic, crazy-wacky year represents a season in my life, and it won’t always be this way. In the big picture, I see being bi-vocational as a blessing, as my day job and other things in my life give me PLENTY of writing material.

Carlton Hughes wears many hats. By day, he’s a professor of communication at Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College. On Wednesday evenings and Sunday mornings, he does object lessons and songs with motions as Children’s Pastor of Lynch Church of God. In his “spare time,” he is a freelance writer whose work has appeared in numerous publications, including Chicken Soup for the Soul and several devotional books from Worthy Publishing—Let the Earth Rejoice, Just Breathe, So God Made a Dog, and the forthcoming Everyday Grace for Men. Carlton and his wife Kathy have two college-age sons, Noah and Ethan. He is on the planning committee for Kentucky Christian Writers Conference and is a year-round volunteer for Operation Christmas child.

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A Lighter Look at the Writer's Life

I’m A-Grinnin’ by Carlton Hughes

lighter look at a writer's life

I grew up in the ‘70s and ‘80s, and I have always had a theory about families and entertainment from that era. It is a theory worthy of educational research, intellectual pontification, and possibly a special segment on the fourth hour of Today with Kathie Lee and Hoda.

Here’s my theory: you can divide families from that era into two camps—you were either a Hee Haw family or a Lawrence Welk Show family.

There, I said it, on the record, if you will. For you young whipper-snappers out there (who probably don’t even know what a whipper-snapper is and who need to GET OFF MY LAWN right now), back in the dark ages we had no cell phones, no Netflix, no YouTube. We had to watch programs as THEY AIRED on television. In my house, we even had to get up and MANUALLY CHANGE THE CHANNEL, right after we trudged across the prairie to Olsen’s Mercantile for sundries.

On Saturday nights from 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM in most markets, there were two main choices, as different as night and day: Hee Haw or Lawrence Welk.

The Lawrence Welk Show was helmed by a famous bandleader, who, in his lilting accent, introduced classic songs and showtunes, performed by sharply-dressed (we’re talking ball gowns and tuxedoes) beautiful people while bubbles wafted around them. I am not kidding—look it up. It was perceived as culturally-enriching, sophisticated entertainment.

With Hee Haw, you got men in overalls and flannel and ladies in gingham and pig tails telling the corniest of jokes, often in the middle of a cornfield. Music was provided by popular country singers of the day. One of my favorite segments was the used car commercial parodies featuring Junior Samples, a portly man who, in his thick Southern accent, encouraged us to call “BR-549” for the latest deal. There were no showtunes, bubbles, evening gowns, nor tuxedoes in sight.

Our Saturday choice was always Hee Haw. We were a blue-collar family in a rural Southern town, so it made sense (although I did have friends from Lawrence Welk families, but they were in the minority). As I theorize, I realize those Saturday night broadcasts influenced my writing.

I love to write humor—shocking, I know—and will never miss a chance to include a corny joke. Even in my day job as a teacher, I always go for cheap humor. The other day my students were introducing themselves, and one boy said he was from Indiana (I still live in the South, in Kentucky). My response: “Boy, that has to be the longest bus ride every day!” It was like I was standing in the cornfield with Archie Campbell (another Hee Haw regular).

I prefer a simpler, folksy approach to writing, much like my Hee Haw brethren. I am not knocking those who watched Lawrence Welk and even have actual friends in that camp who are fine writers. I guess I feel more comfortable on the “lowbrow” side of things, but there’s room for both of us.

That’s my theory, and I’m sticking to it. I can’t pick, but I am a-grinnin’.

Carlton Hughes grew up watching classic television and riding his bicycle without a helmet (don’t try that at home). He is a communications professor at Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College, children’s pastor at Lynch Church of God, and a freelance writer. His work has appeared in numerous publications, including Simple Little Words, Chicken Soup for the Soul, and several devotional books from Worthy Publishing: Let the Earth Rejoice, So God Made a Dog, Just Breathe, and the forthcoming Everyday Grace for Men. He loves good chocolate, University of Kentucky Basketball, and I Love Lucy reruns.

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A Lighter Look at the Writer's Life

Getting Through the Fog by Carlton Hughes

lighter look at a writer's life

A new year is normally a time of reflection, of goal-setting, of looking forward to possibilities. That’s normally the way it is for me, but this year was different.

Right after New Year’s Day, I was diagnosed with the flu. I haven’t been that sick in years, and my vision-casting, planning, and reflections melted away. I spent several days in bed barely able to think, and then, when I was able to return to work to try to function, my mind remained in a fog. I would do my work and then return home and collapse on the couch. The illness took a lot out of me.

I gradually returned to the land of the living . . . and of writing. Thankfully, I did not have any major deadlines during my down time, but I did have some things on the “back burner.” Two friends had sent invitations to do guest posts on their blogs, with the stipulation that I could take my time in submitting. What a blessing to have friends without deadlines!

One thing I learned through it all is that I have to be patient with myself. I’m certainly not getting any younger, and the bounce-back time for illnesses like the flu is longer than it used to be. I made lists—sometimes in the middle of the night when the thoughts came—and wrote rough, rough (really, really rough) drafts as I could. I even spent time thinking about a new project, and I hopefully I will actually remember those thoughts when I sit down to put something on paper.

I used the down time to truly rest, and, in the end, I think that’s what I needed. It would have been nice to be able to rest without the sneezing, coughing, and aching feelings, but, hey, I took it as it came. So, when life happens, roll with it, rest, and make lists. Those big tasks will be waiting on you when you emerge from the fog.

Carlton Hughes wears many hats—some serious, some goofy.

During weekdays, he sounds like Charlie Brown’s teacher (wah-wah wah-wah-wah) as a community college professor of communication and journalism. On Sundays and Wednesdays, you’ll find him playing games, performing songs with motions, and doing object lessons in his role as a children’s pastor. He and his wife also attempt to keep up with their two college-age boys.

In his “spare” time, Carlton is a freelance writer who has been published in numerous books, including several recent releases from Worthy Publishing: The Wonders of Nature, So God Made a Dog, Just Breathe, Let the Earth Rejoice, and the forthcoming Everyday Grace for Men. He has been featured in Chicken Soup for the Soul and other publications and is represented by Cyle Young of the Hartline Agency. He contributes regularly to two writing blogs, almostanauthor.com and inspiredprompt.com. He specializes in humorous observations of everyday life, connecting those experiences with spiritual application.

Carlton loves watching classic sitcoms like I Love Lucy, eating way too much chocolate, and rooting for his favorite college and high school basketball teams. He is on the planning committee for Kentucky Christian Writers Conference and a year-round volunteer for Operation Christmas Child.

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A Lighter Look at the Writer's Life

Gotta Have Goals

lighter look at a writer's life

It’s a new year, and we all know what that means: resolutions! Love them or hate them, we all make them.

I have resolved to lose weight for the last 45 or so New Years. I’ve had success here and there, but I am reminded of my favorite quote from Erma Bombeck:

“In two decades I’ve lost a total of 789 pounds. I should be hanging from a charm bracelet.”

Pretty much sums it up, doesn’t it?

I have been thinking about resolutions as a writer and have decided to call them “goals” instead. That might give me more of an incentive to complete them:

GOAL ONE: Establish a better writing routine. I tend to be one of those “pantsers,” who writes by the seat of my pants without a plan. I’m still that way, but I hope to be more consistent with daily/weekly writing.

GOAL TWO: Finish what I started. I have a few projects that have been stuck in limbo, and I need to finish those. My agent and collaborators will applaud this one.

GOAL THREE: Pray over my projects. Sometimes I try to push through, forgetting the spiritual side. Without God, my writing will go nowhere. What’s the point if He’s not in the center?

GOAL FOUR: Eat less, exercise more. WHOOPS—wrong set of goals! However, the healthier I am, the better everything goes.

There they are, my goals in black and white. Maybe having them in print, in public, will motivate me. Now watch me as I write while avoiding Hershey Bars.

Carlton Hughes is a professor of communication at Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College, children’s pastor at Lynch Church of God, freelance writer, husband to Kathy, and father to Noah and Ethan. He enjoys long walks on the beach (He really does!), photography, and classic sitcoms like I Love Lucy. Hughes has been published in Chicken Soup for the Soul, Simple Little Words, and several devotional books from Worthy Publishing–The Wonders of Nature, Just Breathe, So God Made a Dog, Let the Earth Rejoice, and the forthcoming Everyday Grace for Men. He is on the planning committee and serves as a faculty member for Kentucky Christian Writers Conference. Hughes is a true blue fan of Kentucky Wildcats Basketball and loves to cook and bake, especially anything involving chocolate.

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A Lighter Look at the Writer's Life Support

Christmas Creativity by Carlton Hughes

lighter look at a writer's life

We all have things that inspire us. Some may marvel at a glorious sunset; others may find inspiration in a painting or in (gulp) reading a good book.
Those things are fine, but one of the main things that inspires me is music. When I am down and feeling “blah,” many times I will find what I need in a song. I often have church in my car during a commute . . . I sometimes wonder what the people who pass me think . . . and writing ideas flow. I love to sing along in my vehicle, but I will refrain from doing that in public (unless you need me to clear a room).

I love Christmas music, though my flea-sized attention span is challenged when I hear artists singing the same songs with the same arrangements. Imagine my delight when I recently downloaded the new release Decade the Halls by Christian music group Tenth Avenue North. It is the most creative, off-the-wall, funny, clever Christmas album (or regular album) I have ever heard.

Yes, hyperbole is one of my spiritual gifts. But it really is THAT good.

The guys in the group took ten Christmas songs—mostly traditional with a few originals thrown in—and performed each one in the musical style of a different decade. Starting with 1920s-era Good King Wenceslas and running through a poppy 2010s version of God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman, it is a delight, full of surprises and treats for your ears.

I laughed out loud several times on first listen and marveled at the creativity that brought this project to fruition. For me, favorites are an ‘80s-tinged rendition of Go Tell it on the Mountain, which sounds like a forgotten track from Huey Lewis and the News; The First Christmas, a ‘50s rockabilly throwdown with Zach Williams (of Chain Breaker fame); and Mistletoe (The Christmas Sweater Song), a hilarious riff on 2000s-era alt-rock.

I watched an interview with the lead singer Mike Donehey, who said the group wanted to create an experience that wouldn’t bore listeners. Boy, did they deliver.  Do yourself a favor and pick it up now.

By now, you probably feel like you’re reading the music review section of CCM Magazine, but there is a point for writers. This album has inspired me in my creative work. If Tenth Avenue North can take the time to craft such a unique piece, I should be able to do the same. I am not going to produce anything musical anytime soon (you’re welcome), but I am going to work on my blog posts, devotions, and other projects with that same spirit of creativity.

Now, I am going to give Decade the Halls a spin for the 100th time (apologies to my family, who would probably like to listen to something else by now).

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A Lighter Look at the Writer's Life Support

Dunking the Differences

I love Oreos. Milk’s favorite cookies are great on their own, but they’re over the top when combined with other ingredients. Imagine my excitement when one of my public speaking students announced she wanted to make Oreo Balls (or truffles, for you city folk) for her process speech.

Score!

If you have never had this treat, here’s how it goes: you crush up the delicious cookies, mix them with cream cheese, form them into a ball, and then dip them into melted chocolate.

Basically a diet food . . . if you are trying to add more calories and fat to your diet to gain weight.

In my day job as a professor of communication, I count process speech time as a highlight of each semester. Because I am a chubby professor of communication who enjoys food, I strongly suggest that those doing cooking speeches bring us a sample. I’m smart like that. I’m also fat like that.

This particular student told me her idea at the end of class, but I was frazzled and didn’t write it down. When the official topic signup sheet went around the next week, a different girl indicated she wanted to make Oreo Balls. Normally this wouldn’t be a problem for a healthy boy like me, but it violated my hard, fast rule about no two people doing the same topic. By the time I realized the oversight, it was already too late, so I decided to be like Elsa and “let it go.” After all, I love Oreos (see above), so we had two speeches about Oreo Balls on the same day.

What happened was fascinating.

The speeches were a study in contrast for both approach and tone, and the samples could not have been more different. One girl made petite treats dipped in white chocolate; the other student’s finished products were huge (we’re talking Ernest T. Bass-size rocks), dipped in milk chocolate. I was in Oreo heaven.

That’s a long set-up to say, as writers, we are different. If I gave two of you the same writing prompt, I guarantee the two pieces would not resemble each other in the end.

I view the world and the things around me through a different lens than many of my writer friends. If you read this blog regularly, you have realized I can find the funny in almost anything; it is hard for me to write in any other way. I cannot explain it—it is simply how I am wired.

I have friends who write historical fiction, while others write suspense. Some write serious Bible studies, and others write children’s books. God made each of us unique, and that uniqueness spills over into our writing. It is up to us to find that one-of-a-kind voice and to cultivate it.

I’m off to write another wacky piece—as soon as I clean these Oreo crumbs off my keyboard.