Rightfully Mine: God's Equal Rights Amendment

Interview by Cindy Bauer

Aggie Villanueva interviewed by Cindy Bauer

Welcome Aggie!

Cindy: You previously two works thru Thomas Nelson and recently republished Rightfully Mine. What prompted you to republish that particular book?

Aggie: It was well received when it was originally published. Local newspaper reviewers begged for a sequel and my editor at Thomas Nelson also urged me to continue writing for them. Health problems prevented it at the time, but those problems are less intrusive now, or rather technology allows me to accomplish more. But I no longer have an interest in going through traditional publishing houses. The opportunities are endless now for indies, so I chose that route. http://www.aggiev.org/rightfullymine/

Cindy: Are you working on anything new right now?

Aggie: Yes I am. Two yearly books I've been urged to do; one a compilation of my 2009 writers' interviews, and the other a compilation of the year's photographer/artists interviews.

So many of my interviewees commented on the depth of the questions and how much time I put into the pre research that I started googling interviews and found that most interviewers ask similar questions in each interview. There was no real investment of the subject's spirit and personality into them.

I spend a great deal of time researching my subjects so I won't be asking them to repeat information they've already given a thousand times. Some use my interview introductions in their promo material.

Now, this is a secret. I'm also dipping my toe into beginning research for the two sequels to RM, plus two nonfiction books. And, of course, I'm always writing for the VAJ blog and articles and guest posts, etc.

Cindy: You co-authored your first book, Chase the Wind. How did that come about?

Aggie: A friend, Deborah Lawrence, and I planned to write a book of short stories about Biblical women. We started with Gomer and never left her. She is still my favorite Biblical character.

Cindy: And what is it about?

Aggie: Chase the Wind is about the old testament book of Hosea; the prophet God commanded to marry a prostitute as an example of God's unfaithful bride of Israel.

Cindy: You're also a professional photographer. When did your love for photography come about?

Aggie: I've always loved photography. My mother gave me a brownie when I was about 9. They couldn't keep me in film. I took pictures of everything from the sweeping clouds to blades of grass.
My kids used to tease me and pretend they didn't recognize me when I lowered the camera or camcorder from my face. But it wasn't until the spring of 2007 that I got a digital SLR camera and made an attempt at going pro.

Cindy: What inspires your photographic work?

Aggie: My beloved mountains. I wish I could live up there, but I spend as much time roaming them as I can. Since I live in the foothills of the San Juan Wilderness area I can do it fairly often.

Cindy: Earlier this year, you started up a website, Visual Arts Junction. How did that idea come about, what is your goal, and what does the site offer to its visitors?

Aggie: I've gained much through my writing and photography. I always like to give back. I wanted to establish a gathering place where other artists could meet and learn and get acquainted through interviews with other artists. I emailed my internet friends in the field and those interested (like you) joined me in the adventure.

We are always adding more events, hoping to make the subscriber's experience deeper and more fun, and because we just plain like to have fun ourselves.

There's our monthly writing contest. The winning entry is posted on the sites of our panel of judges (a total of nine sites) and our continually growing list of sponsors, now numbering 16, with several posting to multiple sites. So the winner is posted on, at the minimum, 27 sites (so far), with a readership in the thousands. That's quite a prize.

We run a monthly raffle of one of my photographic art pieces. This month you can enter here and become an art collector for under $5.00.

Our newest event was initiated by Shelagh Watkins; VAJ Shorts. She wrote the opening of a story. And now visitors add to the story in the comments box. No word limit, but it must be original.

We have freebie pages, including archives covering many topics. The photography archive is like a free college education. It's the largest archive on the net that we know of.

I particularly like our List Your Art Site page where readers introduce themselves and their sites. This was the most populated page on the blog until I recently switched our "comments" software and lost everyone's entries. Sorry everybody!

Keep tabs on our VAJ Contests, Give-a-Ways & Raffles. It changes monthly. And of course there is always the vast array of interviews by our staff that we have become known for.

Cindy: You actually traveled to research before writing Rightfully Mine. What inspired you to do that and to write a fiction work around that particular story originally?

Aggie: There were comments in reviews and interviews of my first novel about how realistic are my descriptions. I wondered if I could make them even more so in my second book if I'd actually been to Israel. Reviewers seem to think I succeeded.

At the time, the early 80s, there was heated debate between the church and the feminists over the passing of a women's equal rights amendment. When I read the Number's story of Zelophehad's daughters, who essentially lobbied for the first equal rights amendment I was eager to bring that story to the world. Thousands of years don't make as much difference as we suppose.

Thomas Nelson wouldn't let me use the tag line "God's First Equal Rights Amendment." They said it would be too controversial within the church.

This is a women's equal rights amendment straight out of history, and handed down straight from the throne of God. How much more do we need in order to understand the great worth of women, and our worth to God throughout history, today and evermore?

Cindy: Where can we learn more about you and your art/writing works?

Rightfully Mine 
The Rewritten Word writing courses:
Find Your Niche & Style coaching
Visual Arts Junction
Photographic art

Cindy: Are there any new projects in the works for you other than the art and writing?

Aggie: I teach an online course about rewriting. I'm working that up into a book. I'm working on the same thing regarding my personal coaching course, Find Your Niche & Style.

I plan to begin teleseminars later this winter. I'm very excited about the chance to get to bring together the artists with the readers. I love my text interviews, but everyone gets so much more out of it when they can be involved and ask questions. But for those who would rather curl up with the book, I'll have the sessions transcribed for the 2010 compilation books.

Cindy, I've really enjoyed this time. Thankx so much for inviting me.

Front Page Interview by Carol Langstroth

Carol Langstroth Interviews Author Aggie Villanueva of Gallina, NM, USA

Bio: Writing since the late 70's, Aggie Villanueva’s first novel, Chase the Wind, Thomas Nelson 1983, was published before she was 30 and her second, Rightfully Mine, from Thomas Nelson in 1986. Villanueva freelanced throughout the 80s, also writing three craft columns and three software review columns, both for national magazines. She was featured on the cover of The Christian Writer Magazine October 1983. After teaching at writer’s conferences throughout the Midwest, she founded/directed the 3-day Mid-America Fellowship of Christian Writers conferences for four years until 1990. Rightfully Mine is republished. Aggie runs/writes a successful partnership blog, Visual Arts Junction, founded January 2009, and teaches writing/photography courses online.

How many book/s have you written? I've written two historical/Biblical novels.

Please share with us your book titles: My two published books are Chase the Wind, published by Thomas Nelson, and Rightfully Mine, originally published by Thomas Nelson, reprinted by myself.

What genre/s would you like to write in? My favorite genre is fiction, but I write mostly non-fiction. I love informing people, and doing interviews. Interviews currently take the biggest chunk of my writing time.

Please share with us who or what encourages you to write and why? All writers write because they can't NOT write. As I said, historical fiction is my first love, and I plan to return to that again, but the majority of my present writing is the interview.

The reason for that is the inspiration and encouragement I gain from researching and communicating with writers/photographers/artists that are, well...inspiring.

The entire purpose of interviewing is to inform and inspire readers/listeners, but I think many don't understand the creative spirit that the interviewer absorbs from the act of interviewing. Add that to your own flame, and it's simply a superb way to spend your writing time that enhances everyone involved.

Writing is such a solitary career. Interviewing allows you to touch and be touched by other creatives. Each time my creativity is expanded, and that is conveyed in every interview and absorbed by every reader.

How long did it take for you to write your books? It took me two years to write each book. The first year I immersed myself in research, the second year I wrote the book. For the second book I couldn't satisfy myself with just reading research so I traveled to Israel to experience it first hand.

How long did it take for you to publish your books? I have to be humbled by the answer to that. Humbled because I guess I don't have the stamina for rejection that most writers possess. I guess God knew I might not stick with it, so for some reason, the first publisher I sent to accepted both books. Thomas Nelson published both.

Who did you publish with and why? I published with Thomas Nelson, well...because they accepted the books!

Please share with us how you prefer to market your books? Nowadays I self publish. Times have changed greatly. I know my writing is of acceptable quality because, well...I've been accepted by standard publishers. In fact my writing has improved since then. So I don't abide by the criticism of self-publishing creating inferior writing.

And, having been in the standard publishing cycle, I also know that they do very little marketing unless you're a big name author, and they take most of the money.

I have learned over the last few years to establish an internet presence. I've done that through my partnership blog, Visual Arts Junction. www.visualartsjunction.com

I also, like everyone else these days, use social media daily, constantly working to expand my presence and credibility there. Most of my posts are helpful tips and information for writers and photographers, but I slip in info about my products and offerings too, and of course talk personally with my closest 900 friends! Chuckling.

I love social media. I have met so many fellow writers and photographers I can't count them. And I learn something from each of them too. Social media marketing is a two-way street.

I've created an audio podcast introducing Rightfully Mine on by RM blog:
 http://www.aggiev.org/rightfullymine/. I will be recording many more because readers like to see and hear the author.

Through bookbuzzr.com I offer a free sample of the book:
 http://www.freado.com/book/4277/Rightfully-Mine-Gods-Equal-Rights-Amendment. They offer great widgets of your book sample you can place everywhere; and I do. And it's free.

Trailers are a favorite marketing tool. I use audio, podcasts and personal videos too. In fact this afternoon I'm going on a photography shoot to one of the most beautiful autumn sites in America. I will take a video to post on the blog dedicated to my photographic art.

I use Infusionsoft.com to automate the back end of my business. It's expensive, but I was overwhelmed with daily chores until I signed with them. I can't live without them now.

The interviews themselves are a good marketing tool because you market the interviewees too. I'm starting work on two interview compilation books of 2009; one for writers and one for photographer/artist.

One of the most important marketing strategies I've learned is that you must offer the reader/customer something of value to them. I hated sales, and refused to do it, before I learned that. When I realized I could help others through sales, marketing took on a whole new meaning to me.

I'm also in the beginning stages of setting up my own blog tour. I guess I'm incorporating the same marketing strategies that others have discovered as well. And I'm always looking for new and better ways to market.

Please share with us any events that you have planned in marketing your books: There is a new page on my RM blog for readers to write their own reviews.
 http://www.aggiev.org/rightfullymine/readersreviews.html

The trailer will be released in early October, 2009. I've gone all out on it; hired an excellent illustrator, and Blazing Trailers to do the video. I used BT for my photographic art trailer and couldn't have been more pleased with their work.

The blog tour is shaping up for early 2010, hopefully a two-three month tour, with book giveaways, prizes, etc. If you have a blog/website and would like to be one of my stops, just holler: myaggie2@gmail.com . Also email me if you want to be informed when I have the schedule completed.

I'll be posting contest soon on 17 social sites; buy print book get ebook free, etc. I'm even considering some paid advertising...and anything else I can think of. Any ideas anyone?

Do you wish to share any additional information with our readers? If you're reading this you love to write. Never give up your dream, and never stop expanding them. With the massive electronic media of today there are no barriers to publishing and marketing, not even the cost.

It's fun, it's usually free, and it benefits us as creatives. All it takes is hard work and commitment to raising the standard of literature with our own writings, whether fiction or not.

Never in history has there been such a revolutionary time for writers to succeed (example: the Espresso Book Machine where you choose from a list of books and watch while it’s printed, cut, bound and delivered into your hands in under ten minutes?. Go for it. Grab it for yourself.

Email to share: myaggie2@gmail.com

What About God's First Equal Rights Amendment?

Listen Here: Aggie Speaks Out

About Rightfully Mine

"A carefully researched and inspiring story of someone who stands up against the crowd and seeks God with their whole heart . . . regardless of the cost."

Bill Myers - bestselling author of "Eli"

This reviewer liked the book so much that she is buying it as a Christmas gift for a family member.
**** 4 stars Carol Langstroth, Manager, Mind Fog Reviews

"Her portrayal of a humanity struggling between safety and destiny is touching, palpable, and memorable. This is easily one of the best biblical novels I’ve ever read."

KM Weiland, author of A Man Called Outlaw and Behold the Dawn.

"One of my favorite movies of all time is The Ten Commandments. Rightfully Mine is now one of my favorite books. The author, Aggie Villanueva, weaves a superb blend of biblical history entwined with romance."

Cindy Bauer, author of Chasing Memories & Shades of Blue.

"Along with the rich plot and subplot of the novel, Aggie exhibits a talent for placing the reader in the heart of the bedouin camps, in the very tents and activities of the characters she brings to life, with the economy of words that is the hallmark of a masterful writer."

Linda Yezak, Author/Reviewer