I had a super-grouchy day a couple of days ago. For me, the bright spot about crab-cake days is they’re often followed up by spots of sunshine, a little touch of joy breaking through the emotional clouds. Here are a few things that made my smile break through. The sun shining through the brightly-colored fall … Read More
Pick up the phone!
Today I’ve been doing one of those tasks that I just HATE–making appointments. Doctor, dentist, optometrist, hair stylist. It combines two of my least favorite activities, being on the telephone and waiting rooms. (Shiver). In celebration of making the dreaded calls, I’m going to re-post one of my favorite blog posts: “Double Vision.” I wrote this … Read More
Dreaming BIG
I recently returned from a writer’s retreat hosted by Books & Such Literary Agency. Our theme was “By Design, Creating the Career of Your Dreams” and agent Wendy Lawton (who works with my wonderful agent, Rachel Kent) and author Debbie Macomber encouraged us to dream BIG. Wendy quoted C.S. Lewis: “Aim at heaven and you will get … Read More
Friday Book Pick: With Every Letter by Sarah Sundin
I’m very excited to tell you about this new release from one of my all-time favorite authors, Sarah Sundin. With Every Letter is a fantastic addition to Sundin’s repertoire of World War II romances. In her original three-book series, the Wings of Glory, three brothers spend the war as B-17 bomber pilots, flying headlong into both love … Read More
Highlights from ACFW 2012
So excited to see the FINALIST ribbon on my name badge! Hi everyone! I made it back from Dallas in one piece and thoroughly exhausted. I would have posted yesterday, except that I felt no better than a wet piece of tissue paper and couldn’t seem to pull myself together. This was a challenging conference … Read More
On my way to Dallas!
Wednesday morning I’m heading out for the American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) Conference in Dallas, Texas. Though I’ve been to national conferences before, familiarity never stops me from turning into a puddle of nerves. Add in the fact that I’m a finalist for the ACFW Genesis Contest for unpublished writers and maybe you can understand why … Read More
Hope Chronicles is Coming!
I am thrilled to announce a special blog event, The Hope Chronicles, coming in November. Hope Chronicles will link together five authors, five heroines, and five blogs, and will culminate in one special, hand-inscribed journal to be given away as a grand prize. There will also be individual prizes unique to each heroine and her … Read More
Braiding a Story
Yesterday, my 10-year-old daughter taught me how to do a fishtail braid. I twisted, gathered, and plaited her long, blonde hair, as a familiar tension gathered in my chest. I would glance to the left, knowing I needed to gather a lock from over there and weave it to the right, somehow combining it in … Read More
Friday Book Pick: BE STILL MY SOUL by Joanne Bischof
“Night’s chill tickled her skin. Lonnie pressed her hands together and glanced up. He was even more handsome up close. Having grown up the shy, awkward daughter of Joel Sawyer, she’d hardly spoken to any boy, let alone the one who had mothers whispering warnings in their daughter’s ears and fathers loading shotguns.” (Be Still … Read More
Friday Book Pick: RARE EARTH by Davis Bunn
Author Davis Bunn is the master of writing page-turning fiction and his character Marc Royce reads much like a big screen action hero. In Bunn’s newest novel, Rare Earth, the second installment of the Lion of Babylon series, Royce takes his heroics to Africa. (Even though it is a series, Rare Earth easily stands alone). Here is … Read More