Imaginary Friends

April 23, 2009By Karen Barnett No Comments

Several people have asked me how lately how the rewrite of Shaken is going. Usually I smile and say, “Great, great. A lot of work, but it’s going great!” That is mostly true. I’m a little overwhelmed at the idea of doubling the length of an already-finished story, but it’s going surprisingly well. What is … Read More

My Next Book

April 22, 2009By Karen Barnett No Comments

I had the grumps last night. The weather was gorgeous outside and I desperately wanted to sit outside and read a book. Instead, I did the right thing and cooked dinner for my family. My son proceeded to complain about what I served. He’s nine and has suddenly become finicky and opinionated. Okay, maybe not … Read More

Good Things

April 21, 2009By Karen Barnett 2 Comments

One of my three cats, has a passion for twist-ties. It may border on cat obsession, really. This stupid little thing came on some toy packaging and got dropped on the floor. Life has never been the same since. He chases the thing, endlessly. He kicks it up and down the hall like a soccer … Read More

God’s Smile

April 20, 2009By Karen Barnett No Comments

My sincerest apologies to the photographer of this picture. I would love to give you credit, since it is such an amazing photo. But since I don’t know who you are, I just say, “Wow!” When I saw this online, I thought, “I have to post this on my blog.” Have you ever had one … Read More

Book Review Friday

April 17, 2009By Karen Barnett 3 Comments

Okay, I’m going to start something new! Since I came home from the Mount Hermon Christian Writers Conference with a huge stack of books to read, I’ve decided to make Friday my new “book review” day. I’ll be focusing on Christian fiction titles. Today I want to discuss a two-book series that I recently finished, … Read More

God’s Gift: Ice Cream?

April 16, 2009By Karen Barnett No Comments

I was feeling pretty “blogged down” today and was having trouble coming up with anything interesting to post. So I asked my husband for something short and funny to blog about. He did not disappoint. “Tell the ice cream story,” he suggested. Last week, while I was at the Mount Hermon Christian Writers Conference in … Read More

“Our Creative Best”

April 15, 2009By Karen Barnett 1 Comment

Wow, I had a great writing day yesterday. I sat in the coffee shop and typed out two new chapters for Shaken. And they’re good chapters, too. Ever since two agents at Mount Hermon told me that I needed to lengthen the book by nearly 30,000 words (doubling it, essentially), I’ve been stressing out. How … Read More

What’s bugging you?

April 14, 2009By Karen Barnett 2 Comments

Bugs have been a constant discussion in our home during the last week. My son’s fourth grade class is writing their first major report on — you guessed it — bugs. And it’s really starting to “bug” me! They are collecting bugs for their classroom “bug-a-torium,” which I’m imagining as something along the lines of … Read More

The Beginning and the End

April 13, 2009By Karen Barnett No Comments

Yesterday was Easter — Resurrection Sunday. A few years ago I bought a package of “resurrection eggs” at our local Christian bookstore. Each plastic egg is filled with an object that symbolizes a part of the Easter story. My kids take turn opening each of the eggs and telling me what the items mean. There’s … Read More

Sliding Down the Mountain

April 10, 2009By Karen Barnett No Comments

When I was hiking this last week, it triggered an old memory. I used to spend my summer vacations during graduate school working as a park ranger at Mount Rainier National Park. I worked at Sunrise Visitor Center, which is on the northeast side of the mountain. I remember my mother always warning me not … Read More