By Renee Hodges Our friends, Wendy and Eric, sold most of their possessions and moved to Nicaragua eight years ago because they felt God calling them to be missionaries there. They immersed themselves into the culture knowing only basic Spanish and started serving in several towns and villages. Their experiences have ranged from sublime to hysterical over these years. My …
Declutter Your Mind – What Do you Need to Purge to Write Better?
By Tammie Fickas With the pandemic and people spending more time at home, decluttering seems to be a hot topic. Going from working too many hours to a forty hour a week job to working from home, I’m surrounded by my stuff, and I’ve realized there’s way too much of it. So, I jumped on the bandwagon and as my …
The Tin Woodman, the Scarecrow, and the Lion
By Julia Kay Being a women’s fiction writer, I’m a big fan of spiritual leaders who teach and champion other women. Specifically, Lisa Bevere is one of my favorites. I recently read a comment on social media from someone saying that her hand motions were annoying in one of her videos. As writers, we’ve been there, right? Rude comments. Random …
Remembering to Remember
By Christine Sunderland History is important. True history is lifesaving. We must never forget our past, the good and the bad. Today is Veterans Day, also known as Armistice Day or Remembrance Day. Americans remember those who fought in World War I and the Armistice signed the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, 1918. We also …
How Long Do You Write Before Writing It Down?
By Glynn Young I spent almost four years writing my first novel before I put a single word on screen or paper. Writing a novel wasn’t intentional. A song had captured my imagination, a single image formed in my mind, and gradually a story unfolded to accompany that song and image – all in my imagination. I mentally nursed the …
Why Depleted Writers Can’t Lie Down in Green Pastures
By Kristi Holl 2020 has been a long year for me, as for most people. Nearly eight months of isolation, a Covid-19 death in the family, and illness left me in need of rest at a time I wanted to make headway on my work-in-progress. I craved the Good Shepherd’s renewal of “lying down in green pastures,” but could not …
Amish Fiction and Evangelization
By Dana R. Lynn “You’re an author? How exciting! What’s your new book called?” “Deadly Amish Reunion.” When people ask me what I write, I used to feel odd telling them that I wrote Amish fiction, mostly Amish suspense. Sometimes their faces would light up. Other times, it was obvious they were trying not to roll their eyes. People are …
Straddling the Fence
By Donna Wichelman Mathew 6:24 –“ No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth” (NASB). If you are a Christian and a fiction author, perhaps you have squirmed over marrying the two identities and branding …
It Came Upon A Midnight Clear…
By Allie Pleiter When I set out to write a book about an “imperfect Christmas,” I had no idea how far from ideal the Christmas of 2020 would be. To be honest, it’s probably an overstatement to say I set out to write His Christmas Wish. It never really happens in such a deliberate way. Books reveal themselves to me. …
A Fresh Outlook
By Loretta Eidson Life has a way of clouding our vision. We get caught up in caring for family and long workdays juggling multiple responsibilities. In addition, many of us must get kids off to school or prepare for weeks of homeschooling. Housework, laundry, and yard work. We go through the mail, pay bills, and balance checkbooks. Did I mention …