by Christine Sunderland @Chrisunderland A note from Christine: This post is dedicated to Charlie Kirk and his family Today is September 11, or “Nine-Eleven” as we recall it twenty-four years later, when the infamous and horrific attack by radical Islamists on New York’s World Trade Center buildings woke America from her sleep. It was a path chosen by those pilots, …
Surfing on Ink
by Dr. Dwight David Croy Work follows an exciting idea when writing. Life is often full of excitement with highs of adrenaline. The workflow of a writer is exhilaration, write a bunch, slow down, back to reality, slow down, concentrate on the mechanics, reality. Just like a surfer who catches the wave, rides high, determined, initial ideas die out, the …
Take the Next Step
by Donald L. Reavis Twelve years ago today, my son and I reached the Canadian border on the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT). Five months earlier, we had stood at the southern border, filled with excitement and apprehension. Ahead of us stretched a pathway that crossed sweltering deserts, snow-covered mountain passes, raging rivers, and scores of thunderstorms. After a few minutes …
Lessons from Birthing a Second Book
by Linda Dindzans My most recent blog compared the release of my first book A Certain Man with birthing a baby. The next book in the series, A Certain Mercy, is undergoing content edits. This manuscript has readily confirmed that writing a second book is like expanding your family by the birth of another child. When I was expecting my …
When Success Doesn’t Follow You—Finding Identity as an Unpublished Christian Author
by Jeffrey Friedel, writing as Jefferson Riede @JeffersonRiede Scripture: “But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.” ~Philippians 3:7 (ESV) There was a time in my life when I had the titles to back up my name. Lawyer. Executive. C-suite officer. I traveled the world. I stood in boardrooms. I rang the opening bell at …
Writing that Makes a Difference
by Marilyn Turk Writers often dream about writing a bestseller and finding success. Will our writing make any difference to anyone in the world? When sisters Susan and Anna Warner started writing mainly to help their family’s financial situation. The Warner family had been well-to-do in New York City and bought a summer house on Constitution Island in the Hudson …
Are you Hiding in the Baggage?
by Ruby Cline Lee There once was a man who was the fairest in all the land. One day, his herd of donkeys went missing and his father tasked him with search and rescue. The faithful son looked for days to no avail, but just before he headed home his servant said: “Hey, let’s go ask this VIP where our …
God’s Calling to Write
by Ruby Cline Lee Has God ever used a tedious or “dry” part of the Bible to speak to you about writing? For me, it was Exodus. This book shoots out of the gate with exciting visual pictures: the Jews in captivity. Plagues. Disaster. Thousands of slaves marching triumphantly then pining for garlic. God parting the Red Sea. Manna and …
Writing in the Dark: How to Craft Suspense with Light at the Core
By Darlene L. Turner There’s something gripping about a story cloaked in shadows. The kind that makes your heart pound, your breath hitch, and your eyes race across the page. But as a suspense author who also writes with a spiritual message, I’ve learned that the most powerful stories aren’t just drenched in darkness—they carry the flicker of light that …
The Promised Land of a Writer
by Ruby Cline Lee In Numbers 13, the Lord told Moses to send spies into the promised land, which resulted in conflicting reports: the land flowed with milk, honey, and . . . giants? Sadly, the undercover agents felt like tiny grasshoppers compared to the Canaanites. Not to mention, their fortified cities loomed—large and impregnable. In Chapter 14, the Israelites …