by Marianne Evans The genealogy of my faith life begins, like most people, at the feet of my mom and dad. They raised me to embrace my faith, but make it an individual, personal matter. They didn’t spoon-feed me doctrine or theology. Instead, they led by example, showing me integrity, heart, service and love in all that they do. Nothing …
Were You Called to Write?
by Kathy Harris How can I really know if I’m called to write? Haven’t we all wondered from time to time? Your answers to the following questions may help you decide. Do you write because you can’t not write? Do you love to play with words—to spin stories? Do characters and plots and scenes fill your head, sometimes to the …
Stuck
By Darlene L. Turner It’s every writer’s worst nightmare. That dreaded blinking cursor on a white screen. The thoughts and storyline just won’t come. We’ve tried hard in preparing our stories, but then when the rubber meets the road . . . the words become stagnant. At least this is how I’ve been feeling over the past while. I have …
Into the Unknown
By Kathleen Denly In 2012 my husband and I submitted our first application to adopt. After years of prayer and planning, we believed God had led us to pursue the adoption of a specific young girl in Russia. In December of that same year, Russia closed to adoptions by American families. To say we were heartbroken to be unable to …
By Faith
By Loretta Eidson Hebrews 11:1 is called the faith chapter in the Bible. The New International Version (NIV) states that “faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” The passages following that first verse go on to expound on people in the Bible who exercised their faith in God. By faith, …
Writing Through the Valleys: The Painful Truth
By Christa MacDonald Pain, the emotional sort, is a killer of creativity. It’s hard to get the words out when your heart is breaking. Grief, angst, fear, whatever it is, nothing shuts off the faucet of inspiration like suffering. It’s tough to get motivated to write a light-hearted romance when your heart is broken. It’s equally challenging to write about …
Fall down, get up. Again.
By Davalynn Spencer When we hear that people have experience in a particular field or endeavor, we often equate that experience with success and only success. However, if that were the case, their experience would not be genuine. Experience bleeds. Last month at a multi-author event for the local college, I met a woman who is a licensed pilot. She’s …
Dealing with Ugly Envy
by Donna LH Smith Envy—according to Webster’s, it means feeling of discontent and ill will because of another’s advantages, possessions, etc., resentful disliked of another who has something that one desires. This goes back to Commandment #10: You shall not covet your neighbor’s house…etc. It’s natural to want things for ourselves. When we’re unpublished, we want to be published. When …
Hurricane Harvey and the Pirate: Writing Through Storms
By Kathleen Y’Barbo April 1, 2018 is the book birthday for my swashbuckling historical romance, PIRATE BRIDE. As with traditional births, this book was approximately nine months in the making, give or take. So happy birthday to the book of my heart, the book I whose story people first came to me more than twenty years ago. The book that …
Backups and Miracles
By Rondi Olson My laptop made a grinding noise. I held it up to my co-worker, and asked if she could hear the sound, but before she could answer, the screen went blank. I wasn’t worried, at first. I restarted the computer, hoping that whatever was wrong would fix itself, but instead the grinding resumed, and an error message flashed …