Before I get into this topic, I have an announcement. I recently auditioned for Scenes and Beans, Brandilyn Collin’s character blog for her newKanner Lake series. Violet Dawn is the first book in the series. I learnd on Monday that I’ve been selected to participate! I’m thrilled about that and I hope you’ll take time to keep up with what is sure to be an entertaining blog. Now on to the topic. I’m sure the thoughts I’ll present here have already been considered by the brightest minds. Becky Miller has an awesome discussion going on about evil right now at …
The Sky is not a Lemon
Being surrounded with children 24/7 I’m privileged to hear profound statements on an almost ongoing basis. I told my kids last night that I was going to start reading them CAN OF WORMS by Kathy Mackel. If you’re not familiar with the story, Disney made a movie from the book (Kathy wrote the screenplay) and it’s about a guy going through those teenage angst years who sends a message to outer space asking for help. He is beyond surprise when aliens begin to answer his call. I explained a little bit about the story to my boys (I also have …
Write First, the Story Will come
What a beautiful smile Can I stay for awhile? On this beautiful night We’ll make everything right Do you know that song by The Afters? That’s the chorus and I’ve been singing it all day. And of course, you can’t help but smile while you’re singing the words or humming the tune. Can’t help but dance around while it plays over the radio or through the earbuds of your iPod. Oh Okay, my daughter has just informed me the song is titled “Beautiful Love.” I couldn’t help but think that if you started your day out grumpy, bogged down in …
Discovering the Source
I wish I knew what sort of vitamins I took or what food combination I ate today that put me in such a great mood. I feel wonderful–both physically and spiritually. I’m energetic and though I didn’t accomplish all that much, honestly, I’m brimming with joy. Okay, so it must be God. In the midst of an incredible trial–one that requires a huge leap of faith–I’m full of joy!!! I’m too lazy to look that up right now, but there must be a Bible verse about it somewhere, right? Maybe when I am weak, He is strong. . . I …
Crossing the Threshold
I’m excited that I’ve finally crossed that threshold in my story–the place where the story comes together and you no longer have to concern yourself with what happens next, but rather you’re just writing in response to all of the conflict that you’ve set up. Schew! Now if I can just carve out the time I need to complete this novel. I should point out that though I’ve been working on this for a while, I’ve been diverted by other projects several times. Last fall I stopped to work on an anthology with other authors, then in February, I had …
Procrastinating. . . Again
I’ve been remiss in posting. And it’s not because I was procrastinating. It’s because I am a procrastinator! I recently heard that procrastinators tend to overestimate the amount of time it takes to do something. In addition, they bite off more than they can chew, then become overwhelmed and ultimately paralyzed. I’ve been in the paralyzed mode. That, because I took time with my family over Memorial weekend and neglected the computer while emails continued to collect. I think I’m caught up on those, but now I’ve got to catch up on other writing-related activities–you know, the ones that keep …
Murphy’s BLAWg
Wednesdays are always my busiest day, so I dread them anyway. But today, I had planned to print my Genesis proposal so that it has a chance to be delivered by the deadline. Of course, all writers know that when you must print something, Murphy’s Law kicks in. I’m sure you’re heard of that, right? A slice of buttered bread, when dropped, will always land butter-side down. When you need an item that is in a heap, it will always be the one at the bottom. (for me it’s the dryer)_Sound familiar? I did some planning ahead and actually bought …
Writing to the Lost
The last few days have been interesting just in terms of my own personal revelation, which has left me with a strong sense of purpose—a desire to take my writing to a new level. I’m not talking about the craft, but rather in terms of the spiritual message. The message I heard on Sunday spoke volumes to me about how we aren’t to thump the Bible at people and argue them to Jesus, but rather be so in tune with God’s heart, his voice, that we can speak into a person’s life just as Jesus did to the woman at …
Fantasy Blog tour ends for May. . .Stay tuned. . .
. . .For June. That’s right, we’re done for this month, but we will start again in June. So stay tuned for announcements. In addition to focusing on websites, we’ll have book reviews and author interviews. I think the recent topics that arose out of fantasy discussions are quite intriguing, and I’d love to continue discussing them. For now, I have to take care of the business of announcing the book winner for posting comments on my blog. Of course, it was a simple matter of pulling names out of a hat . .drum roll please. . .E-Mom–You are the …
Fear of Fantasy Magic
As part of the blog tour, Becky Miller (her link is on the sidebar) has an interesting topic on her sight regarding magic. One of the reasons that many Christians shy away from fantasy, in general, is due to its use of magic. She has raised an interesting question: What exactly is magic? In the Literal Translation of 1st Cor. 12:10 the scripture references that through the Spirit some will have “workings of power.” Other versions might call this miracles or completely disregard the term as in the case of the KJV. If we look at the Greek word used …