Category Archive

This is AVA, my 2.7 pound Yorkie. After years in a household of men (my husband and I raised two boys), I’d had about as much masculine as I could take. I needed a tiny girl. I needed to be able to comb her hair and place pink bows and cuddle. PRINCESS AVA SWEETPEA (her nickname) often sits cuddled in my lap while I’m writing. Makes me stretch my arms a bit to reach the keyboard, but worth the effort. Wouldn’t you agree? Barrie Graeber has two great kids, a loving husband, and a respected job as a high school …

I’m blogging on two great blogs today! I look forward to seeing you there. Christians Read:  All About Words and Weddings and Dreams. http://christiansread.wordpress.com/2012/06/21/all-about-words-and-weddings-and-dreams-by-elizabeth-goddard/ Seekerville: The Well-Trained Author: SuperCharge Your Brain to Generate Great Ideas: http://www.seekerville.blogspot.com/2012/06/well-trained-author-supercharge-your.html

  For as long as I can remember, my father has been totally floored by how cute babies and toddlers are. His remark upon seeing a child behaving adorably was always the same: “God love him!” But the way he said it was accented with a laugh and such emphasis that it sounded more like “Gyod love ‘im!”  I have become my father. I mean, in this respect, I am now predictable. My own kids—young adults at this point—get a kick out of how passionately I react to little kids. Maybe it’s a grandparent gene that lies dormant until a …

Pixar’s Anglepoise Lamp. Public Domain Have you read the Pixar Story Rules (one version) yet? Rule #3 resonates with me. “Trying for theme is important, but you won’t see what the story is actually about til you’re at the end of it. Now rewrite.” This is so true. A lot of writers start with theme, and in Christian fiction that theme probably includes a scripture. Theme and scripture can keep a writer on track while getting the story on paper. There’s nothing wrong with doing things this way if it works for you. But I’ve discovered that most of the …

Lynne Gentry shares her favorite thing: Being there to celebrate every milestone in my children’s lives. NoF matter how many books I publish, I consider raising two good kids as my greatest accomplishment. I love being a mom and I’m discovering that the job doesn’t end after they leave home. Providing that stable, safe place that they can always come home to is one of my greatest joys. Lynne’s website:  http://www.lynnegentry.com/ Lynne’s latest release: Reinventing Leona  

Some authors browse the web or magazines to gather images of the characters for their novels. Pictures of movies stars like Matthew McConaughey or Gerard Butler  cover their storyboard and help them to describe their hero or perhaps a villain. Me? I search for images of beautiful and adventurous landscapes.The below images are what I had in mind as I wrote each of the four novellas for Oregon Outback, though perhaps they stayed in the background or the distance. I don’t want to give too much away. Each of my four novellas is set in a different part of Oregon’s …

 Seek the Lord while he may be found;   call on him while he is near. Isaiah 55:6 Wedding bands from the public domain Twenty-three years ago my husband asked me to marry him and slipped a beautiful and unique gold band featuring diamonds and emerald cut topaz on my finger. I’ve never seen another ring like it. Over the years, the ring would often draw attention because it wasn’t the usual fair of wedding rings.  In that way, I’ve always believed my ring was a perfect representation of my marriage—exceptional and special—especially  in light of our current culture. Next week …

Today I’m blogging at Christians Read about How Books Change Us. Join me over there!

Over the Memorial Day weekend I wanted to read a book for pleasure instead of all the other reasons I now read because I’m a writer. My Kindle was a great place to start, considering all the books I’ve downloaded –both free books and those I’ve purchased. I tried several titles hoping for that one that would draw me in. Don’t get me wrong—I’m a fan of giving a book a good hundred pages before I give up. Often those are the books that have the greatest emotional impact in the end. (Authors like Stephen Lawhead and Ken Follett come …