Update: I originally wrote this in late February, then realized I'd accidentally scheduled two posts on one day. So I bumped this back to April. I'm writing this update on March 26, just after returning home from an unexpected funeral. Original post: When I wrote the Fairlawn books--which are all set in a funeral home-- I wish I'd written from a place of greater experience.  At the time I … [Read more...]

Growing up, I never heard anyone mention imprecatory prayers, which are mostly found in the Psalms. What are they? Imprecatory prayers are prayers in which you ask God to send calamity or hardship upon someone else. David was a man of great passion--he rejoiced with all his heart, and he prayed with all his heart. Like this: "Lead me, Adonai, in Your righteousness, because of my enemies. Make … [Read more...]

Today is release day for my novel THE DAUGHTER OF ROME, and I'll be busy all day videotaping (do we still say that if it's digital?) bits of "a day in the life" for AVID READERS OF CHRISTIAN FICTION's Instagram story feed. Which is probably why I'm late posting this! Because I grew up reading and watching book like THE SILVER CHALICE, THE ROBE, and BEN HUR, I have always been fascinated by … [Read more...]

Do you do your own taxes? I've done our family taxes for years--collecting receipts, deciphering records, puzzling over confusing IRS instructions (honestly, they should hire a professional writer to write those instructions, not accountants), etc. And here it is, February again, and time to start thinking about filing those tax forms. I understand that the government needs money to function, … [Read more...]