Inspired by Life ... and Fiction

Novelists bound by the pen, sisterhood, & more

Beautiful Days of Summer

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Hi friends, I pray you are healthy and enjoying the warmer weather. I’m a beach girl at heart and a summer girl through and through. In fact I’ve made an ‘office’ for myself out on the back deck where I spend the day (and evenings as deadline approaches) writing. Besides the warmth and sunny days, there’s just something special about summer. Maybe it comes from being a kid. Having the … [Read more...]

When Did Your Love of Reading Begin?

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Bethany House Publishers recently ran a poll on Facebook, asking, “When did you first discover a love for reading?” An overwhelming 92% replied “From a young age” while only 8% chose, “Later in life.” Those in the first category credited others with instilling their love of books at a young age, including: a pastor’s wife, local book mobile, libraries, siblings, grandparents, and, not … [Read more...]

The Life of a Table

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Once upon a time, about thirty years ago, a young couple on a very (VERY!) tight budget received several hundred dollars for hail damage on a very (VERY!) old car that probably wasn't worth several hundred dollars. So the husband said to the wife, "You've been wanting a new dining table and chairs. This is our chance to buy them." So they did! The wife (that's me, in case you haven't figured … [Read more...]

The Push & Pull of a Satisfying Romance

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I recently received an email from Eileen, a reader who is writing her first romance novel. She said: “I love the way you write romances and how they are so intense, I have few questions that I hope you can help me with.” The questions were definitely thought-provoking! And since so many of you are romance lovers (readers as well as writers), I thought you could chime in the comments with your … [Read more...]

History in Fiction

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History was my least favorite subject in school as a kid. Yet historical fiction has been my favorite genre since my days of reading Little House on the Prairie in elementary school. How can both of those truths live within the same person? For me, it's all about the emphasis. In school, history focused on wars and politics and world powers. None of that interested me. What spoke to my heart … [Read more...]

Traveling Through Fiction

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Over the past four years I’ve complained a good bit about our travel schedule. I accompanied my husband on many of his business trips, mostly because I wouldn’t have seen him otherwise! But I quickly wearied of being constantly on the go. Enter 2020. The first 11 weeks of the year had me on the road to somewhere (personal or business) some part of 6 of those weeks. Then came the Stay At Home … [Read more...]

Binge watch anything lately?

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Okay, let's start with a confession... Life simply happened, and I haven't finished painting the furniture that I mentioned in my last post—and thank you so much for all those fun comments!. I've started painting, mind you. The projects simply aren't ready for the final reveal. I'm aiming for next time! For today, I would love to know what movies or shows you've watched lately THAT YOU … [Read more...]

How I became a Daughter of Grace

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"I have asked my friend, fellow-writer, and marketing assistant Christine Bierma to write a guest-post for me today. I think you'll see that her recent experiences have made her uniquely qualified to write about the appalling racial injustice that we're seeing in America." ~Lynn Austin I attended my first political rally in 47 years last week. It was in my hometown, just a few miles up the … [Read more...]

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