Inspired by Life ... and Fiction

Novelists bound by the pen, sisterhood, & more

God’s posture toward us

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Today I welcome my friend Christine Bierma from Atrustworthysaying.com as my guest blogger. She has graciously allowed me some time away to rest, relax and recharge. She has been writing a series called "Postures" that considers the many postures that we can take as we approach God and the postures He takes toward us as we approach him. This is the second post in this series. To read more, please … [Read more...]

Prayer & Praise (& a Giveaway)

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Hi friends. I hope your 2020 is off to a good start. In keeping with Deborah’s post yesterday about transparency on social media, I admit that my January has been filled with both ups and downs, i.e. LOWs. :} I also admit that last year I took on a “Read the Bible in a Year” program, and failed to complete it. :( (Lamentations tripped me up. Just saying). It’s January and I've only made it to … [Read more...]

Being Real in a Social Media World

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[I'm rerunning a post that ran here almost exactly five years ago. All these years later, my thoughts about social media are still conflicted: I love it and I hate it. I think the questions are even more pertinent today than they were five years ago. I’d love to hear your thoughts.] My husband and I went out for an impromptu breakfast the other day and he asked me, “Aren’t you going to take a … [Read more...]

Persevere, Surrender, Pursue Excellence & Take Heart

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Back in November, I had the very great honor of speaking at the Christy Award ceremony. A few weeks after that event, I shared the first part of my talk (my own personal love story with books) in this post here at Inspired by Life...and Fiction. Today, I'm bringing you the second half of my talk. Why? because I need to hear this weekly. Okay, maybe daily. If I need to hear this, then I'm … [Read more...]

Confessions of a Wonder Woman

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I was reminded this week of one of the nicknames I've acquired over time. It's one that wears me out just typing it: Wonder Woman. I've been able to do a lot of wonderful things during my relatively short life. I've been blessed, but sometimes it's exhausting trying to live up to people's expectation that I am Wonder Woman. I know the truth. I'm not. I'm just a woman who wants to live a life … [Read more...]

In Need of Hope

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Happy Wednesday, friends! I’m excited to be here with you today! Thanks for taking the time to drop by and say hi. I really appreciate it. A few years ago, I did a project called Alphabet for the Soul and each week I’d share a word that started with the letter I was on—A-Z. The majority of letters were easy to come up with words for them and each led to a small devotional. However, some … [Read more...]

Coming in July, Colors of Truth

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It's always a pretty good feeling (#majorunderstatement) when you finally get a book finished, edited, and submitted to your publisher. And when you get the final cover, too! That's where we are with my next release, Colors of Truth, the second full-length novel in The Carnton Novels Collection, releasing July 2020. Based on the real history of Carnton, an antebellum home that served as a … [Read more...]

At a Loss for Words

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Monday is coming and I have to write my regularly scheduled blog. The problem is, I’m all out of words. I have no more stories to tell. That’s because the deadline for my next novel is two weeks away. I’ve been writing it for a year, and it has turned out to be 130,000 words long. That’s a lot of words—which is why I’ve run out! The novel is finished but I’m spending the final month … [Read more...]

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