Once upon a time there was a girl who dreamed of writing books. Books were magic carpets that transported her through time and across space. The only problem was her favorite authors simply did not write books fast enough. What was a voracious reader to do? She already haunted the local Christian bookstore, a feat she did with such regularity she'd walk in and the owner would hand the catalogs to … [Read more...]
A Grateful Heart
Four weeks ago, I invited the Inspired by Life and Fiction readers to join me in a gratitude challenge. I hope those who participated felt your hearts increasing in thankfulness to God for all of the blessings in your lives. And I hope you'll continue to record in some way your gratefulness throughout the year to come. Don't stop with the month of November. God is good all the time and all the … [Read more...]
New Series, New Website (plus a giveaway)
My new book in my first-ever series launches next week, and in its honor, Bethany House Publishers has created a dedicated mini-site for the series, at TalesFromIvyHill.com. I’m excited. The website offers: a color map of the village a detailed character list (which readers often request) photos of village buildings videos (me introducing the series, and on location in “Ivy … [Read more...]
A Boxful of Love
This year, our church was one of the drop-off points for “Operation Christmas Child,” which is run by the international relief organization, Samaritan’s Purse. Every year at this time, volunteers from all over the United States pack special shoe boxes with simple children’s gifts, which will then be used around the world as powerful evangelism tools with children and their families. Sometimes one … [Read more...]
Inspired by Scripture
This Sunday feature is brought to you by ClashEntertainment.com. You may sign up to receive a beautiful photo with scripture in your inbox each morning or view the verse each day online. … [Read more...]
The Good and the Bad of Writing Fast
Like thousands of other writers around the world, I’m participating in National Novel Writing Month (aka NaNoWriMo). During NaNoWriMo, writers commit to writing 50,000 words of a novel during the month of November. The bottom line for NaNoWriMo is that you have to concentrate and write fast. But I've always wondered if forcing yourself to write fast is helpful. Can any good come from a novel … [Read more...]
Thankful for Readers! (And a giveaway)
One week from today, I'll be at my mom's house, surrounded by family, enjoying turkey, dressing, candied yams, cranberry sauce, and all the other wonderful dinner trimmings that go along with Thanksgiving. Besides all the usual things that I am thankful for, I wanted to take a moment to extend a special thank you to readers. Whether you read my books or not, I thank you for being a lover of the … [Read more...]
The building of a table–board by board
Hello! Thanksgiving is next week and I'm ready to celebrate. We won't have a large crowd. Our daughter and husband are in Japan. (Air Force) And our son is at college and probably won't make it here until Christmas. So it might be just the two of us. But ... my husband built a new dining table so at least we can eat "up front" and not in the breakfast room. Since I helped him stain and paint … [Read more...]
Chat with a cover model
I always enjoy chatting with the cover models for my books, and my conversation with Brit—who is on the cover of A Note Yet Unsung (February 2017)—was a delight. I asked her ten questions, and she has ten insightful and entertaining responses. Enjoy! Thanks, Brit, for joining us—and welcome! 1. How did you become the cover model for A Note Yet Unsung, a Belmont Mansion novel (book … [Read more...]
A Granddaughter’s Tribute
My precious mom went to Heaven late last month. She would have turned 84 next month. I wanted to post a tribute to her on today's blog, but despite the surprising lightheartedness I feel thinking of my mom whole and happy in Heaven, our loss is still too fresh. I'm still having a little trouble imagining a world without my mom in it...and for once, words fail me. Instead, I'd like to share the … [Read more...]
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 242
- 243
- 244
- 245
- 246
- …
- 324
- Next Page »