Inspired by Life ... and Fiction

Novelists bound by the pen, sisterhood, & more

Almost a Member of the Family

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I painted our coffee table last weekend and as I stroked a brand new, beautiful shade of dusty aqua onto the old nicked, scarred white paint, I couldn't help but think of all the memories that little ten-dollar table held. When I bought this curvy table at Goodwill twelve years ago, we had just bought our first home. The table was two tones of cheap wood, desperately in need of refinishing, but … [Read more...]

Why Are Novellas So Popular? (Plus a FREE Novella!)

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A novella is simply a short novel, usually about a quarter or third of the size of a full-length book. It contains all the same elements as a novel: well-drawn characters, interesting plot, love interest (for romances), and internal character growth. But the story is much less complicated and moves fairly quickly. As publishing and books have entered the digital age, novellas have increased in … [Read more...]

Movies With A Surprise Spiritual Impact

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I love a good movie. I'm too cheap to pay full price to see them in theaters most of the time (especially with 3 kids), but I pile new releases up in my Netflix queue as fast as the trailers release. And while it is easy to get discouraged by the increase in language, crudity, violence, and skin in movies today, that dark background makes the good ones shine all the brighter. Christian film … [Read more...]

Retreat and Repeat

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Sometimes, things happen for a reason. A friend loaned me a library book and soon it was overdue before I could finish it. I immediately took it to the library and renewed it under my name but while I was there, I met the new manager and she told me about a writers retreat. That's how I found out that the first Blue Lake Christian Writers Retreat was being held about an hour or so above me near … [Read more...]

Unexpected Antebellum Blessings

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I love history. And I love weaving history into my novels. When we moved from Colorado to Nashville in June 2007 (has it really been almost 10 years?!), I set about discovering Nashville's history with the hope of incorporating some of it into my novels. But what I did not anticipate were the partnerships—the friendships—I'd cultivate with the staff at some of the local antebellum … [Read more...]

Living Boldly

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If you lived in the age of the explorers, would you have had the courage to sail across the ocean on a ship like this one? I toured the Maritime Museum of San Diego on our trip to California last week, and as I stood on the deck of the San Salvador, a replica of a Spanish Galleon from 1542, I asked myself that question. The ship is less than 100 feet long and only 32 feet wide, and seemed much … [Read more...]

To Walk Invisible?

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I watched PBS Masterpiece’s new program, To Walk Invisible, last night. It dramatizes a small slice of the life of three sisters, their destructive brother, and clergyman father. These sisters lived in obscurity for most of their lives, though now their names are famous and their works required reading in schools, printed in countless editions, and brought to life in several film adaptations: … [Read more...]

A farewell to the Chicory Inn…and a giveaway

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My fifth and final Chicory Inn novel is out and launched and I'm just a little sad to say goodbye to the Whitman family and the Chicory Inn. I'd like to give the Chicory Inn Novels series a last hurrah here on the blog by giving away an entire set of the books to one of our lovely readers. I'll leave you with a "family reunion" photo of the Whitman family as I envisioned them when I wrote them. … [Read more...]

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