Inspired by Life ... and Fiction

Novelists bound by the pen, sisterhood, & more

What Causes Readers to Place a Book on Their Keeper Shelf

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I'm in California this weekend celebrating our oldest daughter's college graduation! Please give a warm welcome to my wonderful reader friends Joy, Crissy, and Amy. They're here to provide insight on a question near and dear to an author's heart. What elevates a book to a reader's "keeper shelf"? -Becky What Causes Readers to Place a Book on Their Keeper Shelf: 1. The characters move off … [Read more...]

The unique challenges of writing out of order…

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Last month I wrote a prequel to my next legal suspense. One challenge was that it was written AFTER the first book in the legal suspense series. I had/have a very detailed outline. It was why I could write the book so very fast. And I also had/have a detailed character study of the hero and heroine. But I heard from my editor last week and the heroine isn't quite working. I wasn't entirely … [Read more...]

Flashback Fun

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Hi friends,  My novella, The Shifting Current: A Coastal Guardian novella, released next week and I’m so honored and humbled by all the amazing feedback I’ve received. I’m thrilled so many of you are enjoying Logan and Emmy’s adventure. If you haven’t had a chance to pick up their story, grab it now for only $2.99 on e-book. It’s also available in print and will release on Audiobook on May … [Read more...]

Researching the Regency | Guest Post by Erica Vetsch

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Please welcome my friend and sister-Regency author Erica Vetsch to our blog today! Thank you, Julie Klassen, for the opportunity to blog here at Inspired by Life & Fiction. Those who know me know that I love history. I love history books, museums, history podcasts, history vloggers. My head is stuffed with all sorts of historical bits, and I cannot get enough history. Which is one … [Read more...]

Wicked

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When Ken and I were newlyweds living in New York, we had the privilege of seeing several Broadway productions. I especially remember Grease (and the shock of hearing a curse word from the stage!) and the beautiful, lush Shenandoah. Fifteen years later, the year I was pregnant with our youngest daughter, Tavia, I won a pair of season tickets to Wichita Music Theater, and while Ken wasn't quite … [Read more...]

Godly Friends

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I sometimes envy women (whether real or in the novels I read or movies I see) who have had the same best friend(s) since high school or junior high or even elementary school. My closest friends from my school days moved away early in our lives (our late teens and early twenties), and time and circumstances eventually caused broken connections. The lack of email or texts or social media didn’t help … [Read more...]

Cleaning Out the Clutter

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The last two weeks have been a little crazy around the Witemeyer homestead. After raising three children on carpet that was probably 15 years old when we purchased the house in 2000, our previously "white" carpet had become so stained that I was embarrassed to have people over. However, with one child married and the other two at least temporarily moved out for schooling, our house had the least … [Read more...]

What I Discovered in this Writing Season

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By the time you read this, I’ll be close to submitting the final edits of my final book in the Guideposts series Secrets from Grandma’s Attic. As I’m wrapping up this chapter (ha!) of my writing career, I’ve been looking back over the entire experience. The unexpected season has been instrumental in teaching me a few things about myself and my writing, so I thought I’d share those with you.  I … [Read more...]

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