Inspired by Life ... and Fiction

Novelists bound by the pen, sisterhood, & more

“Do Not Be Afraid, for I Am With You”

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When a verse pops into my mind that feels particularly relevant to my mood or situation, I'll sometimes turn to it in the Bible and read the whole chapter that contains the verse. A few days ago the famous "See, I am doing a new thing" verse rose to the front of my thoughts. I paged to Isaiah 43. What a rich and powerful chapter of scripture! It blessed me and so I thought I'd share snippets of … [Read more...]

London: A Change of Perspective

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This morning a little after one a.m., we arrived home from our latest adventure. It's the last as a family before our oldest gets married and we made the most of six days in London. I love exploring new to me places, but I appreciate the perspective shift that can come with travel. One of the things I wanted to do this time was to see a show. London's West End is famous, and we haven't made … [Read more...]

The Blessings of Friendship

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Hi friends, Happy Wednesday! I always look forward to spending these days with you. Two weeks ago, I got to visit my daughter, her hubby, and my grandkids' new home in Florida. Having them live fifteen minutes from our home for all these years, and now a fourteen-hour drive or two-hour flight away, is really hard. But, we had a wonderful visit. We went to so many beaches surrounding … [Read more...]

Sidmouth: The Setting of my Upcoming Series

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To me, choosing the setting for a novel is like designing an effective stage for the “actors” (in my case, fictional characters) to perform or live out the drama to come. My new novel, The Sisters of Sea View (December 2022) is Book One in a new series called ON DEVONSHIRE SHORES. I liked the setting and characters so much, I decided to stay there for at least two more novels. While I … [Read more...]

•♫♪ Happy birthday to Tammy! ♫♪•

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[AND THE WINNER IS... Tina Rice. Tina, send an email to Deb at debraney@mac.com and I'll get your book on its way to you! Thank you for all the birthday wishes for our Tammy!] Today just happens to be a very special day for my dear, long-time friend and writing critique partner of more than twenty years, Inspired by Life...and Fiction's own Tamera Alexander. •♫♪ Happy, happy birthday, dear … [Read more...]

Plotter or Pantser

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Plotter or Pantser. Those are the two terms authors often use to describe their method of writing. The plotter (as you might guess!) takes the time to detail out the finer points of the story before beginning to write. The pantser, on the other hand, doesn’t spend a whole lot of time (if any) on thinking through the story before starting it. She flies by the seat of her pants (hence, where … [Read more...]

Art for Book Lovers

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Last month I shared some of my Colorado adventures with you. The ziplines my husband and I experienced offered a pulse-pounding thrill. However, I discovered another hidden gem that appealed to my imaginative side and made my bookish heart leap for joy. One of the first places we visited in Durango was the Bar D Chuckwagon. This ranch located outside Durango included a western village with … [Read more...]

Rewarding Myself

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I really, really worried about making my Aug 1 deadline. The books for this publisher are a pretty quick turn around, and I knew going in that I had a busy summer to contend with. But the Lord is gracious and truly multiplied my work in both time and productivity. So much so that I turned the book in four whole days early!  Meeting a big deadline means rewarding myself for all the times I … [Read more...]

The Bible Project & more

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I usually think most people have heard of resources I'm familiar with, but I was surprised to share The Bible Project with a friend recently, only to discover she'd never heard of it. What?? If you enjoy deep diving into the rich depths of God's Word AND you love videos, then you're going to go crazy for The Bible Project. Some of my favorite videos are ones that overview books of the … [Read more...]

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