Inspired by Life ... and Fiction

Novelists bound by the pen, sisterhood, & more

Trials and Deliverance

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A number of years ago, a follower of my blog left this comment: How do you personally reconcile the two thoughts — embracing trials and praying God’s deliverance? I grew up in a church that strongly teaches pain and suffering are to be endured – almost to martyrdom, as some sort of penance, even as a way of offering a prayer up for others (i.e. if I have brain cancer I should just suffer and … [Read more...]

A Tribute to My Beloved Writer Dog

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Our wonderful 11.5 year old dog, Sam, passed away at the beginning of this month. As a tribute to him, I'm re-running this post I wrote more than three years ago and adding a brief update at the end. -Becky I'm reminded for the thousandth time of one key component of my career: the indispensable Writer Dog. Ask many a writer, and they'll tell you.  Writer Dogs (and Writer Cats) are … [Read more...]

Fall Flowers and Novella Samplers

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Yesterday the calendar flipped to Fall. The equinox where the day is balanced between day and night. Summer and Winter. Over the weekend it was 90 degrees here in Indiana. Today I need a jacket. I love the mildness of fall. The thought that we could soon be snuggled up in front of a bonfire. The smoke and rich aroma of burning wood surrounding us. There's also something about the richness of … [Read more...]

Do You Believe in (Book) Fairies?

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Hi friends, With great pleasure, I want to introduce my guest blogger and friend, Joy Tiffany. She's a voracious reader and author-supporter extraordinaire. If there was reader superhero--it would be her. She's blessed me with gift bags full of deadline items to keep me going and to surprise me daily. She's made me awesome scrabble-letter coasters with names of my characters and book titles. She's … [Read more...]

Not-to-be-missed encouragements

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Hey friends! Do you need some encouragement either in your writing or personal life? Me too! First, for writers... Royal Writers Conference is coming up and, bless them, they've asked me to keynote for the conference. Tons of fabulous writers will be teaching and sharing their knowledge and journeys as well. I'm so excited to be part of this ONLINE event and invite you to join us! … [Read more...]

Setting the Setting

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Have you ever been in a place where you didn’t want to be? Or how about being in a place that you loved, and that quickly became your happy place? I’ve experienced both, and each time, the setting always seems to affect my mood and my emotions. A dreary place brings me down, while a beautiful place lifts my spirits. That’s how I’ve learned the importance of choosing the settings for my novels very … [Read more...]

A Romance Novel With All the Feels

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I admit. I like a really good romance story full of LOTS of romantic moments filled with LOTS of toe-tingling, stomach-flipping sizzle. Those are the stories I’m drawn to READ. Those are also the stories I’m drawn to WRITE. However, as a writer of inspirational fiction I want my novels to remain clean and sweet (without any sex scenes). So how do I balance keeping a novel clean while … [Read more...]

Patience or Procrastination?

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I am a very task-oriented person by nature. If I start something, I'm going to finish. I have to finish, otherwise it will drive me crazy. But sometimes, it's the starting that trips me up. Last week, I finally got around to starting a project I've had on hold for over 30 years. That's right . . . 30 YEARS! Thirty-two to be precise. The summer after I graduated from high school, I got a job … [Read more...]

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