The notice in the newspaper intrigued me. It called for volunteers to help with a hot air balloon race, which was taking place in a few days in a nearby park. I remember thinking, “Hmmm. Maybe I could use this experience in a novel someday.” We lived in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada at the time, and my children were small, but I talked my family into volunteering with me, thinking it might be a fun … [Read more...]

One of the things I enjoy about being a part of a community of Christian authors is how helpful the writers are to one another. For example, take my sisters here on the Inspired by Life and Fiction blog. When the person managing my website retired and I was flailing around trying to figure out what to do, authors Becky Wade, Karen Witemeyer, and Jody Hedlund quickly responded and recommended their … [Read more...]

This past weekend, Ken and I had a surprise chance to see our youngest daughter and her husband, along with our youngest granddaughter, now 16 months old. Springfield, Missouri is a halfway point for each of us and when Tavia's husband invited her to come along and stay in the hotel while he attended church meetings, he suggested she invite us to stay too. Well, as infrequently as we get to see … [Read more...]

I turned a book in on June 1st and I've been in "deadline detox" mode ever since. True confession: I love my job, but I'm not a fan of deadlines. Nonetheless, deadlines are a fact of life for the traditionally published author.  The contracts we're fortunate to be offered often span 3+ books and our upcoming deadlines are written into those contracts.  So it's not unusual for us to commit to … [Read more...]