Inspired by Life ... and Fiction

Novelists bound by the pen, sisterhood, & more

When You Can’t Be Silent Any Longer

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This past Saturday morning, Ken and I stood in front of Planned Parenthood in Wichita, Kansas with about two hundred other people in a peaceful protest against the horrors that have been exposed recently about Planned Parenthood. Wichita's protest was one of many across the country last weekend and although we've always been pro-life, we've never been so outspoken about it. I don't like to get … [Read more...]

The Plot Thickens | Liz Tolsma

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Each Sunday "Inspired by Life...and Fiction" shares a Christian novelist's newest book and the garden spots where they find inspiration. Liz Tolsma has lived in Wisconsin most of her life, and now resides next to a farm field with her husband, their son and two daughters. All of their children have been adopted internationally. Her novella, Under His Wings, appeared in the New York … [Read more...]

Pitcher Plants–Part Two

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So ... I've had people asking about the infamous pitcher plants. (I had a recent post on trekking through the swamp with my husband to find this plant.) I did some digging in the vast wasteland of my computer and finally found my husband's photos! They were buried under several layers of files since I'm not the most technically amazing person on the planet. But I'm a busy technically-challenged … [Read more...]

The Creative Process

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  My family got this plaque for me recently, and I couldn't help but laugh when I read the last stage in the process. "Do all the work while crying." Oh so funny—even if a tad bit true. Writing a novel is a daunting process. I'm currently working on my thirteenth book and the process has only gotten harder with each project. Which doesn't make sense because you'd think that once … [Read more...]

The Half-way Point

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Yesterday I reached the half-way point in the novel I’m writing. I figured that called for a celebration, so I went out to lunch with my sister-in-law. Now I confess that I’m a “seat of the pants” author who doesn’t lay out her plots ahead of time but who makes up the story as she goes along. So how do I know that I’m half finished? Simple. I know how many typewritten pages my last dozen novels … [Read more...]

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