Following are reviews of two books I’ve recently enjoyed reading. Deadly Harvest by Marissa Shrock This excellently crafted mystery novel introduces us to amateur detective, Georgia Rae Winston. Georgia isn’t thrown into detecting by whim or chance or a notion of being a busy body or butinsky. She is thrown …
Recent Blog Posts
Rejection Does Not Define Who We Are
“Rejection does not define who we are unless we let it.” (Rene Gutteridge) Rene Gutteridge is one of the major influencers in my writing life. From a critique at one of my first writers’ conferences to her teaching at conferences to her own novels and her blogs and articles on …
What Are You Working on Now?
“What are you working on now?” is a question I frequently hear from readers and writing friends and family members. Although I think for family remembers the question is code for, “Are you still chasing that writer thing? You’re seventy years old. When are you going to grow up?” But …
Failure or Success – Our Choice
I experienced two what might be called failures recently. In the space of three days. On Saturday, I received a rejection from an agent. On Monday, a publisher declined to consider my manuscript. It was the same book in both instances. To me they were failures. Something about my writing …
Why Conferences?
This past weekend I had the privilege of teaching two classes at the Roanoke Texas Writers Conference. I tasted once again the enthusiasm of writers eager to learn, to share their own experiences and to help each other. I was reminded once again of the communities we writers form—communities as …
Patience Now!
There is a scene in Star Wars, Episode IV, where Luke is attacking the Death Star, about to drop a bomb down a chute to the core of the weapon. His wing commander tells him, “Wait for it. Wait for it.” Did you know the Lord tells us basically the …
Encourage Each Other
Writers spend a lot of time alone. Especially in our actual writing. While this is vitally necessary as we pursue our dreams and answer God’s call to write, there is a risk. It opens the door for Satan, the enemy of our souls, to slip in and plant seeds of …
The Writer’s Funk
Sometimes all of us, writers included, get in a state of being that’s been called many things. Some call it a funk. Others call it the valley of dry bones. Or the valley of the shadow of death. Recently, one blogger called the dark night of the soul. In baseball, …
Proverbs for Writers
After you read the blog, continue down the page and check out the new feature I’m thinking of adding. I’d appreciate your thoughts and feedback on it. We’re all familiar with proverbs either in the Bible or in the secular world. The other day I was reading in the book …
What My Favorite Authors Have Taught Me
Recently, a reader asked me what authors have influenced me the most. Who have I learned from? I think every author I’ve ever read has influenced me in some way. Either as examples of how to write or how not to write. I’ll focus on the positive side of the …