It’s that time of year when I think many of us ponder the question, “What’s it all about?” “What’s the meaning of all this decorating and buying?” “Why do we do it?” This year, the meaning of Christmas is stirring in me at deeper levels. I’m seeing the season in …
Have you ever wondered about what kind of legacy you’re leaving? I mean more than an estate or an inheritance we bequeath to our children or our church. I’m thinking more along the lines of how will people remember us. Maybe a better phrasing is how do we want to …
I want to take this opportunity to wish all my readers a Happy Thanksgiving. I pray you all experience a fresh touch from God during this time of year. May his abundant grace and favor and blessing pour over you and your families. I urge you to take some time …
We all have projects that are sitting on a shelf someplace. Perhaps not a literal shelf. They might be tucked into a corner of a hard drive or a flash drive. Dropbox or Google Drive may be where these stories that died a slow death reside, gathering digital dust. They …
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 …
“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?” 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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
