Writer’s Bonus! Spring Writing Challenge

I love a good 30-day challenge. But every so often, I don’t mind going a little longer, say, 5 weeks. I find that getting out of my routine can be a good things. It stretches my mind and lets me go “untethered.” It feels spontaneous, like breaking the glass ceiling, or grabbing a breath of…

Speaking of Words Matter

March 1-7 is Words Matter week. Now weighing words before speaking is more important than ever. I’ve noticed a new trend that I’m happy to see, more people are taking greater care in the words they use, who and what they talk about and how they present information. Why do words matter? Words can be…

Calling to Writers of Faith

I love new beginnings. Five days ago, our pencils were sharpened and new pens were waiting in their holders with a stack of pristine composition books at the ready! Maybe you had your keyboard air blasted and wiped down, your screen dusted and your laptop freshly charged and ready for National Novel Writing Month–Hands On…

Juneteenth Book Release

I love anthologies because I can read a story, put the book down to go swim in the sea, and then come back and read another story while I dry in the sun. Each tale is a world all unto itself. If you have a jam-packed summer ahead, it’s a great book to add to…

How Did It Start For You?

An author in my writer’s circle posed a deep-dive question: Why Do You Write? This question has been asked of me before, though not often. This time, I realized that my answer didn’t really tell the whole story. My father was in publishing and an amazing story teller. Years before I discovered Mark Twain and…

Where You From?

I love a good challenge. A fellow author and friend posted a thought-provoking poem some years back. Her powerful words took my mind places. I found myself nodding, resonating and in awe. Later I learned the poem was a directed template, but the kind of template that accommodates clever turns of phrase, and vivid imagery….

Red Sea Road to Sinai Book Review

In her newest release Red Sea Road to Sinai; Overcoming Abuse and Trauma with God’s Word, Cate Jones, RN had it all. She grew up in an idyllic New Zealand town, beautiful, healthy, and strong in the care of loving parents. As a young adult she had a promising new career in the Salvation Army…

A Month of Sundays: Book Review

I went to see a friend recently and we talked about a new book that just came out, A Month of Sundays: Elevating Self-Care to Soul Care, by Davia William Stevenson, a clinical counselor. She explains how each of these topics affects our self and soul care. Under five section headings, Physical, Mental, Relational, Emotional…

Readers and Authors Bonus!

IT’S RELEASE DAY! The reason I got and wanted to read Brad Pauquette’s THE NOVEL MATRIX is because my very first epic novel was “pantsed” (written by the seat of my pants.) It was as if I had accidentally written a good book. Afterward, I wasn’t sure if I could write another successful story. Many…

Navigating Winter

Navigating winter is easiest by reading or writing a great story.

Little Steps Big Results

In my writing journey, amid reading a ton of books, I came across one of the most prolific new authors I ever had the pleasure to read. An internet search revealed she’d written a dozen books. She had a sharp-looking website, a social media platform that reached around the world, and everywhere I looked, there…