A beautiful rendition of “Mary, Did You Know.”
Merry Christmas!
Praise the Lord This Christmas!
Thank You, Lord, for Your willingness to leave Heaven to be with us for a short time, to share Your wisdom and love. May we walk with You always, for Your plans for us are forever right and good, even when they may not seem that way to the world. May we never let go of Your hand; and may we stay close to You in heart, mind, and spirit. _________ Today I am sharing the Psalms readings from the Book …
Answers to Recent Questions from Clients
In the course of a normal work week—if any of my work weeks can be called “normal”—I get asked a question or two. Or fifty. And, while there are no stupid questions, or so I was told by my second-grade teacher, Mrs. Hoffmann, some questions prompt more illuminating answers than others do. So I’ve picked a few that clients and others have asked recently, along with my answers (cleaned up a bit, …
054 – How to Find an Agent With The Christian Writers Market Guide 2020 Edition
Have you ever been frustrated while looking for an agent or editor? In today’s episode, I talk about where to find good editors and agents using the Christian Writers Market Guide. Why are agents and editors so hard to find for many authors? It’s because many authors: don’t know where to start. don’t know who to call. don’t know who to trust. The cool …
054 – How to Find an Agent With The Christian Writers Market Guide 2020 Edition
Have you ever been frustrated while looking for an agent or editor? In today’s episode, I talk about where to find good editors and agents using the Christian Writers Market Guide. Why are agents and editors so hard to find for many authors? It’s because many authors: don’t know where to start. don’t know who to call. don’t know who to trust. The cool …
Fun Fridays – December 13, 2019
An oldie, but a goodie! Silent monks “singing” Handel’s “Hallelujah Chorus.” Makes me smile every time I see it.
Tag, You’re It!
One of the most common habits I see burdening stories is overemphasis on conversational tags, which goes hand in hand with not making good use of action tags. Here's an example I just made up:
"No," she exclaimed. She looked at the the pot of stew bubbling the stove and saw red juice splattering. She began to stir.
Unable to resist multitasking, I demonstrated several bad habits in the above …
A Different Perspective
When I was in grade school, a nosy neighbor decided my parents were too conservative, so she loaned me some of her old books by Helen Van Slyke. My parents let me read anything in book form, so we were good to go. Helen was a divorced New York City career woman with views unlike those I would encounter in my hometown. Today, as I cull my book collection, I am revisiting some of those titles with a …
What Were They Reading?
In attempting to declutter, I am culling my book collection. Parting with beloved tomes is one of the hardest parts of decluttering for me since I enjoy books so much! I’m keeping copies of all the books I’ve written and the many I have had the honor of representing. Because I tend to buy nearly every book that interests me, I have a massive stack to review. Re-reading bestsellers from the past …
To Romance or Not to Romance
According to St. Teresa of Avila’s biography, the battle over romance novels has been going on at least since the 1500s:
Teresa's father was rigidly honest and pious, but he may have carried his strictness to extremes. Teresa's mother loved romance novels but because her husband objected to these fanciful books, she hid the books from him. This put Teresa in the middle -- especially since she …