February 2024 New Releases More in-depth descriptions of these books can be found on the ACFW Fiction Finder website Contemporary Romance: Finally Forever by Karin Beery — Former competitive dancer Caroline Novak dreams of leaving the corporate world to work with special needs women at the Pathways nonprofit, but the organization can’t afford a fulltime director. All-American defensive end Ben …
What a Contest Can Do for You
by Lisa Kelley @LisaKelleyWrite It’s time for unpublished authors like myself to enter the Genesis contest. I encourage you to go for it, but to approach it as a learning experience rather than a ticket to publication. Even though I’m the 2023 Romance winner, I’d enter again this year if I had a finished manuscript. I’m competitive, so it’s hard …
Writing about Grief, Pain and Sorrow
by Allie Pleiter @alliepleiter We want our books to touch readers. For that to happen, our characters must go through deep emotions, letting the experiences transform them and their faith. Even those of us who write with a touch of humor need to plumb the depths of life’s journey to write a book that feels as significant as it does …
Singing the Song of Truth
By Christine Sunderland @Chrisunderland Christians have long sought to portray truth. They look to Moses and the Ten Commandments etched into tablets of stone on Mt. Sinai that became the foundation of their worship and life together, the Ark of the Covenant. The Ninth Commandment forbids false witness, for God’s law leads to God’s truth about who we are and …
The Voice Inside You
By Nancy Mehl @nancymehl When I first started writing, I was excited about the future. I finally knew who I was. What I was born to do! But after a while I began to realize just how much work it was going to take. How much it would impact time spent with my family and my friends. It was clear …
A Story’s Right to Life
by Felicia Ferguson @Felicia_writer Christopher Hitchins is quoted as saying, “Everyone has a book in them and that, in most cases, is where it should stay.” But what about those lesser cases? Those stories that do need to be released? Need to be given life? January 22nd was Sanctity of Human Life Sunday, and while I fully support a human’s …
Cookies & Ice Cream, the Who, What, Where, When & Why
By Desiree Future @Desiree_Future As an avid movie watcher, I enjoy various kinds of flicks. Faith-based, drama, action, and romance always intrigue me. Sometimes, I’ll plop on my sofa with my cat on my lap and take in a good show. Other times, I’ll head to the movie theater to see the matinee of a new screening. Recently I was …
Promise
by Janice Cantore As I sit down to start the draft of a new book, it occurs to me that the beginning of a new book, like the beginning of the new year, brings bright promise. I have a new cast of characters, a new storyline, and fresh ideas. The problems that twisted up my last book are gone or …
The Talent of Tenacity
By Tanara McCauley @TanaraMcCauley There’s a story my father loves to tell to anyone who’ll listen. It’s an embarrassing boast of the my-kid-could’ve-been-this variety, and I shake my head whenever I hear its intro. He recounts how, when I was a scrawny eighth-grade sprinter on the track team, I missed the start of an 800-meter race due to an untimely …
Hello 2024 – New Year, New Goals?
by Lori Domingo @loridomingo22 I’ll begin by wishing everyone a very happy New Year! Honestly, it doesn’t seem possible to me that another year has come and gone. 2023 was a mixed bag of successes and failures, with plenty of trials thrown in just to keep me humble. Part of what I like to do at the beginning of the …