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 …
Bless You and Keep You
by Julia Fenstermacher The day after Christmas, “Poetry Moment” on NPR (National Public Radio) featured a poem I wrote. The poem came to me this past year out of a time of frustration. I was very busy with good writerly things: my new author newsletter, attending the Write to Publish conference, serving as our local ACFW chapter VP, and creating …
You’re Not Going to Drown
by John Matthew Walker @jdubmd Familiar with the huge numbers that swarmed him daily, Jesus and his disciples went to the lakeshore early in the morning. When the crowds gathered and pressed around him, Jesus and his disciples climbed into a boat a pushed off the shore. He stood at taught them from the boat. The day stretched on and …
A Storyteller’s Tale
by Tanara McCauley There once was a teller of magnificent tales. He traveled vast lands and orated to diverse peoples, regaling them with stories of war and tragic love, of villains who could be mistaken for heroes, of whole nations ruled by lions or destroyed with song. Renowned for his audacity and for recitals that never failed to surprise and …
Come Out of The Corner
by Chandra Lynn Smith I am a professional dog trainer. Naturally, my manuscripts have canine characters. My current work in progress has a very special Swiss Mountain Dog, named Gretta. The “Gretta” in the manuscript is loosely based on a dog I trained several years ago. That dog’s first day with me was traumatic. She cowered in the corner and …
Come Alongside
by Susan A.J. Lyttek @SusanLyttek In my latest YA series, the Portal Watchers, the prophet Nevv takes the three watchers under his tutelage. Ne-tel, Bern and Garth are all about half Nevv’s age and have barely an iota of his experience. But he doesn’t lord that over them. Instead, he reaffirms what they do have—the dinosaurs and the mission to …
How a Troublesome Manuscript Was Saved
by Glynn Young Hold on to those unfinished or problematic manuscripts. You never know when they’re due for a rebirth. You pour everything into creating a manuscript. You type “The End.” You smile and give yourself a well-deserved pat on the back. It’s done. You finished it. You set it aside for a few days, and then you reread it. …
When the Landscape Changes
By Cynthia Herron @C_herronauthor “Where we love is home—home that our feet may leave, but not our hearts.” ~ Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. This beautiful quote strikes such a poignant chord. “Home” and all that word encompasses evokes both warmth and yearning as I fondly recall my childhood growing up in the hills and hollows of the Ozarks along Old …
The Author’s Stir Fry
By Kathy Maresca @so_tweet Have you ever taken a look at a menu and asked the server to hold a particular ingredient? Sometimes it’s possible, but other times the mix has been prepared and cannot be separated. Let’s consider a stir fry entree. It’s nutritious and well balanced, looks fabulous and smells great. But the sensational Asian spices, rice, chicken, …