Right now I’m reading a book called the Moral Premise. The author Stanley D. Williams will teach the Early Bird at ACFW in September, and like any good hyper student, I wanted to get a head start on preparing. The Moral Premise reveals the foundational concept at the heart of all storytelling and successful box office movies. In concrete terms …
Friday Recipes: Fruit Cobbler
As I’m typing this, I have a blueberry cobbler in the oven. Made with fresh blueberries that we picked this morning at a local blueberry farm. Can you say YUMMMMMY? The fresh fruit is one of my favorite parts of summertime. Better yet is when we get to go pick it ourselves. Maybe there’s an incredibly teensey weensey bit of …
Quirks: We All Need Them
We all have quirks. One of mine is that I love traditions. So every July 4th week, I know I’ll be dragging my kids to a blueberry farm at least once so we fill our fridge and hopefully our freezer with fresh blueberries. This year we went twice in three days — so far. But my breakfast of choice is …
It’s Almost Here: ACFW Conference
This week I’ve started one of my favorite times of the year, running first time orientation for the ACFW conference. A few years ago we realized that approximately a third of our attendees any given year were first timers. I’ll never forget my first time at conference in 2005. I went with a fellow writer from Indiana — a gal …
Review: False Witness by Randy Singer
I loved False Witness the first time it came out. So when I learned about the re-issue, I was curious to see if I’d notice any changes or if anything major would change. Instead, even though I’d read the book before, I found myself pulled into the plot as if I read it for the first time. Randy Singer is …
Winning Him Without Words
Today, I’ve invited my friend Dineen Miller to stop by. While her first novel releases next year, she has an important non-fiction title out right now: Winning Him Without Words. This book is designed to give hope, encouragement, and advice to women who are married to an unbeliever. How did you and your co-author, Lynn Donovan, meet and what led …
Happy Birthday, Grandpa
Here’s a guest post from my 10 1/2 year old in honor of her Grandpa, who shares a birthday with the country. As my Grandma always said, he came in with a bang… You can almost see my dad in this photo. I’ve got to get his service photo scanned because he was and is one good looking dude. My …
Joshua Thoughts: Take 1
I’m starting a study I’ve prayed about for awhile. I keep coming back to a need to understand Joshua and what made him so different from the rest of Israel. I’ll probably study Caleb, too, for the same reason. How could 12 men with the same experiences have such vastly different responses? I think about the people of Israel. Didn’t …
Review: Martha: a novel
My Thoughts I have a love-hate relationship with Biblical fiction. I’m attracted to it for the way it can help me see Bible stories through a new lens. At the same time, I’m always cautious because I’m concerned about the author’s twists on Scriptures. Yet when the books are about people I’ve studied on my own, novels can help me …
Guest Post: Inspired by a True Story
As a debut novelist, I’m enjoying the opportunity to do book signings. I’ve done four since Fairer than Morning released on May 10th, and each event has taught me something new about readers. One lesson has been constant for all my signings. Readers who don’t usually read inspirational fiction may decide to read a novel if they discover it’s based …