Mackinac Island. It’s a magical place that allows you to step back in time from the moment you first step off the ferry. I didn’t grow up aware of Mackinac Island. I wasn’t even sure what I was getting into the first time we drove the ten hours from Lafayette, Indiana, to the tip of Michigan’s mitten. I knew is …
Icing on the Cake Review
The Icing on the Cake is the latest book from comedic romance author extraordinaire Janice Thompson. Scarlet just wants to chase her dream and maybe find love for herself as she creates beautiful cakes for brides around Galveston. Join her on a journey that is filled with humor, love and a great cast of side-kicks. Along the way she learns …
Word of the Year: Restoration
In the past, I’ve asked God for a word for the year. One year it was believe. This was the year of my first miscarriage. Things were moving forward in writing with contracts. But I couldn’t reconcile my faith with what had happened and was scared to ask for more in any area of my life. Another year it was …
Mourning turned into Dancing
Six years ago, I experienced my first miscarriage. Sometime about now that baby would have been born. If you know anything about my story, you know that was a deep valley in my soul. I still cry when I think of that time and that loss. My arms still feel empty at times. And I’ll catch myself looking at our …
Doing the Work of Weeding
Our yard suffered with us spending last summer in Germany. Neighbors did an AMAZING job keeping the front yard alive during a drought, but the backyard became infested with weeds. Weeds like I’ve never seen. That means this summer, I’ve spent pockets of time outside yanking weeds out by as much root as I can. Monday night we had a …
What do we do when life changes…unexpectedly?
Thursday I started orientation at Purdue for the Weekend MBA program. Talk about a curveball or plot twist that I didn’t anticipate even five weeks ago. It’s a change that I started looking into toward the end of June, and by July 5th it was beginning to look like it might happen, but it wasn’t until we got back from …
Recipe for Romance Fun
In my Rainbow’s End novellas, Love’s Prize, I have the hero popping over to the heroine’s condo for many meals. The hero Colton Ryan, heroine Reagan Graham and her brother Scott spend the summer participating in a geo-caching competition. One thing Reagan doesn’t know about the hero is that Colton loves to cook. So he steals every opportunity he can to …
Behind the Scenes: A Wedding Transpires on Mackinac Island
I often start my books by thinking about a setting that I think readers will enjoy escaping to through the pages of a book. A Wedding Transpires on Mackinac Island was no exception. I didn’t grow up aware of Mackinac Island. I wasn’t even sure what I was getting into the first time we drove the ten hours from Lafayette, Indiana, to …
Transformationally Loving God
Some big changes are coming in my life. Good changes. God changes. But with change, there’s always a sense of seeking God. What does He have for me in this new season? How does He want to use me? How does He want me to grow and mature? One thing that is crystallizing in my heart and soul is that …
3 Tips for Creating Quirky Characters
I don’t know about you, but characters often make or break a story for me. As a writer, I try to remember what makes some characters and their stories more compelling for me than others. Here are a few tips I try to keep in mind as I write based on the characters that I love to read about again …