I’m getting tired of sales calls. I get them several times a week now, despite being on the all but worthless Do Not Call list. Cell phones are not supposed to get unsolicited calls, since the owners often have to pay for the minutes. But my husband gets them frequently. What’s worse, these calls are getting more and more obnoxious, …
Beware of “Normals”
The annual American Christian Fiction Writers Conference was held last week in St Louis. I was blessed to be able to go, and finally meet my amazing agent Karen Ball in person for the first time. I also met with Kim Moore of Harvest House Publishers. We’ll wait and see if anything comes of that. ACFW is always a treasure …
5 Things You Don’t Know About Me
Sometimes when I do a guest blog to promote my books, I’m asked to name 5 things people might not know about me. Most of them I’ve already talked about here, but I tried to come up with five more: I played ice hockey. For a couple years in high school, I joined a girls’ ice hockey team. This was …
Will the Real 15-Year-Old Please Stand Up?
Last night was Back To School Night for my highschooler. BTSN is an event held at all the public schools where you go to each of your child’s classes in turn for about ten minutes. The teachers introduce themselves and talk about goals, objectives, teaching methods, expectations, etc. The building is brand new, huge, and three floors. I took Mira …
10 Things That Brighten My Day – Sort Of
My oldest left for Italy this week. You can read more about that in my shared blog. She is earning her BFA in photography, so she will be living in Florence for four months, taking beautiful pictures and studying Italian art history. I miss her already. There are some things that make me feel better when I feel bad. Some …
6 Things I Learned Hiking the Narrows – the Second Time
The Narrows in Zion National Park is one of my favorite places in the world. It’s just a gorgeous, awesome, fanciful, wild place. Walls 2000 feet high, and only 20-30 feet apart in some places. Hiking the Narrows means tramping through the waters of the Virgin River, an altogether different experience from hiking on trails. This was the second time …
Where Angels Fear to Tread
We’re on vacation this week, and the initial dichotomy strikes me. We landed in Las Vegas last night. As anyone who’s been here knows, first thing you see when you deplane—slot machines. At baggage claim, slot machines. Picking up your rental car, more one-armed bandits. On the escalator down to baggage claim, we were flanked by huge ads for male …
What’s Better than Coffee from Colombia?
My husband traveled to Colombia many years ago and brought home coffee. I don’t drink it, but it did smell wonderful. As you know, I am a huge supporter of adoption. Every child deserves a loving family. The Burch family are friends of a dear writer friend of mine. I’m sharing their story this week. Please help – say a prayer, be encouraging, and if …
“I Don’t Have to Shower – I’m a Boy”
Pray for me. This week my son turned 13. Last month my youngest daughter turned 13. The next oldest is 15. I am now the mother of three teenagers, and will be for the next five years. Two are girls. You have no idea how much drama takes place in my house on a daily basis. Choosing who sits in …
What do Pajamas, Cats and Axe Have in Common?
A few months ago I was invited to speak at career day at my kids’ middle school. Actually, they invited all parents to come, and I volunteered. I agonized over what to say, researched to find tips for young writers, even had some bookmarks made with those tips on the back. Then the day before the presentation, they told …