(This is Part 3 of the series, Twelve Pieces of Flesh where I discuss the crisis of conscience of the Christian writer–say that three times fast. I recommend reading Part 1 and Part 2 before continuing.) Relax, I don’t mean that f-word. I mean fuck. As far as I’m aware, there aren’t any cuss words in the Bible, though Matthew […]
“Seventy-Two hours?” I scrambled to sit on the stretcher in the middle of the noisy ER. On my right, a man with swollen legs was dying of heart failure. The kid my toes were pointing to was so low on oxygen his lips were blue. Everyone had curtained-off pseudo-rooms, but I was parked at the […]
(This is Part 2 of the series, Twelve Pieces of Flesh where I discuss the crisis of conscience of the Christian writer–say that three times fast. I recommend reading Part 1 before continuing.) I am not an author. I am just a writer. The distinction is significant, so I hope I can explain it to full justice. Authors […]
“Okay, I have two items of homework for you….Ready for them?” Jonalyn asked at the close of our mentoring session. “Ready!” I was anxious to know I was doing the right thing, or at least not the terribly wrong thing. Her assignments: read Judges (the book of the Bible) chapters 19 through 21 and jot […]
Actual sentences my three-year-old son has said: “2+2=4. I’m amazing.” About his painting: “It’s so good and so it’s beautiful and it’s a wall-bridge for playdoh to go on.” (Whatever that means.) “Fonsi will be down once he’s back from getting me toys from Peurto Rico.” (Yes, “Despacito” Fonsi. B+ Parenting.) Hand J a math […]
It is a rare thing to find your last love in your first. No one told me the same applies to writing fiction. As I mentioned in my post “The Evolution of Sawyer”, I originally planned for Never Touched to be the love story of Sawyer and Guy A, with her personal trauma creating secondary conflict. In […]
Dear 17-Year-Old Me, It’s you, from the future (cue Twilight Zone music). You just got engaged. Congratulations! As you will soon find, people will be vocal about your decision to wed a month after it is legal. You’ll be strangled by doubt and well-meaning warnings. Seven years down the road, here’s what I can tell you about […]
My journey to being a published author has been a little Legally Blonde-esque, but my publisher wants all the new authors to write a post that could be helpful to other writers. So, here’s the advice I’d give to myself when I started. Hopefully, it’ll be helpful to you! 1. Write like no one is going […]
I accidentally wrote a book in a genre I had never read. Yes, it’s embarrassing. Let’s move past it. Anyways, the last few weeks, I’ve been scrambling to read as many New Adult romance and New Adult contemporary books as I can to rectify this problem. From what I can gather, it seems like most […]
“Can we take a break from watching sex crimes?” I cut my eyes over to my husband as the Law and Order: Special Victims Unit theme song pounds through the signature BUM BUM. Apparently, he finds the show “depressing” and doesn’t “want to watch the same season for the third time” and “the way you talk about Barba doesn’t reassure […]