Age before Beauty featured on DearReader.com

Just got an exciting note. Age before Beauty, the second book in the Sister-to-Sister Series, will be featured as the Good News selection of the online book club DearReader.com during the week of September 28-October 2! Since I’ve been a subscriber of the DearReader.com emails for years, this is really exciting news for me. It’s sort of like walking into …

On Not Winning

As you may know, Stuck in the Middle, book one in the Sister-to-Sister Series, was recently a finalist for the American Christian Fiction Writers’ Book of the Year award. The award ceremony was in Denver on Saturday, Sept 19th. My book didn’t win. And you know what? That’s okay. Really. There were five finalists in this category. Of those five …

The New TV Season

The new television season has begun! I wouldn’t say I’m a television junkie, really. In fact, when I first married, we hardly ever watched TV at all. But in recent years, since our evenings are no longer enslaved by baseball and karate and band practice, my husband and I have been known to enjoy a few shows. Only a few, …

Book Review – The Great Christmas Bowl

The Great Christmas Bowl By Susan May Warren I enjoyed this book so much! And not just because the author is a friend; she also happens to be a terrific, award-winning writer, and The Great Christmas Bowl is as good as I expected it to be. Marianne’s children are growing up, and she knows her family’s life is changing. But …

Book Review – In the Arms of Immortals

In the Arms of Immortals by Ginger Garrett Set in Sicily, 1347, In the Arms of Immortals transports readers back to the days when the Black Death strikes a small harbor village. I’ve been a fan of Ginger Garrett’s since I read Chosen, the story of Queen Esther, and her books just get better and better. She makes historical times …

Hope in the Midst of Tragedy

I just returned from a really, really hard trip. We attended the funeral of a dear friend who was killed in a parasailing accident while on vacation with friends. It’s been one of those slap-in-the-face circumstances, one that slams home the fact that life is so fragile. It can be over in a minute. A single heartbeat separates us at …

The Suffering Spectrum – Get Me to the End!

I’ve gone through some tough times lately. I’ve heard people say their faith was strengthened through tough times, and I know that’s biblical. In his letter to the Roman church, Paul described what I call a ‘suffering spectrum.’ He said that suffering produces perseverance, perseverance produces character, and character produces hope. Personally, I’d like to move out of the suffering …

Rest for the Weary!

July, August, and September are very busy for me. Next week I’m wrapping up a six-week online writing course that has been intense – for me, the teacher, no less than for the eight students! I’m gearing up toward two conferences in September, the Utah Christian Writers Conference, where I’ll teach and serve as keynote speaker, and then American Christian …

Book Review – Montana Rose

Montana Rose by Mary Connealy Cassie Griffin’s husband dies, leaving her and her unborn child alone in a hostile territory where a single woman is considered fair game for whoever grabs her first. At the funeral, Cassie finds herself surrounded by a pack of woman-hungry men, and no one cares at all that she’s still reeling from her husband’s death. …

Book Review – The Enclave

The Enclave By Karen Hancock I’ve heard people rave about Karen Hancock’s Christian fantasy novels for years, but for some reason I’ve never read one. After reading The Enclave, I know that’s a serious oversight on my part. In The Enclave, main character Lacey is thrilled to have landed a job as a geneticist for one of the most prestigious …