When I was wrapping up the final edits on The Mercy Seat, Kay and I had dinner with dear friends Bill and Derri Smith. Derri had recently retired as the director of an organization devoted to rescuing victims of human trafficking. I shared with them the story of The Mercy Seat and that I was…
My wife, Kay, dared me to make up a story out of whole cloth. Just sit down and start writing and see what happens, she said. With my historical fiction books, I have at least had a loose outline to follow, a commitment to be true to the known facts while telling a good story. But not with The Mercy Seat. It was scary at first.
In today’s post, author Kristen Gwen shares about her path to storytelling—and the inspiration we’ve been given from the greatest storyteller of all.
Have you ever seen something you couldn’t identify or explain? As a mystery reader—and writer—I’ve always been intrigued by things I can’t understand.
I never had a burning passion to write a book. Like a teapot simmering on a stove’s back burner, my idea to write a novel also sat.
Write a book? Ninety-some thousand words? I couldn’t imagine such a feat.
But the teapot on the back of the stove kept simmering.
Have you ever had a pair of shoes that were so perfectly worn around your feet, so completely comfortable, that you never wanted to take them off or wear another pair? New shoes can be the opposite—uncomfortable and sometimes even painful. But often they are also beautiful, and it is well worth the effort to try them on, break them in, give them time to adapt and mold to your feet.
Our comfort zone is the same.
“If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take.”
As a pre-school youngster, I often whispered that prayer while covering my head with a blanket. Rumors of war, tornado warnings, or even a bump in the night would raise fears of death in my young mind. What would happen if I should die? Would I live on in heaven? Would God really take my soul to be with him?
In our newest contemporary romance novel, Picture Imperfect, the female lead Caroline could be defined as a workaholic. But how can you tell if someone is a workaholic—including yourself? “Workaholism” doesn’t just mean that someone works a lot. We all have to work long hours sometimes. Instead, workaholism refers to a work addiction. Researchers from…
Law enforcement in the old Wild West was spotty at best, and the line between lawman and outlaw often blurred. Peacekeepers were frequently paid very little or nothing and needed to have a regular (full-time) job to eat and put a roof over their heads. For this reason—and others—those in charge of upholding the law…
“I Bet You’re a Writer” [Heather L. L. FitzGerald]
Have you heard of Imposter’s Syndrome? Have you been stricken with this malady in your line of work, in your creative outlet, or maybe as a new parent?