I’m blessed to be a part of an amazing fellowship of local authors. Rockwall Christian Writers Group has met monthly since October of 2001 at LakePointe Church in Rockwall, TX. You might recognize the names of some of our members: Mary DeMuth and Anne Mateer (formerly known as D’Ann). We three musketeers head up the [...]

As Thanksgiving rapidly approaches, I thought I’d offer you another glimpse of the holi-devo. Here’s another sample devotional from One Thousand Gift Receipts.  November 27 Christmas Tree   “I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they [...]

National Novel Writing Month–or NaNoWriMo, as it’s commonly called–has taken over Twitter, blog posts and other social media as fiction writers all over the world pound out their daily word count. (My good friend, Anne Mateer, co-author of One Thousand Gift Receipts: A Holi-Devo, participated in this challenge back in 2002, I believe. We connected [...]

Anne Mateer has done it again with At Every Turn. I identify so much with her heroine, Alyce Benson, who acts on impulse, never considering the consequences of her response during a missionary’s presentation at her church.  But she’s also strong, committed, funny, caring, likeable and adventurous. When Alyce gets in over her head, she [...]

In spite of—or, perhaps, because of—the fact that e-readers (like Kindle, Nook and iPad) have exploded onto the market, books clubs across America are going strong. I’ve been an active part of two book clubs, my favorite being Virtues ‘n’ Vices, led by my friend, Shirley Granstaff. We met monthly to discuss novels or works [...]

Today’s post features the story-behind-the-story of Anne Mateer’s debut novel, Wings of a Dream. This Bethany House publication came out in September of 2011, but it would make great summer reading. In her own words, here is Ann’s story: My grandmother was a born storyteller, the kind that could spin a tale and keep you [...]

Yesterday, I challenged you to write as part of your New Year’s resolution. Whether you journal, pen poetry, jot down novel plots on a napkin at Starbucks or write your 100,000-word memoir, writing cleanses the mind and soul through introspection and allows you to escape. If you’re serious about trying to publish your work, read [...]