by Susan Mathis I grew up just twenty minutes from the Thousand Islands—the setting for all my stories—in upstate New York. Actually, half of the 1,864 islands are in NY and the other half in Ontario, Canada. I spent every summer and more exploring the beautiful region. I’ve stayed on several of the islands and camped and rented cottages there. So, after I wrote my debut novel about the largest island, Wolfe Island, I was hooked. There are so many fascinating stories to tell. All my novels are based on a specific place in the Thousand Islands and are the…
Category: Humor
This is our archive pageWhy Writing is My Hobby–Not Gardening or Flowers
By Linda Wood Rondeau There’s a reason I don’t garden and writing is my main ambition. Historically, I kill anything I try to grow. That’s why, when our VBS director gave me a pot of flowers, I asked my church friends to pray for the plant. Many years ago, when I was still young and thought I might have inherited my mother’s skill with flowers, I planted zinnias in front of my trailer. I dreamed of enjoying their beauty as I looked out the window while washing dishes. I dutifully tended the project, going out several times a week to…
The Power of Story and Potbellied Biscuits
By Davalynn Spencer I enjoy hearing from readers of my inspirational Western romance, especially when they notice that a story portrays simple, everyday life as a believer. “Lifestyle Christianity” is how one reader described it. Another reader said she couldn’t get through my books without baking a batch of homemade “potbellied” biscuits. I have the same problem when I’m writing! But no doubt the most poignant note I’ve received was from a young woman who drew a direct line from my cowboy romances of the 1800s to her own life in the twenty-first century. After finishing one of the novels…
Sweet Sprinkles
by Donna Schlachter The Sweet Sprinkles Limited Anthology is a multi-author project originated by author Jennifer Miller. She wanted to put out sweet stories of romance and humor that included cake or cupcakes of some kind, in honor of her mother, who made the best cakes ever (according to Jennifer). So she gathered a group of 20 authors, set the ground rules for the collection, and got a cover designed. The goal was to release just before Mother’s Day 2022, and to target the stories for mothers. A few interesting facts about Mother’s Day that I thought you’d enjoy: The…
God Uses Unusual Teachers!
by Ava Pennington We always had dogs during our forty-year marriage. And every dog had a very distinctive personality, much like people. My current dog is no exception. But ever since my husband died several years ago, Daisy has raised her antics to a whole new level. Daisy is an eight-year-old boxer who is both a blessing to my writing and a curse. Well, maybe not a curse, but she can definitely be a trial. Don’t get me wrong, I love her and her antics. But there have been times when I’m in the middle of writing and the words are flowing…
How a Cat Changes its…um…Fur
Today’s edition of Fascinating Fridays comes from CAN member Robin Currie. Thank you for bringing us your animals’ eyewitness account of the Nativity story today, Robin! I published Eyewitness Animals, Christmas Story, (Standard Publishing, now out of print) in the summer of 1997 about the Nativity story though the eyes of seven different animals who may have been there. They did not talk to humans but observed them and made internal comments. The animals all had names that described them. The usual ones were Clomper, Donkey, Wooly Lamb, and Sandy Camel. Then I added Twitter Sparrow observing angel activity in Galilee,…
A CASE OF TOO MUCH CONCENTRATION
I’m the kind of writer who tends to be totally absorbed in what I’m working on as if on a cloud of inattentiveness to anything else. This can prove dangerous at times or outright funny. This was especially true when I lived alone in a small housing project while in Jacksonville, Florida. Since no harm was actually done, I laughed at the absurdity. I had just settled in to tackle long overdue writing projects when the phone rang. My neighbor had called to give me a heads up. “Got some bad news to tell you.” I didn’t want to hear…
Finding a Balance That’s Just Right
Goldilocks had the right idea: neither extreme worked for her—she chose the one that was just right. The same is true of social and civic commitments. Too many commitments cause us anxiety and stress and result in poor performance in one or more areas of our lives. Often, that’s the area that affects our family. We might wish we could be a superwoman and do it all, but we can’t. Something will suffer—our health or our family’s well-being, a relationship with a friend, or maybe even our position at work. Saying yes too frequently can lead to anger and resentment,…
First Impressions
It was my first book to be published, and I was excited about flying to Colorado Springs to meet my publishers at their headquarters. Coming from Florida and having been warned of the possibility of a late spring snowstorm in Colorado, I carefully picked out my clothes for the trip to make the best impression, strategic about packing a separate suitcase for cold weather and snow. But the next day when the plane arrived in Colorado, my suitcase with my cold weather gear was missing. I awoke the next morning to find a blanket of freshly fallen snow outside my hotel…
God’s Humor Is Pretty Fascinating
I’m always fascinated when I read the Bible and identify God’s humor. That’s what happened when I was writing God’s Intriguing Questions: 40 Old Testament Devotions Revealing God’s Nature (co-written with my husband, Larry). Our book examines the questions God asks in the Bible. His questions are fascinating because He asks as if He doesn’t know the answers. But of course, He does and that’s what makes it humorous. He knows everything and asks questions to make people think and examine their motives and comprehension. The book of Job is filled with God asking questions. They are fascinating because many of them…
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