by Sarah Hamaker As a writer of romantic suspense, I’ve always been fascinated by missing persons, especially adults who simply disappear into thin air, leaving behind more questions than answers. According to Statista Research Department, more males than females go missing in the 21 and older category, while the opposite is true in the younger than 21 category. According to the FBI’s National Crime Information Center (NCIC) Missing Person and Unidentified Person Statistics as of December 31, 2021, the NCIC registered 93,718 active missing person records. Juveniles under 18 years of age account for 30,400 (32 percent) of the records…
Category: Inspiration for Writers
This is our archive pageOn the Way to Perfection
by Joan C. Benson When an author completes a book, s/he wants it perfected before submitting it to an agent or publisher. The author has read and reread the manuscript multiple times and revised and revised it with the best of their expertise. Nothing but the best work should be considered for submission. In my case, my first novel took years to finish. No, it didn’t take years of writing, but years of retrieving it from the bottom of my to-do list. After all, I was paid for contract writing, my proverbial squeaky wheel. Once I finished polishing the manuscript,…
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…
Judging by Appearances
by Yvonne Ortega Oh, no, I need a nickel for my four pennies. I can’t leave the kiosk with one gallon of water in the two-gallon jug. The kiosk won’t take pennies. I looked for well-groomed men and women, who walked in or out of the grocery store by the kiosk. I tried to get their attention. Why did they turn away from me? That morning, I took a shower, shampooed my hair, and wore clean clothes that matched. With the words, ma’am, or sir, I addressed each adult with respect to no avail. Maybe someone put a sign…
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,…
Start Your Morning Write
Today’s timely message of encouragement comes Linda Goldfarb–CAN member, author, speaker, coach and dear friend to many who shares from the heart on her morning practice of daily writing. Thank you, Linda! I’ve written short term pieces daily for more than a decade. I began for my eyes only, as I’m a speaker who writes, you see. Until I chose to heed the Spirit to share my writings and now it seems I’ve started a fire of sorts. Not too hot for pre-believers, yet challenging, I hope, for those who have ears to hear. Here’s a taste. I pray its…
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…
A Season with a Different Harvest
I used to enjoy public speaking. I was thrilled when, during my senior year in high school, I was chosen to emcee our school Homecoming festivities. Although I must admit it wasn’t for a particularly good reason. According to Mrs. Monroe, who was my high school English teacher, my voice carried across the classroom. Even when I was trying not to be heard. Apparently, that made me a good choice for Homecoming emcee, because the sound system hadn’t yet been installed in our new high school gymnasium. Soon after that, I was emceeing at music festivals and churches across three…
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