I was in fifth grade when my teacher interrupted my daydream, “Linda, I don’t care if you do grow upto be a famous author, I’m going to teach you math so you can balance your royalty statements.” My classmates turned to stare at me, while I stared back at my teacher in shock, thinking, An author? Who ever said I wanted to be an author? Even though Mrs. Davis’ words foretold my future, I didn’t get it, dream about it, or add ‘writing abook’ to my life’s goals. Instead, when I graduated from college, I got a job in the…
Category: Writing craft
This is our archive page9-1-1. What is your emergency?
“This is 9-1-1. What is your emergency?” I don’t often reflect publicly on the fifteen years I served as a 9-1-1 Operator and Police Dispatcher for the city of Nashville. This was my first career-type job as a somewhat sheltered eighteen-year-old girl, and I was quickly stationed on the midnight shift where all the action took place. Each night at 10:00 p.m., I proudly donned my navy blue civilian uniform and entered through security gates, metal detectors, and controlled access doors into a windowless room with nothing but computer screens in every direction. We served as the hub of activity…
How Can God Be Jealous?
by Ava Pennington In the process of writing Reflections on the Names of God, I enjoyed exploring so many familiar names and attributes of our awesome God. But as I continued to dig deeper into His names and attributes, I came across several that were difficult to understand. For example, Exodus 34:14 tells us one of God’s names is Jealous because He is a jealous God. Saying God is jealous sounds strange, doesn’t it? Jealousy is a powerful emotion. It can devastate relationships and destroy lives. So why would the eternal, sovereign, almighty God name Himself jealous? When God says He is a jealous…
Right On Time
by Michelle Medlock Adams I was in the window seat, thumbing through a magazine, just waiting for the plane to take off when a mother and her young daughter sat down next to me. “Don’t worry, babe,” the mom comforted. “You’re going to be all right.” But the little girl didn’t seem so sure. She fidgeted, hid her face in her stuffed unicorn, and eventually, her tears flowed. She was afraid. Very afraid. The mom in me wanted to help. I was so thankful I had listened to that still small Voice when I packed my…
A Missing Persons Primer
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…
On 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,…
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…
Getting Skunked
Getting skunked means to be overwhelmingly defeated in a competition, such as “We got skunked, 72-10 in the basketball game.” And then there’s the literal meaning. I had been prayerwalking for many years in my small town in the Sierra Valley that cold morning I headed out my front door and down Main Street—bundled up in gloves, coat, and hat that pre-dawn morning. I had forgotten my flashlight but wasn’t concerned when two doors down I heard rustling in the bushes to my right. Just birds. But soon I learned the rustling was not birds, but a skunk defending itself from an…
Asthma Treatments in History
In the process of writing Testing Tessa, I learned that asthma is not a recent affliction but has been around for thousands of years. First mentioned in Chinese records around 2600 B.C., the disease wasn’t given its current name until around 600 B.C. when Hippocrates linked the symptoms to environmental triggers. He recommended a concoction of owl’s blood and wine to alleviate symptoms, not recognizing that asthma was, in fact, a disease. Through the years, other cultures attempted other treatments, including heating of herbs on a brick and then inhaling the fumes in 1500 B.C. Pliny the Elder, in 50 B.C., realized pollen…
Recent Posts
A Chat with Author Grace FoxMarch 23, 2023
A Chat with Author Jayme H. MansfieldMarch 16, 2023
The History of RecipesMarch 10, 2023