As a writer, I often beat my head against the blank screen of procrastination and perfection. There is nothing like a tight deadline to make me wonder exactly what it is that I’m hoping to accomplish. One would think such a looming deadline would translate to a well-written story that appears magically on demand. Not true. At times like this, I really need to know the truth. Why do I write? Aside from the lofty goals of fame and fortune – (insert giggle snort) – why do I write? Seriously, this is a question all writers must ask ourselves so…
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Book Review: Forever Lovely by Linore Rose Burkard
Forever Lovely Pride and Prejudice meets time travel adventure in this sweet and clean Regency romance. When Miss Margaret Andrews travels to the future to find her missing sister, she never expected to find true love. In 1819 England, she is a bluestocking with dreams of becoming an inventress, but when the Tallit, a magical time-travel shawl, goes awry she finds herself stranded in 21st Century Manhattan…where it all begins. Can she get herself–and her new love–back home to safety in time to prevent a disaster? * * * Book review of Forever Lovely: What a joy, a pure pleasure…
Fascinating Friday Feature with Karin Beery – Most Valuable Lesson Learned Through Writing
Writing a novel is easy. Writing a good novel that people enjoy and want to share with others is anything but. Based on TV shows and other novels, however, you’d never know that. Fictional novelist Richard Castle somehow managed to write best-selling novels without actually doing much writing. I can’t tell you how many novels I’ve read where a character’s debut novels sell millions, making them instant celebrities without any training or experience. But those authors know better—it’s never that fast or easy. Even though I know fiction isn’t reality, that didn’t stop me from imagining my first manuscript was…
Fascinating Friday Feature: More than a Tagline with Ava Pennington
How often have you ended a prayer with “in Jesus’ name”? We say it so often, it has almost become a tagline. But how did this practice begin? Several verses in the New Testament tell us to pray in Jesus’ name, including: However, this phrase may not mean what most of us think it does! In ancient times before planes, trains, and automobiles, rulers did not have theconvenience of making a phone call or sending a telegram to convey their orders.Instead, the king would send his emissary to a distant location. And the emissary wouldsay, “I come in the name…
Book Review: Nobody’s Mother: Artemis of the Ephesians in Antiquity and the New Testament
About the book: Bible exposition and history Nobody’s Mother: Artemis of the Ephesians in Antiquity and the New Testament by Sandra Glahn Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2023. Available at Logos and IVP Based on groundbreaking research and new data about Artemis of the Ephesians, Nobody’s Mother demonstrates how better background information supports faithful interpretation. Combining spiritual autobiography with scholarly exploration, Glahn takes readers on a journey to ancient Ephesus and across early church history. Unveiling the cult of Artemis and how early Christians related to it can give us a clearer sense of the type of radical, countercultural fellowship the New Testament…
Fascinating Friday Feature – How Fascination Fuels Sarah Hamaker’s Writing
I’m often asked where my ideas for my romantic suspense books come from, and the answer isinevitably “everywhere and anywhere.” I’m always collecting ideas on what-if questions basedon current events or something I read or heard. I never know what will spark an idea or plotline.Sometimes, those ideas never go anywhere because once I start thinking through the situation, Irealize it’s not enough for a book or it’s too flimsy. Since I write realistic fiction, I also want the storylines to be believable. I’m more of panster (one who writes without outlining the entire book), so I try to spend…
Fascinating Friday Feature – Creative Droughts?
Writer’s Block. You often hear this term mentioned as if that inner mechanism that helps writers spew out strings of meaningful words is somehow turned off. Stuck. Out of order until further notice. This may happen at times, but for me, it goes much deeper than that. Personally, I can always write. Give me a blank journal page, and I’ll ask enough questions to figure out how I’m thinking and the reason for it. My handwritten notes are part prayer and part praise. A partial download of the heaviest parts of the previous day, along with a partial discovery of…
Book Review: Evangeline by Lane Jordan
Evangeline, by Lane Jordan, is a historical romance that won the Romance Book of the Year Golden Scrolls Award! Take the beautiful, biblical story of Esther, change the lead character’s race from Jewish to biracial, place the location in New York City during the 1960s’ era of turmoil at the time of the Civil Rights movement, and you have a modern-day parallel story to Esther. The book of Esther in the Old Testament is a similar story to Cinderella. With only ten short chapters, and God never mentioned, Esther reveals how God works in our lives always. He is in…
The Fascinating (Condensed) History of Alaska
By Donna Schlachter In keeping with celebrating my second Switchboard Sisterhood book, Morgana, I thought I’d sharesome history of Alaska this month. While the area was likely settled thousands of years ago by emigrants from Asia and Eastern Europewho perhaps crossed a land passage, few details are available about these early settlers. They eventuallyestablished themselves and spread out over the area, becoming unique in their language and culture.In 1728. Vitus Bering from Denmark traveled into the area and discovered the strait now namedafter him. He returned in 1741 and explored the North American coastline. In 1776, the year the United…
Book Review: Gypsy For God
Contemporary Christian Fiction Gypsy for God Kathleen is a middle-aged woman who loses her job, which leaves her doubting herself and fearing the future. This event sends her on a journey to find purpose and meaning in her life. She flourishes in a new career as a travel agent, but fear and doubt keep her from experiencing all life has to offer. Finally, an unexpected encounter changes everything as God begins to reveal His plans to Kathleen. Each new country she visits brings her closer to finding her real purpose. This story offers hope for readers seeking meaning in their…
