Do you have an Emergency Backup for your writing? I don’t mean a different avenue of life if a writing career doesn’t pan out. I’m talking about a backup for when something in your writing process goes haywire. For example, last week, my charging cord for my laptop...
Writing Craft and Resources
Maisie Discovers Her Fingerprint: A Picture Book Review by Gail Cartee
Maisie Discovers Her Fingerprint written by Sandra Kay Chambers is a picture book written to help children understand that God created each of us in a unique and special way. Children will enjoy the repetitive text and will soon join in with the “Yes, Yes, Yes” and...
Author Interview with Valerie Ellis by Sue Irwin
A few months ago, I heard Valerie Ellis speak at a webinar for children’s book writers. When I heard the title of her upcoming book, I couldn’t wait to learn more about it. Today, I’m happy to introduce Valerie and to join her in celebrating the launch of Let's Go!...
Why Can’t Everything be a Masterpiece?
Last year I watched 52 movies, and read 48 books. But I didn’t like them all. Some movies I hated. Some books I rolled my eyes at, or finished with the thought of “Finally. Now, I can read something good!” As I finished the year reading A Christmas Carol, I was struck...
5 Tips on How to Take Care of Your Mental Health as a Writer by Amber Ginter
At 14, I felt a gentle prompting from God that I would someday become an author. It wasn't a dramatic revelation, but a quiet assurance that, if I remained faithful, He would guide me on that path (Philippians 1:6). Now, at 28, that dream is becoming a reality. My...
Finding Joy in the Wait: 3 Gifts Found in the Delay of My Christmas Picture Book by Brenda B. Covert
The crisp winter air tweaks my nose as I admire the glow of my town’s twinkling lights. Everywhere I look, I see Christmas trees, bright-eyed children, and outdoor Nativity scenes. The Christmas season fills me with warmth, like a long-forgotten promise of joy being...
What the Wisemen Can Teach us About the Epilogue
It always bugged me that depictions of Christ’s birth show the wisemen there alongside the shepherds. It just isn’t very accurate. Matthew 2 says that “After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea…Magi from the east came to Jerusalem” (emphasis added). While I...
I Have Been Writing for Half of my Life. Here’s What I Learned.
By the time you are reading this blog, I will officially be 30 years old. A lot has happened in the first three decades of my life. Some things haven’t happened as quickly as I wanted to. Others happened before I was ready. But’s that’s another blog for another time....
The Laura Ingalls Wilder Companion Guide: A Review by Sally Matheny
What comes to your mind when you read the name of Laura Ingalls Wilder? Does it carry you back to when you were captivated by the freckle-faced little girl with braided pigtails from the popular television show Little House on the Prairie? Or does it warm your...
When Your Writing Becomes a Side Hustle
When did you know that your writing had become more than just a hobby? For me, it was when my mother said these words: “I think you should focus on making money with your writing.” It was after I had pitched her my idea of an AI-generated graphic novel about a recent...










