Art Must be Communal
Last week started with the Super Bowl and ended with Valentine’s Day. This Super Bowl was the most watched one yet, and while Valentine’s Day is on a downward trajectory, it is still celebrated by more than half of Americans. This is good. As a country that can feel divided, we need those shared experiences […]
A Writer’s Emergency Backup Plan
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 would not work. When I realized this, […]
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 “No, No, No,” all the while learning about […]
Author Interview with Valerie Ellis
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! Bible Adventures! Real Bible Stories […]
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 by this question: […]
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 journey toward full-time writing has been […]
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 kept, and my heart races with anticipation. This time of year […]
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 understand the convenience of placing the wisemen at the climax of the […]
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. Let’s just say me and […]
The Laura Ingalls Wilder Companion Guide
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 heart as you remember reading the historical fiction books […]