A rustle below her woke Cassie. She rolled over, stretched, and banged her hand on the wall—to her right. What? Eyes open, she sat bolt upright in bed and nearly cracked it open on a low overhang above her. “Double what?” Prattle. It hadn’t been a rustle, it was prattle—childish prattle. And Continue Reading
The Hard Truth about “The Return”: My Biased Review
So what do you do when you have three books due, one to edit, a filthy house, and a year’s planning to consider when you remember that you are supposed to review a book. By tomorrow. What? You spend the evening reading a book, of course. It’s kind of natural to have one eye on the clock or Continue Reading
What Did I Think of Wounded in the Church?
We looked at each other, the Bible verses, and back at each other. Kevin sighed. I wanted to cry. And to be honest, I regretted ever diving into studying that particular theological position. If we acknowledged and embraced it. Our lives would change forever. Hours later, in the darkness of our Continue Reading
Have You Ever Wondered What Inspires a Novel?
A few years ago, I joined the “Blogging for Books” program with Multnomah. Every few weeks, I’d get an email from Liz Johnson or another gal (I want to call her Abby), offering a new book to read. And when Liz left there to become an author, she sent me (and I assume others) an email thanking me for Continue Reading
The 8 Worst Words of Homeschooling Advice & How to Avoid Them
August. The final month (for practical purposes) of those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer. Popsicles, dashes to the pool, watermelon—lots of delicious watermelon while it lasts. And then it hits: back to school time. But with it is back to school season with those long lists of school supplies, Continue Reading
A Day in the Life of a Weird Writer Living in a Dream World
The scent of coffee wafts from the kitchen, through the living room, across the three-foot square we call a hallway, under my door, into my fan, and blows the homey perfume into my dreams and wakes me. Stretches, a sigh. I peel off my eye mask and blink. Flinging back the covers, I jerk open the Continue Reading
What Book Is So Fantastic That I Read It Twice in a Row?
Prince Edward Island Dreams. Well titled. The page rustled as I turned to read the last words. Satisfying—not just in that everything worked out the way I thought it should, but the deeper, richer elements coming together at the right moment… not just some moment. I set it down, my thumb swiping Continue Reading
Help Me? 5 Things I Want to Know about YOU
"... and then we went to this little cafe--no, wait. First, we stopped at one of those roadside gift shops? Oh, it was all just junk. But, we were good tourists and..." You know the person. You've been there. Everyone is discussing the goofiest souvenir they ever purchased when someone pipes Continue Reading
One Woman’s Epic Win in the Format Battle
To call Bobbie a bookworm might have caused a bit of an uproar in the Collier house. Bobbie, to be precise, would never have stood for it. As a self-professed devourer of fiction, she couldn’t fathom how something that could barely beat a snail in an inch race could possibly describe her literary Continue Reading
What Do Arrows & a Sewing Lesson Have to Do With Murder?
A swath of fabric cut across my bedroom at an odd angle, but that angle ensured that I could stretch it all out. With painstaking precision, I pinned every last piece to the fabric, disgusted at the enormous waste stretching out before me. The pattern called for three and a half yards. I’d Continue Reading
I’m Sick to Death of Opinions, but Not Why You Think
Our world is flooded with opinions. From the best tacos (Mrs. Santos', naturally) or burgers (In-n-Out, duh!) to movies, books, products, and obviously, politics. Gotta have those political opinions. Unless yours differs from mine, of course. But I'll get to that in a minute. We even baptize Continue Reading
My Super Secret Solution to the Aging Problem
A trail of cigarette smoke wisps up and toward the window. Mom laughs at something my Aunt Susan says. And, if I’m honest with myself, probably takes a sip of coffee, too. Year? Oh, probably 1982. Place? Ventura, California—at “John&Gloria’s” house. That’s how I pictured their names in my Continue Reading
