When the synopsis for Just a Train Ride appeared, I knew I had to request a review copy of the book. One thing, shallow as it may be, stopped me, however. The cover. As indie covers go, it isn’t bad—not really. I like most of it. The typography didn’t grab me, but it wasn’t horrible. But the Continue Reading
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When A Lifelong Dream Gets Fulfilled in a Great Book
Not sure when I first decided I wanted to own my own bookstore. I do recall that teaching won out over bookstore ownership as a girl because I thought that “three months off” would give me time to write a book every year, and you didn’t get three months off as a bookstore owner. I set that Continue Reading
What’s the Best Thing about Every Great New Book?
If I’ve been asked once, it’s been a thousand or more times. “So, what makes a good book?” That’s like asking what makes a “good kid.” You can’t just pinpoint one thing (well, I suppose technically, you could say God and call that good) and that’s that. Lots of different things go into the Continue Reading
Did Tongues of Fire Live Up to Its Promises?
“You keep doing that. You keep choosing to read books you know you’ll disagree with.” Look, it’s a valid point. I won’t pretend it’s not. But unlike the not-so-subtle implication of the accusation, I really don’t go looking for books to spend hours reading so I can then say how much I didn’t like Continue Reading
Strike the Mark: Was It a Total Win or Epic Fail
Maybe it’s because it’s a spiritual discipline that I never felt like I developed well. Or, perhaps it’s just because I’m older and, prayerfully more mature. Whatever the reason making prayer a bigger part of my spiritual life became a huge priority in the past few years. I suspect, however, the Continue Reading
What Is This Fabulous Fitness Program for Perfect Curves?
Christmas 1982. The Esplanade—Oxnard, California. The store sold nothing but mugs, and I read every one of them. I bought one for a friend that showed a hippo, a flying bird, and two sheep. Cracked up all the way home on that one (hippo, birdie, two ewes). But then there was this other one. I Continue Reading
How Can You Praise God When You Made Every Mistake in the Book?
The day I really began my mothering journey... It was a Wednesday. I could never forget that for reasons you’ll see in a minute or two. I worked at a local Chinese delivery place—Mandarin Express. My shift began at ten in the morning, and I got off at five. Sometime around two or so, after I’d Continue Reading
The Hardest Thing about This Book and Why I Love It
The diagnosis came. Cancer. Of all the people I knew, she was the last I would have expected to get cancer. She was healthy, active, careful with everything she ate. But years before, in the seventies and eighties, she’d spent way too much time in the sun—before people knew that was a Continue Reading
A Poem on Your Pillow Day… Who knew? (a FREE short story)
There's a "holiday" for everything from tweed day to lazy day (although I could get into that one). I wanted something to go with last year's May Day story, "Bringing in the May," but what comes after May Day? Mother's Day. Um... for a fledgling relationship, that might be pushing it. Continue Reading
What Happens When a Christian Doesn’t “Look” Like One?
He taught me a lesson—a strange man with body art who I’d never met before and would likely never meet again. The elevator stopped on my floor and the doors opened. There he was. He was big—really beefy, not overweight. Just a linebacker waiting to happen. Tattoos decorated his arms and lower Continue Reading
What Should You Do When You Fail To Show Compassion?
Male. Latino-Black. Average height. Cornrows in his hair. Muscular. Pierced ears—gauges. "Muscle shirt." Pants held on only by the grace of God. I’ll call him Joey. I think he looks like a Joey. Not a cute little boy, Joey—a cool dude Joey. I picture him with friends Marco and Ty. He may not Continue Reading
Is True Love Overrated in the Fiction Genre?
Is True Love Overrated in the Fiction Genre? Sometimes, it really feels like it. I'm just sayin'. You read posts and listen to conversations and all of a sudden, that priest guy in The Princess Bride fills your mind and all you can hear is "Wuv... twue wuv..." Gag. But here's the thing. God Continue Reading
