"... 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
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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
What I Did When Praying Failed Me
Um… so… um…” The dead silences mocked me. Why could I pray just fine and dandy when someone asked me to pray for them or with them, but just an intimate time with the Lord turned my usual chatterbox self into a tongue-tied moron? Yeah. I still don’t know the answer to that. But I do remember Continue Reading
Why November 5 Is the Best Obscure Holiday Ever!
At least once or twice a year, someone asks. “What’s your favorite holiday?” It was fun answering the first time or two. Has my opinion changed over the years? Do I like something new or even older? Did something horrible happen to ensure that I hate Christmas now? Well, there you have it. The Continue Reading
The Pitfalls of Being Real and How to Combat Them
It happened again. Another person asked how homeschooled kids can possibly hope to cope in the "real world." I wanted to bang my head. Because if you pulled a publicly educated kid from the Bronx and set that kid in rural Iowa, he'd be a mess. He wouldn't know how to deal with that real world. Continue Reading
15 Bloggers Share How They Fell in Love with Christian Fiction
Said Farmer Brown, “Tra-la, tra-lee…” Ahh… Little Golden Books. They might not have been the first books my mother ever read to me, but they probably were. My first mystery. Nancy Drew. My first “western”? Well, I consider Little House on the Prairie to fit that bill! But remembering all the Continue Reading
The Most Beautiful Place I’ve Ever Seen
The memory blurs, but I recall a cedar shake facade… Spanish tile roofing, two stories—a ranch. The great archways that completely surround the outside of a desert "hacienda," the Oklahoma farmhouse—and the great generator that fired up now and then for a rare use of my curling iron. Each one a Continue Reading
My Top 10 Anticipated Summer Reads & Why They Made the Cut
Every day it seems—twice a day, even. The post appears on Facebook, Instagram, even Twitter. “Show us your TBR pile!” Also, for those who've managed to avoid all that internet speak, “TBR,” just means to be read. Beautiful pictures of stacks of books… They make my heart sing. Oh, they do. But they Continue Reading
Why Finding Love Surprised and Delighted Me
The other day, someone asked me if I knew of a good, quick read or three she could take on a summer trip. Her criteria? “It needs to be a quick read—preferably with a realistic romance. But not just a clean romance. I want some solid faith in there, too.” She doesn’t ask for much, right? Look, Continue Reading
