But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he Continue Reading
Book Reviews
The No. 1 Way to Solve Your Money Problems
My kids used to do “stitcheries.” Simple little sayings and images embroidered with running stitches into fabric-covered batting. It gave them a quilted appearance that had a “primitive” look. Sometimes we framed them, others we sewed them into pillows or added them to quilts and tote bags. I’d Continue Reading
3 Reasons This Book Will Make You Sad
“Life isn’t a fairy tale, Chautona. It's joy and sorrow both. It’s the reality of marriage vows—better and worse, richer and poorer, sickness and health. There is no “happily ever after,” and yet the true ever-after is most definitely joyous. Life is a paradox.” Those aren’t his exact words, of Continue Reading
When Is It Too Early for Valentine’s Day Stories?
The email came out of the blue. Could I look over a new Austen retelling and give some input? Um, duh! I’d read Barbara Cornthwaite’s George Knightley Esquire books, her Christmas story about Edmund and Fanny from Mansfield Park in The Very Austen Christmas anthology, and a few other Continue Reading
How to Reclaim Sanity & Start the New Year off Right
I read fiction—a boatload of it. Mostly because I learn so well through story but also because I need that escape. However, what many people don’t know is that I also love a good non-fiction book. I love self-help, theological books on points of doctrine, historical memoirs and explorations—the Continue Reading
3 Most Important Reasons You Should “Always” Leave a Review
Mortification, thy name is Chautona. That’s about how I felt when I saw the review. The 1-star review. For my children’s novel—Shadows & Secrets. I did not like the storyline - not quite believable. Too much juicy sex for my taste. Strike it out for me.” The storyline was fantasy. Um, Continue Reading
Rumor Has It That This Is a Great Book… But Is It?
It was one of those books. The ones that you see everywhere. When someone says, “What should I read next?” it was the first recommended. Almost every day someone said, “I’m reading A Rumored Fortune and it’s sooooo good!” I had Joanna Davidson Politano’s first book, Lady Jane Disappears. It’d Continue Reading
The Second Just the Write Best Novel Awards
A symphony of typewriters fills the room. Clacks of the keys, zips of the carriage, and the percussive ting! as they reach the edges of the pages. Applause drowns out the final notes as the conductor turns to address the audience. “Welcome to the Second Annual Just the Write Awards! It is my Continue Reading
Why A Magnifying Glass Is the Perfect Christmas Gift
I don’t remember how old I was, but it had to be after I was ten or so. I’d just read another three or four Nancy Drews—the old pink, library hardbacks, in fact—and something about the books bugged me. Nancy Drew books always had a magnifying glass somewhere inside. But why? She never used the Continue Reading
The Shadow Knows the Best Thing about This Book
“What evil lurks in the hearts of men…” The first time I heard that ominous voice asking that question I was enthralled. Okay, I was also self-righteously ticked off that they dared to imply some “shadow” knew what God alone does. I was a self-righteous that way. Fine. I still am. At least Continue Reading
My 3 Most Embarrassing Confessions about Prayer
“Prayer is overrated.” Okay, I may have stepped to the left when I said that—to avoid the lightning, don’tcha know. I’d had it. Absolutely fed up with this prayer business. We talk about having a “little talk with Jesus” or those “sweet hour(s) of prayer,” but I’d never enjoyed them. In Continue Reading
The Best Things about the Book Mind Games
I remember the books clearly; although, I suspect I did a lot of page flipping. It seems to me that half of what I read as a young teen had stuff in it that I just skipped over. But they were my first introduction into suspense—good suspense. They also always had some sort of supernatural Continue Reading
