12 Thoughtful Christmas Gifts People Will Actually Love: A Holiday Gift Guide
Do you struggle with finding the right gift for the right person—or just want something more meaningful than a useless holiday token? I know I do! That’s why I’ve put together a list of thoughtful, practical, and truly useful gifts your loved ones will actually enjoy...
When Disappointment, Despair, and Disillusionment Strike
What do we do in the face of evil or unspeakable tragedy? Do we smolder in anger and impotency at what happened? Fall into despair at the state of the world? Bury our heads in the sand to avoid thinking about such things? I confess I have wallowed in all of those...
Where Do Bookmarks Come From? A Journey Through History and Culture
📖 Marking the Magic: A Journey Through the History and Culture of BookmarksDear book lovers, Let’s take a moment to appreciate one of the most humble but loyal companions in our literary lives: the bookmark. While our shelves groan with TBR towers and our hearts...
The Secret Superpower Every Reader Has (And Why Authors Need It!)
Picture this: A book, fresh off the press (or the e-reader screen), trembling with excitement, waiting to be read. But alas! Without your magical touch—a review—it might fade into the background, essentially invisible to the people who would love it. So, dear reader,...
Do audiobooks count as reading?
What do you think?👇Vote here 👇My first inclination was no. Audiobooks are an auditory stimulus and reading is a visual stimulus. They use different parts of the brain and demand different levels of focus. So, if you asked me a few days ago, I would’ve told you no, I...
Exclusive Deleted Scene
Beauty from Embers Cut SceneSometimes a writer needs to eliminate scenes from a novel. This could be for various reasons. The scene could be repetitive, hinder the story pacing, be filled with too much backstory, or a multitude of other problems. The following scene...
What’s In A Name
Do names shape our perception of characters? When Juliet fell in love with Romeo, she made the famous declaration, “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet,” to show that Romeo’s family name didn’t matter to her. But Anne of Green Gables, one of my favorite...
Autumn Exclusive Sneak Peek
Please enjoy this sneak peek at Beauty from Ashes!Chapter 1“Don’t hold back this time!” “I can’t make any promises!” Arnion gripped the flexi handles of his fuga and extended his arms forward, locking them into place with a smooth click. Rhys grinned and pushed a...
Book Review: Man of Sorrows
Book Review: Light Bearers
Light Bearers: The Awakening by Mindy Hite My rating: 5 of 5 stars I could not put this book down! The tension and mystery just kept building and building. The author did a good job of developing Sarah's character and her relationship with Lucas was so heartwarming....
Book Review: In Darkness Cast
Shades of Black I: In Darkness Cast by Jonathan Shuerger My rating: 5 of 5 stars Shades of Black caught me by surprise. I’m not always a big “swords and sorcery” gal but every once in a while, an adventure will sweep me up in a rush of pages that I can’t put down till...
Book Review: Newsletter Ninja
Newsletter Ninja: How to Become an Author Mailing List Expert by Tammi LabrecqueMy rating: 5 of 5 starsFor someone like me who had no idea how to write a newsletter that anyone would want to read, this book was a goldmine. Tammi presents many great concepts and breaks...
How do you get beauty from ashes?
The title of my novel, Beauty from Ashes, was inspired by the third verse in Isaiah chapter sixty-one. “To give them beauty for ashes” but really to get a better understanding of what Isaiah is talking about, it’s best to at least start at the beginning of chapter 61...
True Confessions: Judging a book by its cover
We've all heard the saying "Don't judge a book by its cover". And normally I don't. The cover may catch my eye, but I always try to check the back or take a peak inside to read the first few lines. With so many books out there, no one has time to read them all. I like...
