I’ve always planned ahead. It’s a quirk which has been at alternate times an enormous strength and a treacherous flaw. I remember picking up a baby name booklet at the grocery store-checkout line when I was maybe nine years old, thumbing through it just so I could get a bead on what I might name…
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Being There for Family and Friends by Pearl Ada Pridham
Have you ever found yourself at a point in your life when you really needed someone to just be there for you? To support you when you’re down. Perhaps the reason for your discouragement is your own fault, or perhaps you’ve been unjustly wronged. Perhaps you’ve been in an accident or become ill. Perhaps you’ve…
Born for Adversity by Aubrey Taylor
I am excited to be part of the very first multi-author anthology from Brave Authors, a collaboration of Christian authors who have chosen to go difficult places in their writing. Most of the Brave Authors write for the Christian Fiction market, but a few of us write for a more general audience. We cover a…
The Cotton Road by Sherry Shindelar
I loved the opportunity to tie the Texas frontier and the Civil War together in Texas Divided, the second book in my Lone Star Redemption series. I have been an avid student of the Civil War for a couple decades. However, until I started researching for Texas Divided, I had no clue that the Yankees…
Sweet Mud Soup by R.F. Whong
In my work-in-progress novella, Zen of Tea, Mrs. Chao treats her guests with a famous Cantonese dessert known as “sweet mud soup” (more properly called Black Sesame Soup, 芝麻糊, zhī má hú). This humble yet luxurious treat is a beloved comfort food in southern China, particularly in Guangdong, where it’s enjoyed as a warming dessert…
Making the Most of Second Chances by Beth Steury
Who hasn’t wanted the opportunity for a do over. The chance to go back to the beginning of a day, a week, a year and start again. But since time travel only affords such luxuries in fantasy fiction, the best we can hope for in our earthly lives is a second chance. An opportunity to…
Love Bravely in this Cruel World by Emma Donovan
On social media, I see lots of young writers wanting more soft heroines, more female characters who like dresses and pretty things, more gentle and loving girls. And I wanted that too. So I wrote one: Evelina Fairchild, the female main character in my upcoming Sleeping Beauty retelling, These Lying Dreams. Evelina’s…
We Can All Be Encouragers by Terri Wangard
Marie waited until the doctor left the ward before approaching the sailor propped up against the wall. He stared at his bandaged hands lying limp on his lap. She’d never seen a more woebegone expression. She summoned a bright smile. “I understand you’re ready to exercise your hands.” A spark of emotion crossed the young…
Souvenirs of the Heart by Mary L. Hamilton
Cleaning out the home of a loved one who has passed away is never easy. Besides coping with the grief, there are hundreds of decisions on what to keep, what to give away, and what to dispose of. Too often, guilt accompanies those decisions. When my mother died, she left a house so cluttered it…
Preparing a Table for Others by Donna Wichelman
Why Hospitality Toward Our Readers Should be Our First Priority Over Selling Books A few years ago, while listening to a webinar hosted by Thomas Umstattd, Jr., he said something that impressed me and motivated me to write two questions on a Post-It note that still hangs on my computer monitor today. How do you…