Real Life is Better Than Fiction

Today's homeschooling/mom/author is probably one many of you already know - Amish author Laura V. Hilton. Laura is an award-winning, sought-after author with almost twenty Amish, contemporary, and historical romances. When she’s not writing, she reviews books for her blogs, and writes devotionals for blog posts for Seriously Write and Putting on the New. Laura and her pastor-husband have five children and a hyper dog named Skye. They currently live in Arkansas. One son is in the U.S. Coast Guard. She is a pastor’s wife, and homeschools her two youngest children. When she’s not writing, Laura enjoys reading, and visiting lighthouses and waterfalls. Her favorite season is winter, her favorite holiday is Christmas.Welcome, Laura! How long have you been homeschooling?    Wow. Years and years. I started when my oldest son (now 26) was five years old and I am still homeschooling my youngest two (currently 15 and 12.)  I have five children. How long have you been ...

I have yet another homeschool-mom-author sharing with us today . Please welcome, Intisar Khanani How long have you been homeschooling? I suppose you could say we're just starting, since my eldest is finishing up first grade, but what that really means is I've been a stay at home mom the last seven years, working up to homeschooling this past year. :) How long have you been writing? Since I can remember! However, I didn't get serious about publishing until 2012, when I decided to quit the last ten hours a week I was working to stay home completely with my daughters. I figured if I was going to be home, I'd have LOTS of time to write--just kidding! But I knew I'd need some non-mommy related endeavor to keep me sane, and what could be better than a "job" that I could do when the kids were in bed? What gave you the writing bug? I've always had it--I have been writing and telling stories my whole life. In fact, those occasional timeframes whe...

I have another homeschooled student author on the blog today. I love seeing young people make an impact on the writing world! Welcome, Grace! Hello, my name is Grace Fay and I am a homeschooled Texan living in Dallas with my husband! I was homeschooled all the way through high school, and am the oldest of nine kids. I definitely also plan to homeschool my own kids one day! I write under my maiden name, J. Grace Pennington. How long have you been writing? Since I was about five years old, so over twenty years! I started publishing in 2012, when I was twenty-two years old, but I've been writing basically all my life. What gave you the writing bug? I was an early and prolific reader, and one afternoon I was bored while my mom was taking her afternoon nap and decided to write a book of my own. I've always loved stories. Do you remember the first story you wrote? Yes--at five years old I wrote (and illustrated) a small book called "If I Had Three Wishes....

Today's awesome homeschooling/mom/author is H. L. Burke. Thanks for joining me today! How long have you been homeschooling? Roughly three years. We're a military family and move around a lot, frequently in the middle of the school year, so we kind of need to be able to take school along with us at short notice. How long have you been writing? Forever, pretty much. I've been looking for excuses to share stories since elementary school. I was a homeschool student myself, so I had to start the “school” paper. I kind of took a break when I got married then started writing again about four years ago seriously planning to publish. I always intended to go indie. The traditional way just takes way too long, and I'm impatient. What gave you the writing bug? I'm a talker. I like to talk. Writing is like talking, just slower. Do you remember the first story you wrote? I dictated a short story about rabbits (which I illustrated) to my mom when I ...

The last several months have been a little rough. Besides losing my father, I lost two friends, one very unexpectedly. It hurts to know that I will never see their smiling faces again except for old pictures and in my memory. While I mourn their losses greatly, I know I will one day see them again. Songs come on the radio and remind me of each one. Those songs bring tears to my eyes, however, those tears are not altogether sad. I know they are no longer hurting. I know they no longer have to battle with this world. I know they have been reunited with loved ones who have gone on before. I know they are worshiping their Savior. How do I know these things? 1 Thessalonians 4:13, "Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope." I have hope. For the last several years I've had an acquaintance who grieves greatly over the loss of a loved one ...

Another busy homeschool-mom-author is up on the blog today. Welcome, Robin Merrill! How long have you been homeschooling? 5 years How long have you been writing? Since I could write, but professionally, 17 years. What gave you the writing bug? Not sure! Do you remember the first story you wrote? Yes. I was in third grade and I handwrote an 18-page story about meeting Amy Grant. My poor teacher! What type of books do your write? My first love is poetry, but I also write fiction and devotionals. How do you find time to write? Not sure! I sometimes write late into the night. Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing? I always want to be honest in my writing, and sometimes that offends people, but I don't mean to! Do your kids help with your creative process or give you ideas? They certainly try. They are always giving me ideas, and I do read my stories to my fourth-grade daughter, who has found some plot holes for m...

Real Life and Writing Books with author Norma Gail Write what you know is the mantra we hear. However, sometimes the story God lays on your heart is not 100% familiar in every way. I am celebrating the third birthday of my debut novel, Land of My Dreams . The story bears some similarities to my life. A woman meets the love of her life while struggling with heartbreak. My husband is European, so I know the experience of becoming part of a family who thinks very different from my own. However, I’ve only been to Europe twice and only once to his homeland. Each of us goes through times when we struggle with God. Each of us has doubts. Each of us must learn to overcome personal struggles in the strength of the Lord. Each of us longs for love. Then comes the unfamiliar part, I set Land of My Dreams in Scotland. That’s a long way from my New Mexico home. As Bonny Bryant, the main character says, “Scotland is about as similar to New Mexico as water is to dust.” I have visited Scotl...