Real Life is Better Than Fiction

Home. That's a word that has different meanings to different people. To me it was always a good word. Perhaps that's why I don't mind being at home now as an adult. This is the door to my childhood home. I was five months old when my parents bought the house and I stayed until I got married. This door was the entryway to family and love. There are a lot of good memories behind that door. While there are a few negative things I can remember from my childhood, there are really very few. I remember when my dad told us he had lost his job. Yes, things were uncertain, but we stuck together as a family, and our church family at the time stuck with us as well. I remember when my mom told me her father, my grandfather, had passed away from a heart attack. This was another sad time, but again, we were together. There were fights among us siblings. There were also the three day long Monopoly games. There was the occasional argument with one of my parents. The one tha...

Click the cover to go to Amazon As a writer I am always on the lookout for new ideas. Last summer an idea came to me while sitting in church. Our pastor was preaching on the heart. For one of his examples he read from The Wizard of Oz and the backstory of the Tin Man. That was when a light bulb came on in my head. I love reading the classics. There's something about them that is different from today's writing. As a homeschooling mom for 20 years, I was always looking for things I could incorporate into school, but also looking to double up as there were only so many hours in the day. I wish I had thought of this when my kids were still in school. Oh well! It's here for your kids. I am starting a new series of books. These are devotional books that go along with classic literature. After reading one chapter of the classic, you would then read one chapter of my book, which is a short devotion.  Reading through classic literature with new eyes, I've discovered...

Once again, a new year is upon us. A new year that will hold joys and sorrows, trials and triumphs, new opportunities. Each new day will offer a new door for us to walk through. Most of those doors are physical, but some might be symbolic. That will be the focus of my posts this year – doors. I'll share some doors I have walked through and tell a little story about each one. Some will be happy, some sad, some full of reminiscing. Some doors will be a challenge to walk through, but with God's help, I'll get through all the doors He wants me to if only I take the necessary steps. While I share my 2018 journey with you, I'd love to hear about yours. Where will doors take you? Feel free to leave comments on any posts that touch you in some way. Make sure to sign up to receive my posts by email if you don't want to miss one. You can find that link to the right of this blog. I'm looking forward to doing 2018 with you!

My last indie author, but certainly not least, during the Indie Authors Sale is Claire Banschbach. Claire M. Banschbach is a native West Texan. She discovered a deep and abiding love for fantasy and science fiction at a young age, prompting her to begin exploring worlds armed only with an overactive imagination and a pen while obtaining degrees in Kinesiology from Texas A&M and Physical Therapy from Texas Tech University. She talks to fictional characters more than she should while struggling to find time for all their stories. She currently resides in Arlington, TX where she works as a Pediatric Physical Therapist. You can connect with her on  Twitter  |  Facebook  |  Goodreads  |  Blog  |  Instagram Have you ever named a character in honor of someone you know? I have not named a character for someone in particular, but I’ve based a few characters off family or real life people before. At what moment did you feel like you...

I have yet another Indie Author guest that might be new to you. Keep reading to get to know Lisa Flickinger. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and the first time someone complemented you on something you had written? I live and write along the banks of a river shadowed by the Rocky Mountains. I love walking in the woods, camping, and over the last couple of years, fishing. I remember my fourth grade teacher being impressed with a poem I’d written and sharing it with the class. From that time on, I considered myself a bit of a poet even though I don’t write poetry. What can a reader expect when they pick up a book written by you? According to my readers, you can expect a lot of realistic adventure and surprises! You will also find heartwarming characters who struggle with their faith. Elements of humor also creep into my characters personalities and surprise me, too. What genre do your write and are there any unique challenges to this genre? If so, how have you o...

Today's guest is Sarah Holman. I thought we'd have a little fun and play 20 Questions with her. 1.) What is your Author name? Sarah Holman 2.) What is the first book you ever published?  The Destiny of One 3. What is your publiversary? March 2011 4.) What is your favorite book you've written thus far?  I hate to pick favorites. I would probably have to pick A Different Kind of Courage. 5.) What book took you the longest to write?  The one I wrote between the ages of 11 and 14? Of my published works, probably The Destiny of One 6.) How long did it take you? The Destiny of One took me two years 7.) What kind of music (If Any) do you listen to while you write?  I love stuff by Sound Critters, Audiomachine, Two Steps from Hell, and movie soundtracks. 8.) Who is your favorite character from any of your books?  Click the cover to go to Amazon That would be a toss-up between Kate Mayfield (Kate’s Case Files) and Maria Morr...

It has amazed me this year to find out how many indie authors were homeschooled. Kimia Wood, my guest author today, is yet another homeschooler turned author. Tell us a little about your "real" (Non-writing) life -- family, job, church life. Does it give you inspiration for your writing? Does it get in the way of your writing, or are there times when you get help, from people or circumstances? I work part-time at Hobby Lobby, count offering at my church, and spend my spare time on the internet or talking with my family. We spend a lot of time together, and a lot of my story ideas are hashed out with my father and brother. I get story ideas from all over – articles I read online, personal stories from other people, even just brainstorming. I've also included people from our church as characters in my books – ssh! Tell us about things you enjoy -- what you do for fun or personal satisfaction. I do almost any kind of handcraft involving yarn (knitting, crochet,...