From the Archives: Beta Readers

One of my favourite (and best) beta readers was my dear Aunt Norma. Now that she’s gone I’ve been thinking back to all the reading she did for me, and remembering her insight and tact, her encouragement and wisdom. Beta reading isn’t easy, either for the writer or for the reader. I’ve drawn from the Archives

So Many Books, So Little Time!

I’m sharing an article from the archives today, updated from its original posting in 2008. But FIRST… I have to share my daughter’s exciting news! Her first publishing contract! Head over to Shari’s blog and read about it, then come back here to continue. 🙂 ~ “So many books, so little time.”  If you Google this

The Curse of My TBR List

TBR (To Be Read) lists are bad for me. I keep adding titles to them faster than I can read the books, and the list becomes a convenient excuse. I may want to read something but other priorities intervene, so I simply add it to my list of books to read ‘one day’.  I tell

The dilemma of labelling Christian fiction… or not

. Last week agent Rachelle Gardner posed a question on her blog that has generated almost two hundred comments, and the discussion is still ongoing. She asked, “Should we label Christian fiction?” “There has been a controversy brewing underground for awhile now, ever since publishers started promoting books by offering a limited-time free download. Many

Ice

. “A book must be an ice-axe to break the seas frozen inside our soul.” [Franz Kafka] . “People grow old only by deserting their ideals,” Macarthur had written. “Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up interest wrinkles the soul. You are as young as your faith, as old as your doubt; as

Reading instead of, or in addition to, writing

My post last Friday began with, “I don’t have time to write… or do I?” Silly question. If we’re novelists, we make time, because our passion for storytelling drives us to get the words out. But what about reading? If we’re writers, making time to write can be challenging enough. Who has time to read?

Reflections on a Mess

. Beside my favourite chair is a scrambled pile of books littering the floor. There’s the current issue of a home decorating magazine, my notebook of computer jottings (and a pen to jot down a new website password), a writing magazine, my daily journal and a second pen, a book I’m reading for review purposes,

Burying Writing Beneath the Research

Research and Writing, Part 2 I spent a long time researching where to look for that headstone The cemetery name I was given didn’t exist. Eventually, as mentioned in my previous post, I found it, but only after I went out and physically looked for it. With a story in mind, we hunt for books

Supporting Debut Authors

I remember a year-end post on Rachelle Gardner’s blog two years ago, where she listed “ten really good first novels”. It was an impressive list of publicly acclaimed books and I was shocked to learn they were all first novels for their authors. Gone With the Wind, Margaret Mitchell The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini To

How Bothered Are We About the New Winnie-the-Pooh?

In life there are certain memories that cling to us — wraithlike bits of our childhood that drift around us through the years, never quite losing their ability to serve up a bit of magic. For me, stories of Winnie-the-Pooh are indelibly associated with hours of comfy, curled-up and cuddled-down reading. The stories’ many simple