With a new year starting, there always comes expectations. I expect my first goal will be to pack away all the Christmas decorations again. But there's more than that. I'll start a new Bible reading program. This year, I'm doing a chronological reading. My parents gifted me a new bible that has maps and notes all through it and I'm looking forward to diving back in. Each year, I try to do a different version so that it has a bit of a new feeling to it and I don't simply skim words I've read a hundred times.
Also this year, I'd love to lose a few pounds and tighten my core back up a bit. It's so hard working several jobs that require sitting. I get in the habit of sitting and not moving around enough. But I know it would not only make me feel better, but also probably help with some anxiety I've been fighting. And lift my mood too.

Can you believe another year is gone? This one felt like it never slowed down at all. It was packed full of so many good things as well as lots of everyday things (which are often also good). 
I still worked four jobs: tax preparation, preschool, writing, and editing (8 books--if you want to know more about them, see the post here). My children turned 9 and 11, and keep me busier than ever with soccer and Girl Scouts and school projects. I'm involved in both ladies' and children's ministries with our congregation as well as supporting my husband in his role as adult education deacon.

Can you imagine waging a war over a Christmas tree? What if your tree might be one to grace the halls of the White House or Rockefeller Center? Well, my friend Delores Topliff is here chatting about her book that talks about just such a situation. I think you're going to love this cute Christmas story.

​Like most authors, I enjoy each book I write, but Christmas Tree Wars was the most fun because I received the whole story came as an almost complete download one Sunday morning as I drove a country road in rural Minnesota. A Christmas tree farm lined one side of the road. A hayfield bordered the other with one lone, straight Christmas tree standing at its edge.
 
I don’t know how many thought layers can converge in a single moment of time, but they all did. I knew the Christmas tree farm owner would claim the tree on the other side, although he had plenty of his own. Underneath that story line, I glimpsed the account of Israel’s King David claiming Bathsheba, although he already possessed plenty of wives and concubines. 

I started editing in 2022 on books to release in 2023. Four years in, and I still love it. Being able to help other people find things to improve and polish in their stories is so rewarding. And I love being able to read all the stories before anyone else. ;)
Here is a post about all the books releasing this year that I was blessed to do content edits on (that's looking for big picture things as well as a few nitpicky things like ages and eye colors and whether a character is standing who just sat down, etc.). Every one of these books is definitely worth a read, and I'm not just saying that because I had a tiny piece of helping them come to life.
(I must be doing something right. My publishing company voted me Editor of the Year for 2024. That's two years in a row. I could hardly believe it.)

Watching a book come from idea to something you can actually hold in your hands is always exciting. For an author. And for those who love her. And I can tell you right now, I love the author who is my guest today. Sarah Heatwole is part of our local author group, and I am cheering so loud as her first book releases this week. From the snippets I've read during our critique times, I can promise it's as beautiful as the cover. See what you think and make sure to read all the way to the bottom. She's doing a giveaway!

Thank you, Amy, for having me as your guest author. To your readers, let me tell you Amy is as much a delight in person as she is on this blog. She has been a great inspiration to me on this writing journey.
I have a book coming out in two days! Speaking those words seems surreal. This has been a faith filled supernatural journey; only by God’s grace have I been able to get this far. I didn’t aspire to be a writer. In fact, when I was a little girl, I remember driving up I-71 into the heart of Cleveland, seeing the skyscrapers and dreaming about my power suit and fancy office.
As an adult, I spent years building my career, working my way up to Executive Director in an assisted living community–until it collapsed.

I decided to write a book this month.
Well, I looked at my editing and deadline schedule and decided this was going to be the best shot at writing Beauty School and the Beast. After all, I've written a book in a month before. Many times, actually. At least once, I wrote a book in 18 days. I could do this.
I forgot something very important.
​This is December.

Sometimes, as an editor, I get to edit a whole series. And sometimes, I don't. I was blessed to edit Donna Wichelman's first book in her Singing Silver Mine series last year, but she didn't fit my schedule this year. Even though I haven't read her newest book yet, I know it's going to be just as beautiful as her first. If you love historical romance set in Colorado, you definitely need to get to know my friend Donna. Read on!

What is it about historical romances that made you want to write them?
 
I’ve loved telling stories since my early days in elementary school, when I wrote poetry, short stories, and articles for the school newspaper. Also, because I lived in Ohio, my parents took road trips every summer to visit family in Washington State. We would take various routes across the United States and Canada, and I learned the value of understanding history and geography. That set the stage for the rest of my life.
In high school, a unique opportunity allowed me to attend the United World College of the Atlantic—an international high school in Wales. While most of the students lived in dormitories on the “hill,” I lived in a two-room, ten-girl dorm inside St. Donat’s Castle outside Llantwit Major on the Bristol Channel. Though the castle has none of Hogwarts’ magic, it does have a legendary ghost, Lady Anne, who roams the halls.
As you can imagine, the setting at Atlantic College provided plenty of fodder for the imagination, and focusing on English Literature allowed me to develop a taste for the classics. I particularly liked Jane Austen and Charles Dickens for the themes that touched the human spirit. Since living in Wales also enabled me to travel throughout Europe, I became fascinated by its history and culture.
So, with all the travel I’ve done and my love of books, I eventually realized historical romance best fit who I am as a writer. Even my contemporary romantic suspense novels unfolded because I became fascinated with the dramatic history of the Waldensians, a persecuted sect of Protestants throughout the Middle Ages, and their story of faith and valor touched me.

What's more romantic than a Christmas wedding? How about a book about a Christmas wedding? Only one (or more) problem. Sarah Anne Crouch had a lot of fun including mischief in this sweet new book of hers. See if her stories of weddings gone wrong intrigues you.

Tomorrow—November 25—is release day for A Christmas in Shady Springs!
In A Summer in Shady Springs, Madeleine and A.J. fell in love. Now, in this new installment, wedding bells are finally ringing … and nothing is going quite as planned.
I’ve always adored wedding stories. The chaos, the sweetness, the emotional family moments, the pretty dresses, the decorations. Weddings are such a delightful mix of love and unpredictability. And I love Christmas with just as much enthusiasm: twinkling lights, cookies, carols, memories. So really, what could be more fun than combining Christmas and a wedding into one story?
I’ll tell you what: adding nearly every real-life wedding disaster I’ve ever witnessed into one story.

There is something about spending time with your "people" that makes you feel like yourself again. At least, there is for me.
Last week, I was blessed to be able to attend ScrivCon again--even be a speaker in one of the sessions. My dear friend Jennifer Burrows (pictured above) was my driving buddy and roomie. We soaked up lessons from other authors. We enjoyed playing tourist around Hot Springs, and we absolutely loved being around so many other authors.
What other kind of conference could you go to where you're likely to hear someone say, "I'm bettter at killing them than making them fall in love." Patricia Bradley does write great suspense, if you like those books. ;)

When is the last time you noticed a firefly? My children and I love to go out in the yard on summer evenings and catch them, but a lot of times we're too busy. Isn't that true for most of us? Author (and my friend) Tonya Ashley is here today to tell us how she wove these magical creatures into her sweet romance. I can vouch for it--it's a good one! See what you think.

Fireflies were one of the first symbols I knew I wanted in this story. Long before Dr. Ben Ewing stepped onto the page or Rebecca Hogue was juggling her family of eight siblings, there was this memory—soft, quiet, glowing. Summer twilights in Arkansas. The hush right before night settles. Fireflies rising like little promises across the grass.
As a child, I found it enchanting. It was a place where wonder lived, where quiet felt expectant. Somewhere along the road to adulthood, I lost that stillness. Life got louder. Responsibilities, expectations, a steady hum of urgency, drowning out the gentle things. I learned to be capable, efficient, “fine.” And I forgot how to sit in the grass and wait for light to appear.