I have a confession to make: I’d rather write than read. I’m often embarrassed when people ask me what books I’ve read recently or how many, because I often give up on books or struggle to pick a new one. Don’t get me wrong—I love reading and it did a great deal to shape the person I’ve become. But I’m very picky about which authors I trust in my brain and imagination. As hypocritical as it is, I don’t like to feel vulnerable, and reading is vulnerability. You’re letting someone else drive, and sometimes they don’t take you where you want to go. Have you ever driven with someone who…

The Perfect Metaphor I recently remembered a story my mom likes to tell from when I was little. We were with family at a hotel pool, and I was the youngest of the group of cousins there. The others, including my older sister, were big enough and good enough swimmers to go in the deep end, and they spent most of their time there. I was…an okay swimmer. My parents had insisted I take swim lessons. “Because so much of the earth is covered with water,” I remember my mom explaining, “you don’t want it to be a true emergency for you to just fall in.” But my desire to…

Show, don’t tell. That’s the iconic writing advice. Sensory details plunge us into a story and hold us captive. The more vivid and dramatic, the better, right? Sometimes. But every storyteller has their limits. I occasionally wonder if showing restraint in how intimately I portray dark scenes will hurt my career. Think about the most popular TV shows. They usually have some pretty traumatic and gruesome scenes, and those are constantly making the headlines. So like everyone else, I often have to make a choice. Which details enhance the story, and which ones take it too far? Let’s take a look at the competition. Movies and TV are a hard…

Christian fiction sounds pretty straightforward. You would think that the quickest way to recognize whether a book fits in that genre would be to ask the question, “If you ran into God in the middle of this novel, how surprised would you be to see him?” If you’re not surprised at all, you’re probably reading Christian fiction. If he took you considerably by surprise, you’re probably in a different section. Right? But that’s not the case. Even if you don’t regularly read Christian fiction, let’s walk down that aisle. What would you expect to see? You’ve got your Amish romance section (a weirdly specific niche, but it’s a thing), your…

This is it! The months of waiting are up. Angels Strange and Beautiful is officially available for purchase as an ebook or a paperback. Hopefully soon the hardcover will be available on IngramSpark. Buy your copy today!

Hello, my delightful people! I want to give you an update because so much has happened. The past four months have felt like slogging through mud by the hour, feeling like I never get anything done and am constantly moving in slow motion. But looking back, the progress I’ve made makes me want to jump up and down. I think I will. (Yes, I actually did.) So here’s the scoop, my lovely first readers: publication is on the horizon. That is to say, I’m close enough to my on-ramp that I can hear the traffic. It’s been a long, weird, windy path. If you’ve ever undertaken a long-term project, you…