by Ann H. Gabhart Do you remember learning to read? I do. I went off to school eager to unravel the mystery of words and discover their promise. I was soon reading about Dick and Jane and their dog, Spot. Fast forward a lot of years and many, many books, both read and written, to when our local adult education center was looking for literacy tutors. I hate the thought of anybody not knowing how to read. So, I signed up, took the training, and was soon sitting next to a yo

by Angela Carlisle When I began the first book in The Secrets of Kincaid series, I had little idea what I was doing. I’d never finished a book before, hadn’t even come close. Honestly, I was unsure if I could write a whole book. But I had an idea for a story and decided to give it a shot. Now, I am not one of those authors that can sit down and plot out an entire book—much less an entire series. Would I like to be? Absolutely. But when I try, my brain laughs and gives me

by Cara Putman Embrace the grind. Do it with passion or not at all. Every day is a grind, and you have to go hard. We’ve all heard phrases like that. But we also know verses like Matthew 11:28-30: Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Or how about Psalm 16:6: The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places? There are days I can sing those words with certainty. And months where I feel like I have to grit them out from

by Jen Turano As most of my readers know, I write comedy—historical romantic comedy to be exact. My goal with my writing is to provide readers with a bit of an escape from a world that far too often can feel overwhelming. With that said, I have to admit that the entire writing process for In Pursuit of Civility was one of the most challenging processes I’ve ever had since I’ve become an author. In all honesty, I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to finish this book.

by Jamie Ogle When I was four years old, I saw the nearly four-hour-long, 1956 masterpiece, The Ten Commandments. I was immediately obsessed with it and Charlton Heston, and was thereafter, the easiest kid to babysit so long as that movie was in the vicinity. I watched it countless times. Named my baby doll Moses. Hid him all over the house in my mom’s breadbasket. Ben Hur became another favorite later on, and then Gladiator as a young adult. I was completely captivated by

by Eva Marie Everson I couldn’t help but laugh. With the exception of my hometown paper, which came out once a week and gave all the local who, what, when, where, and why of a Mayberry-esque community, I’d not been much of a newspaper reader. Except, that is, for the “Dear Abby” column. I read the letters asking for advice and the replies given as though they were Pulitzer Prize contenders. Ninety-nine percent of them, I cannot remember. But one—one in particular writte

by Leslie Gould There’s no doubt When They Met Again is a love story—it’s a friends-to-something more, feel-good story that reminds readers that faith, romance, and community can elevate us all. I wrote it both for myself and for my readers. My last series, Amish Memories, is a collection of three dual-time novels with the historical threads focused on pre-WW II in Germany, the WW II homefront in the USA, and post WW II in Germany. Although all three books have romantic t

by Katie Powner I was in my twenties when I became a mother. My biological sons were born with no complications, and I took for granted that I would know what to do. Not that I had motherhood all figured out, but I believed many things would come naturally. And they did. I didn’t have to learn how to love my boys. I didn’t have to figure out how to be concerned when they were sick. No one had to tell me that I must do whatever it took to make sure they had enough to eat. I

by Morgan Krueger I look in the mirror, noticing the fine lines on my forehead that seem to be a little more prominent after a day of meetings, mothering, crying, laughing, and making only God knows how many silly faces to get a laugh out of my two boys. I step a little closer to my reflection to see if the lines are really as “bad” as they look from where I’m standing. They’re not . . . they’re worse. My husband, Ryan, calls out to me from the kitchen for a helping hand, s

by Ashlee Gadd I am standing at the kitchen counter, spooning banana mix into a muffin tin, when my daughter makes a proposal. “How about dis . . . ?” Presley begins, pausing for dramatic effect. “How about I put four chocolate chips on each muffin because dat’s how old I am?” I smile at her logic. Once every pink polka-dotted liner is filled with batter and topped with exactly four chocolate chips, I place both tins on the middle rack and set a timer. Presley runs ou

by September McCarthy The world has created idealistic versions of what being a mom is. Women seem to be given choices of which version of mom they would “like to be.” Stereotypes come in all shapes and forms: working mother, stay-at-home mother, helicopter mother, soccer mom, devoted mom, and cool mom. Sure, we find our people, our style, our groove. We can choose to stay home or a career, and yet, we are and always will be “mother”—the woman up at night cradling her baby,

by Sarah Sundin “Never in her life had Dr. Ivy Picot imagined herself a criminal.” Before I was a writer, I was a pharmacist. Although I no longer practice pharmacy, I’m still fascinated by health care. Pharmacy had appealed to me as an opportunity to use my skills to help people—to prolong life and reduce suffering and to increase understanding. Compassion shines at the core of the health care professions. But what if caring for the suffering was illegal? On rare occ

by Becca Kinzer “He’s coming! Dave Barnes is coming! I can’t believe he’s coming!” Honestly, I don’t remember if those were the exact words my friend said back in 2022 when she found out Dave Barnes was coming to her house. All I remember for certain is my exact response. “Who?” “Dave Barnes.” “Who?” “Dave Barnes!” Didn’t matter how loudly my friend shouted his name, I still didn’t know who he was. “Yes, you do,” she demanded before listing off a few of his songs.

by John Bevere If we look at Jesus’ return through the perspective of a single event rather than through the eyes of God’s glorious master plan, we’ll lack the eager expectation that enables us to stay diligent in our obedience to the end. We are vulnerable—easy prey for distraction, discouragement, or deception. God drew up this master plan for His kingdom before time began. There are numerous Scripture passages i confirming this truth, one being Isaiah 46:9–10 (ESV):

by Jane Kirkpatrick It's my fan's fault. Suzy Wintjen, who reads my books based on the lives of historical women, drove several hours thirteen years ago to a signing I had in another state just to tell me about the woman anchoring With the Enduring Tides . Mary Edwards Gerritse was the first woman to deliver mail by horseback along the often treacherous and rugged North Oregon Coast in the 1890s. She was married with four children at home when she made that momentous choice

by Jason VanRuler, MA, CSAT “Friends, do I have permission to go deep with you?” This is how I start many of my keynote talks, because I’ve learned over time that if you give people a choice to go somewhere meaningful with you, most will. Most people love to talk with people who go deep. You know, those people who, instead of asking you about the weather, end up talking with you about that dream you have but are afraid to go after. Because when you have these types of c

by Lindsey Goff Viducich “Slow down!” “Pay attention!” “What did I just ask you to do?” “You need to calm down!” These are phrases many children with ADHD hear every day. When a parent first learns that their child has ADHD, the emotions can be overwhelming. Parents may worry about school, friendships, or what the future will look like. As a parent, an educator, and someone who was diagnosed with ADHD later in life, I found myself asking a different question: What if neurodiv

by Irene Hannon When I’m not writing, I love to sing. I especially love performing in musical theater productions. Through the years, I’ve been blessed to play the leading role in numerous classic musicals, including South Pacific , The King and I , Brigadoon , Anything Goes , and Oklahoma . In fact, you might recognize the title of this post as the name of one of the songs in the last show. And it’s an appropriate way to describe my leap from being an audience member to be

by Kyle Idleman and Mark E. Moore Ask most people what Christ means, and they’ll probably tell you it’s Jesus’ last name. As if Jesus had been born to Mary and Joseph Christ in Bethlehem and eventually started the religion that bears his family name. But Christ isn’t a last name; it’s a Greek title that means “Anointed One,” or “Messiah” in Hebrew. Somewhere between the first century and today, we’ve forgotten what that title actually means. When the first followers of

by Karen Witemeyer When it came time to brainstorm a new historical romance series, I knew I wanted to focus on a group of strong women, but I wasn't sure what their connection would be. Sisters? Friends? Co-workers in a corset factory? I like my heroines feisty and independent, and the more I thought about it, the more I began leaning toward a group of spinsters. In the 19 th century, women were expected to marry and set up households, often by the age of eighteen. Some