by Toni Shiloh Rooting for the hero is part of the reading experience that turns a good book into a fantastic read that readers will want to return to time after time. I’ve had many bookish heroes and heroines as I’ve been reading since I was a child: Nancy Drew, Elizabeth Bennett, Gilbert Blythe, Harry Potter, etc. But before I had books and the different worlds they offered me, I had a real-life hero who taught me about the importance of perseverance. My grandfather has

by Crickett Keeth What comes to mind when you hear the phrase, a life that matters ? • Financial wealth? • Material possessions? • Great achievements? It is so much more than that. The best investment we can make during our time on earth, in addition to our own spiritual health, is investing in the lives of others. But what does that look like? How do we spur others on to become all God created them to be? How do we live a life worth emulating and one that continues to ha

by Tracie Peterson Minnesota has always been a fascinating state to me and in particular, the city of Minneapolis has captured my attention. In this new series, A Minnesota Legacy, I was determined to create a generational series set in Minneapolis. Faithful of Heart is the start of that tale. 1870 Minneapolis offers an interesting setting. The town had its start back in the 1850s wilderness, but by 1870 was a bustling city of 13,000 people. Situated on the banks of the

by Connie Mann I love asking writers how their stories came to be. Everyone’s process is so different! Though I wish stories appeared in my mind’s eye in one nice, neat package, God’s creative gift doesn’t work that way in my brain. It’s a much more messy, layered process, like a mental crock pot into which I toss unrelated, interesting tidbits of information. After everything simmers a while, I start asking: what if? What if this place could be tied to this fact, could in

by Dana Mentink Two hours. That’s about the length of time I believe I’d maintain my composure if stranded in the wilderness. It’s possible that number is generous. I have zero sense of direction, and I can’t see beyond the end of my nose. I’m the kind that can’t find her car in the parking lot. The one time I traveled internationally I lost my passport before I even got out of the airport. So would I survive a situation where every means of communication and assistance was

by Elizabeth Goddard I had so much fun writing Deadly Currents because I got to include all the adventurous elements I love—and honestly, I figured some of them might get cut. I mean, a ghost ship? Pirates? Wasn’t that a little out of my lane? But somehow, it all worked. I wove it together with the kind of romantic suspense I always write—stories that carry a redemptive thread, often anchored in the theme of forgiveness. In Deadly Currents , I wanted to explore forgiven

by Jill Eileen Smith Most of us are familiar with the story of the Samaritan woman who met Jesus at the well. Though her story only appears in the Gospel of John, she is famous (or infamous) for having had five husbands, and the man she had at the time she met Jesus was not her husband. Many people assume that she was a promiscuous woman. We imagine her getting bored with man after man and changing husbands like we might change clothes or addresses. When I sat down to s

by Gary Chapman The 5 Love Languages explains how everyone has a primary love language, one that resonates most deeply. But it’s rarely the only way that person feels loved. A secondary love language can be incredibly important, and neglecting it can lead to feelings of disconnection or dissatisfaction. For instance, someone whose primary love language is physical touch might also need words of affirmation to feel truly loved and valued. If their partner focuses exclusively

by Scott James I sat at my desk with coffee in hand and the Psalms opened before me. It was early in the morning and I could hear the kids beginning to rattle around in the next room. Just as I was keying in on a particular verse, one of my little guys shuffled into the study still wiping the sleep from his eyes. He plopped down on the couch in front of me and eased into the morning by chatting me up about his grand plans for the day. I confess that part of me wanted to gua

by Deborah Clack Where is your happy place? It can be a spot you visit regularly. Or it can be a place that exists only in your imagination. That thing that popped into your head when you first read the question. That place. Maybe you’ve never shared it with anyone. Maybe you, like me, have a penny jar you throw spare change into to save for a return someday. Wherever that place is … could you write a story about it? Would it be a fantasy formed with a brand-new world? A

by Jayna Breigh I have given talks about child-rearing and time management at a halfway house that my church supports. The entrance requirement for women is that they are recovering from substance addiction. Some are sent straight from jail as a condition of their release. Each hour of their day is structured. Devotions, chores, classes, meals, more chores, and group sessions. Every moment programmed and measured to provide firm guardrails which will lead to graduation and

by Mary Connealy Two things drove my interest in The Rocky Mountain Marshals Series. In book 1, Ambush of the Heart , I got to begin that adventure. The first thing: U.S. Marshals. I did a bit of research and just began discovering how much I didn't know. I mean . . . what are U.S. Marshals? The only one I could think of was Rooster Cogburn in True Grit . But my research was confusing. Yes, there were lawmen out hunting for outlaws. But a lot of that was because back then

by Elizabeth Camden When I was in college, I used to walk past a gorgeous old house slowly being swallowed by climbing ivy and the passage of time. I’d heard that an elderly man lived there, and that he’d done heroic things during World War I. He was a hero, but not a soldier. A neighbor told me that he’d been a volunteer for a long-forgotten group of Americans who banded together to save an entire nation from famine. I was fascinated and started researching the group he

by Heather Kaufman One would think with a series entitled Women of the Way that my books are about women, and this is partially true. Each book in the series focuses upon a first-century female follower of Christ, but the point of each book is not the woman herself, it’s the one she followed—Jesus. When selecting my heroines, I knew I wanted to choose the “lesser-known” women because every name recorded in Scripture is important. When someone is mentioned only a few times,

by Kimberley Woodhouse Can a book change your life before you’ve even written a word? That probably sounds like a strange question, but it’s how I felt about my newest release, A Song in the Dark, for years. The idea of a piano prodigy who rises to fame concurrent with Hitler’s own rise in Germany—and then the world stage—wouldn’t leave me alone. As A Song in the Dark finds its way into readers’ hands, I have looked back on the journey that led me to this book. The de

by Sarah Monzon A few years ago, my son was being assessed for a few different neurodiversity disorders and was referred to an occupational therapist to help with some of his sensory needs. The occupational therapist had me fill out an extensive questionnaire while she talked with my son. After the appointment, she handed me an informational pamphlet about sensory processing disorder. I asked her if this was something my son had—a diagnosis that explained his need to only w

by Jessie Fioritto The thought of my suffering and homelessness is bitter beyond words. I will never forget this awful time, as I grieve over my loss. Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this: The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning. I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!” LAMENTATIONS 3:19–24 NLT Heavenly Father, sometimes our hopes are d

by Patricia Johns Family stories form us, for better or for worse. My family has a rich history of storytelling. My dad’s side of the family is Mennonite, and those tales are noble stories of bravery and valor as our family escaped Russia’s civil war in the 1920s and made their way to Canada. They started from scratch. They farmed the land. They endured. Stories on my dad’s side were for edifying and building up future generations. My mother’s side of the family has a dif

by Stephanie Landsem Yellowstone has always held a special place in my heart because it is the setting of many of my most cherished family stories. Yellowstone is where my parents met and fell in love, and where all of my siblings and I were born. Our family lore was that of geysers and bears, favorite horses, elk hunts and camping trips in the wilderness. One much-recalled event was the massive earthquake that shook Yellowstone Park and the surrounding area in 1959. It w

by Tessa Afshar I had never heard of Esther growing up, which is ironic since I was born in the land where this Jewish woman became the queen of a vast Gentile empire. For nearly fourteen years I studied the grandeur of Persian kings, yet this extraordinary woman remained a mystery to me. It wasn’t until I moved to the United States and embraced Christianity that I read the Bible for the first time. That was my introduction to Esther and the biblical world of the Persian