May Seymour graduated from college with the world at her feet and no idea what to do with it. A mission trip to Rwanda brought her a sense of purpose in loving others. So when the genocide began she chose to remain in the village, which was subsequently slaughtered. Only May survived. So, May journeyed to heal on the farm of Claudius Borne, a sweet, innocent old man who understood plants and animals far better than people. Years later, having not stepped a foot off Claudius’ farm, May learns an old college flame, now a death-row inmate, is refusing to appeal his sentence. Can she convince him to grab hold...
OCW Conference, here I come!
The Oregon Christian Writers Conference in Canby, Ore., is just around the corner and it’s been a year-long wait for me. Immediately after last summer’s conference I began counting down for the next one. It is a time unlike any other and I love all the chances I have to learn from those so well versed in their craft. This time last year, I had an unpolished, weak 70,000 word manuscript, no website or blog, and high expectations. Well, I still have high hopes, but a fresh new novel of 94,000 words and a weekly blog and website. Now I’m a bit more prepared! Aside from top-notch speakers and workshops,...
Review: Sons of Thunder
Description Sophie Frangos is torn between the love of two men and the promise that binds them all together. Markos Stavros loves Sophie from afar while battling his thirst for vengeance and his hunger for honor. Dino, his quiet and intelligent brother, simply wants to forget the horror that drove them from their Greek island home to start a new life in America. One of these “sons of thunder” offers a future she longs for, the other—the past she lost. From the sultry Chicago jazz clubs of the roaring twenties to the World War II battlefields of Europe to a final showdown in a Greek island village, they’ll discover betrayal,...
Story behind the Story: Diana Symons
A few years ago, I had been laid off from work and wasn’t sure what to do with myself. I started a novel, which sadly, I didn’t finish. Then one day, like a bolt from the sky, I realized that I had forgotten my best friend’s birthday – not by days or weeks, but by months! She never said anything! I was horrified and racked my brain trying to think of what I could do to make it up to her. I was broke so I had to be creative about it. I decided to write her fairytale. Then I hand bound it with jewels on the cover. It...
Story Behind the Story: Caitlin Muir
Goodbye Mr. 7:45 was sparked by a game of “what if.” As a young and bored barista, I met many men at the coffee shop that I worked at. Some were good, some were horrible, and all of them had stories. Mr. 7:45 is based on a specific guy I had the hugest crush on but everything that happens in the story is purely fictional! Like Bailey, I was quite smitten with my own Mr. 7:45. Yes, there really are people that predictable in the world. He came in every day at exactly 7:45 in the morning. He would order his drink and then chat with me while I made...