Life is like my Bottom Office Drawer

by Mary Allen 

My bottom office drawer is filled with items which once had purpose. Short, white phone jacks; thick, yellow USB cords; blue cords with funny square ends to them that no one knows that they do; enormous grey plugs that look as if they mean business; and, six surviving cords from deceased laptops and printers roil about in my bottom office drawer. Each one was carefully placed in the drawer by me at some time in the past. Some of them are even labeled.

I didn’t throw them away because I expected them to be used again in the future. Plus, after laying out so much money, it felt wasteful to pitch them when the computer died, the monitor remained black, or I changed service providers and they didn’t want the old modem returned, a definite red flag as to why I shouldn’t have bothered to keep it any longer, either.

Recently, I reached into the bottom office drawer and the cords came out en masse. Also entangled in them was the cup heater, the direct line house phone (in case the power goes out), various program start-up-rescue disks, and several miles of thin, flat, black phone line. All that and I still couldn’t find the cord I needed. I was sure I’d labeled and stored it there.

I have a theory how this happens. It’s an enchanted drawer. Once the drawer closes the cords come alive and entwine like baby rattlers in a snake pit. The big nasty snake-cords eat the more benign snake-cords and have hybrid baby snake-cords that don’t belong to anything, which is why the drawer remains messy and full of useless cords that spring out at me when I open it.

A writer’s life is a lot like that drawer. We each have items we keep that were once useful. It could be articles we’ve written when we started out or blogs and activities we do that no longer serve a constructive purpose. When we try to keep all these once-useful things life gets messy, tangled, and bogged down.

A writer’s life, like that bottom office drawer, needs spring cleaning. What no longer has a direct use, makes a connection, or serves an immediate purpose must go. It’s not as simple as hacking away what was once a joy, but now is a chore. Sometimes “chores” feel that way because we’ve crowded them with other activities that cause us to lose focus. This means we have to lift each activity to God and ask what He wants to do with it. Only He has the foresight and insight.

How about you? What in your life needs to go? What needs straightening? What needs to be rescued from the bottom office drawer and moved to a place of importance on your desk top?

May God whom I serve, bless you, guide you, inspire you, and speak through your writing this year.

The (Pep) Talk

by Mary Allen

There comes a moment in every WIP in which it seems that the kindest thing to do is hit the delete button, empty the trash, and start fresh.

Don’t do it. It’s less dramatic than the lusty zing of ripping a page from a manual typewriter, wadding it up with a growl, and pitching it across the room, but it’s more permanent. 

Pause. Take a breath.

This is where a critique group is helpful. In my opinion, the best group is the one that meets face to face. It’s a luxury most don’t have. Don’t despair. Help is out there. ACFW offers on-line critique groups for your specific genre. Even established writers might find an occasional critique session helpful.

There is also this wonderful invention called a phone. It allows you to call another writer and moan to an empathetic ear.



"This WIP is terrible! It’ll never be finished! What brain freeze made me think I could write?"

Of course, you’ll then hear how they’ve been through the same thing. Oddly, such an exchange can fortify you rather than confirm that throwing in the towel and throwing out the “trash” is the best step. It reminds you that these feelings are normal and will pass. Soon, you will fall in love with your story again. Don’t wallow in self-pity. Swallow your pride and make the call.

Writing fiction can be a love-hate relationship. You pour yourself into the story for hours on end and like eating an entire pie at a sitting– no matter how good it is—you get sick of it. Stuffed. Glutted. Gorged. A little fast may be in order. Take a break from it. Throw yourself into your family, church activity, praising God, or a nature walk. Sometimes simply removing self completely, if briefly, from the effort of writing will refresh you and vitality miraculously reappears in your already-written word.

Remember this the next time you are tempted to take overly drastic steps with your WIP.

How many times have you “given up” on writing? How many WIP have cause you to run from the room screaming? How many have you trashed and regretted it? Speak up. Your episode might just be the pep talk some fellow author needs today.

What’s in a (Pen) Name?

by Mary Marie Allen

"A rose by any other name..."

I picked out a lovely pen name. It was lyrical. It was easy to spell. It wasn’t competing with other authors of the same name. Alas! It was the same name as a registered sex offender that was plastered all over the web.

Make no mistake, I have no problem with my real name. I like my name. I always have, although I will admit to testing different spellings in high school. That gets a bit tricky when you hit the adult world and deal with legal/business documents.

A few years ago when I started trying to figure out how to differentiate Mary Allen, aka me, from the thousands who share my name, especially from several other inspirational authors named Mary Allen, I started using my middle initial. That’s when I realized I appeared to be Mary Fallen. I didn’t like that at all, after all, I’ve been redeemed by the Blood of the Lamb. That same scenario arose anytime I filled in another consonant – it looked like the start of a last name. 

Then I considered various names completely different from my own. Some were “too different” – people would have trouble remembering or spelling them. Some didn’t seem to say “Women’s Fiction” – which is what I plan to write. Some choices were hyphenated or used apostrophes, both evidently are no-nos. 

I decided recently to go with Mary Marie Allen. It’s ordinary, yet unusual. Mary Marie sounds lyrical, memorable. When someone is sorting through all the Mary Allen authors, I want her or him to say, “Ah! Yes – Mary MARIE Allen.

My brother laughed at me when I told him the name I’d chosen. He didn’t think it worthy of my creativity to stay so close to the original. I explained I already had books out there even if they were poetry and I was trying to use myself as a brand since I’ll be writing across genres:

Mary Marie Allen – God’s Truth & Women’s Fiction.

I may be naïve, but that’s what I hope to do. I hope to have people associate my name with good writing. Don’t laugh. It’s possible. Liz Curtis Higgs comes to mind. Debbie Macomber. Writing you like to read so the name alone draws you.

Of course that failed me once. Alexander McCall Smith is a secular Scottish author of gentle fiction following the lives of people in neighborhoods in a few different series. Since there’s always something to figure out he’s been listed as a mystery writer—a bit of a stretch if you ask me. At any rate, he presented an extremely relaxing quick read that delighted me. Waiting for a new release by him was like waiting for Valentine’s Day to be treated to one of Russell Stover’s chocolate covered strawberry flavored marshmallow hearts.

Imagine how you would feel if you bit into a favorite marshmallow-y treat to discover it was filled with sawdust. Nasty. You’d hate it. You’d spit it out. That’s what I felt when I eagerly started to read one of his books and discovered it was about illicit sex of all varieties. Turned my stomach. I approach his new books with extreme caution and honestly have to say the shock was so profound it lessens my enjoyment of his other works. I don’t recommend him to others any more. HE SHOULD HAVE USED A PEN NAME.

I expect one day I will use a very different pen name for a particular genre I want to write,but I will never publish anything that will not honor my Savior, even in the telling of (imaginary) people’s life stories when not-so-nice experiences happen.

So, I’m Mary Marie Allen. I was already pretty far into the process of changing everything before I realized on line it will look like this: marymarieallen running all the vowels together. Well, at least no one will think I’m Mary Mari Eallen. At least, I hope they won’t. Not perfect. Not the name God will one day give me on a white stone, but a name I'm comfortable with anyway. 

What name do you use? Is it your own or a combination? What process did you go through to find a novel (humor!) pen name? Or, did one drop seemingly from heaven right into your lap? 

God's Love Most Gentle

by Mary Allen

What do you do when the one you love is shattered like glass?

In Jeremiah, God says that you can't heal a wound that you won't even admit is there. How true this is for recent missionary widow, Kim Macomb. With the help of close family and friends, she is physically healing from the horrors she experienced. However she's hiding choices she made that she can't forgive herself for, choices that effected other people's lives.

When running from the truth erodes her ability to be a good mother, Kim seeks help. Unfortunately, she still isn't facing all of what happened in Zaire, Africa. She isn't addressing her anger at God, nor the fear that compels her to run from Mitch, the new love in her life. 

Determined to be independent, Kim pushes away those who care most about her. Before long she is involved with Hank, a good man who understands brutal war experiences, but doesn't know God. Soon Kim realizes there are some wrong choices you can't hide. When Kim thinks she's lost everything, she finds redemption in God's Love Most Gentle.

Kim's story plays out against the comedic background of  quirky landlord Dora who stills sets the table for a dead husband and her mother's romance to a local rancher who rescues 'Catastrophe' Carol as often as she needs it.

"God's Love Most Gentle" written under the pen name Mary Marie Allen goes on sale December 8 on Kindle as ebook and soft covers are available from the author for $14.99. Leave a comment below for a chance to win a free copy - your choice ebook or soft cover.

Mary Allen's three books of poetry are still available. "Journey to Christmas" - the thoughts and feelings of those involved in the first Christmas sells for 4.99  as e-book through Amazon.