I Might Be Able To Use That Someday

Ever since I started writing fiction, my days consist of one fun-loving circus after the other. Like a tightrope walker, I step forward with with weight on my author platform. Next step, leaning into the crafting of words. A delicate balance.

I juggle several plates of research, first drafts, edits, social media posts, blogs, and public relations opportunities.

Story ideas swing back and forth in my mind until I finally let go of the trapeze to grasp the approaching bar of my computer. I type madly on the upswing which lands me safely on the next platform, complete with a page--or a hundred pages--of a story.

It's impossible to plan far ahead, for wonder of wonders, I’m a pantser! After a teaching career of detailed lesson plans, the idea of outlining every aspect of my novel spurred rebellion in my soul.

However, discovering my spontaneous personality has become a delightful adventure.

I know my characters and follow their lead. Oh, they let me lead them sometimes, but if I get off track, they shove me back in line. I will stay bogged down in some swamp of narrative until I backtrack to the path they intended for me.

Along the way, either forward or backward, random thoughts race through my brain. If I'm purposeful in gathering those thoughts, I enjoy the distinct pleasure of panning for gold. All kinds of nuggets appear as I sift through them.

“I might be able to use that someday,” I think. And I stuff them in this:

My composition book

Random thoughts don’t appear only as I write or journal. When I travel, I watch for road signs and billboard ads. The names of shops and towns are fascinating. I whip out my notebook and jot it all down, noting where I saw them. My favorite: Winter Wheat Antiques in central Illinois. 

When I'm in restaurants and airports, I people-watch and write down their behaviors, their eccentricities. I even make up stories about them on the spot.

I write down dreams, blog ideas, beautiful phrases I think up, metaphors, sensory details of a given moment. I might be able to use them someday.

I copy quotations and credit the original author for I might be able to use them someday.

A couple weeks ago, I attended a banquet honoring athletes from my husband’s high school. Twelve recipients, each with a presenter. Both speakers were to limit their remarks to five minutes each. That equals two hours for awards plus all the introductions by the master of ceremonies beforehand. It was going to be a long night, so I started writing my impressions of their comments on the back of the program.

My husband leaned over. “Are you taking notes?”

“My hands need something to do while I listen,” I replied. “Besides, I might be able to use this someday.”

So, I’m a paper and pencil person for writing down the minutia of life to use someday and loving it. What about you? Do you depend on memory? Use your smart phone? Never record details? What kinds of things do you find you observe the most?

Linda Sammaritan writes realistic fiction, mostly for kids ages ten to fourteen. She has published a  middle grade trilogy, World Without Sound, based on her own experiences growing up with a deaf sister. Book One, Reaching Into Silence, was an ACFW Genesis Contest semi-finalist and a First Impressions Finalist.

Linda had always figured she’d teach teens and tweens until school authorities presented her with a retirement wheelchair and rolled her out the door. However, God changed those plans when He gave her a growing passion for writing fiction. In May of 2016, she blew goodbye kisses to her students and dedicated her work hours to becoming an author.

A wife, mother of three, and grandmother to eight, Linda regales the youngest grandchildren with “Nona Stories,” tales of her childhood. Maybe one day those stories will be in picture books!

Where Linda can be found on the web:

www.lindasammaritan.com

www.facebook.com/lindasammaritan

www.twitter.com/LindaSammaritan

www.instagram.com/lindasammaritan

 

 

 

 

 

A Phrase for the New Year

One day as I prayed for my adult children, my mind swirled with requests concerning their health and safety, their relationships, jobs, and finances, my daughter’s and her husband’s parenting of our grandson, their relationships with God the Father, the insulation of their hearts and minds against the world’s influence. My requests culminated in, “May they seek you above all else . . . ”

I paused pondering those last words, realizing that’s exactly what I wanted for my life.  “Oh, God, may I seek you above all else.”

Photo by Denise Karis on Unsplash

That phrase wafted about my brain the rest of the day. I’d been considering adopting a word or phrase to focus on for the year. What did I want to accomplish in the coming twelve months? A mental list of ambitious goals mixed with wishful thinking notions had bombarded my thoughts as the days of December wound down. I could think of no better focus for the year ahead than to seek GOD above the myriad of voices clamoring for both my attention and my allegiance.

As writers we can choose to seek fame and fortune. We can align ourselves with the trends that promise success. Fashion our writing content and publishing decisions around money and notoriety. Be less concerned about the opportunity to influence the world around us than on what’s in it for us. Or, we can pursue His will for our writing endeavors, above all other influences. Commit to write what, when, how, and why He desires.

As Christians, we have the opportunity to minister to others and to glorify the Lord with our writing. But that will only happen if and when we seek HIM above all else. If we try to imitate a favored author or charge ahead when His guidance says wait or fritter away time and energy that should be spent putting His words to paper, we squander opportunities to be His instrument, to bring hope and healing to a hurting world.

As the pages of a new year lay before us, waiting to be filled, I want my overall life goals and writing agenda to be aligned with the Creator’s. Will you join me in seeking HIM above all else in 2020?

Photo by Carolyn V on Unsplash

The ideal writing spot

  I have an ideal writing spot.

  My ideal spot is on a thick cushion that’s faded because it’s tucked next to a large picture window. Matching fluffy pillows support my back and protect my legs from the heat of my laptop.

  The window overlooks a simple flower garden with white, yellow, and pink blooms. It also has a bird house in the middle. The birds’ house is a miniature version of my own.

from Fotolia

  White-bellied squirrels and rusty brown chipmunks with quick grace forage for, and hide, their bounty while I devise brilliant ways for my heroine to overcome great obstacles that concludes in non-predictable yet satisfying way.

  My ideal writing spot does not exist outside my imagination.

  In truth any place I can find a few uninterrupted minutes in consecutive secession is an “ideal writing spot.”

  In the living room, in the dining room, in the bedroom, at Domino’s while I’m waiting for my order, at my desk at work on my lunch break – they all can be productive spots for writing.

  I love window seats and hope to have one someday. But in the here and now the ideal writing spot for me isn’t a place, it’s a state of mind.

  Humbly submitted by H.T. Lord

From the Archives: Life-Proof or Life-Resistant Writing?

It's usually my (Linda's) turn to post on the third Tuesday, but I'm in Florida visiting family and wanting to make the most of my time with them. Life happens, both good and bad, and I know many in our family at ACFW Indiana are dealing with life's (divine) interruption. H.T. Lord has a beautiful analysis from the archives analyzing how to handle those times when writing is just about impossible.

Even though we are 20 or so years away from it, my husband and I have been talking about retirement plans lately.

I want to move to Iceland where there are no mosquitoes. He wants to move to Florida where there exists more mosquitoes than in any other state in the U.S.A.

Besides the prolific insect populations (and alligators), the other reason I am hesitant to move there are the hurricanes. How often have we been hearing about people who have lost everything because of a hurricane? Often!

If you can’t tell, I did not grow up near a large body of water. My husband did; it’s called the Atlantic Ocean. We have been living in a part of the country I’m used to for the past 20 years surrounded by corn fields, green grass, tall trees and cricks, otherwise known as “creeks.”

He’s given up what he loves for my comfort, so it’s only right I at least consider living out our golden years where he feels most at home.

That said, I’m still uneasy. So I prayed, “Lord, is there anything out there that can stand up to a hurricane?” It turns out there is. There are a few options actually, but the one that caught my eye is a round home.

Believe it or not, round homes are tornado, earthquake and hurricane resistant. I guess no one can claim hurricane-proof, because, let’s face it, stuff happens. But the few companies I found that make round homes have testimonials of round home owners who have lived through recent hurricanes and their houses emerged unscathed. Cool, huh?

So all this got me to thinking about whether or not it’s possible for writers to “life-proof” their writing.

I’m coming off a three-week unscheduled, unwanted hiatus from my cherished writing schedule. Life happened.

My father-in-law could no longer live on his own, so we found a way for him to move in with us until better arrangements can be made. I contracted a stomach virus that left me incoherent for 10 days. Our youngest daughter caught a cold that turned into a lung infection. I could go on, but I think you get the idea.

Maybe for some life-proofing their writing is possible. What does that really mean but to choose writing every time something comes up? I commend everyone with that kind of determination and discipline. You rock! My hope is to join your ranks someday.

But for me, now, I’m thinking life-resistant writing is a pretty good option. So what does that mean? I think it means to have a writing schedule, to have a plan, but also to be flexible so when life happens you can resist the guilt and hopelessness that inevitably comes.

Your heart for writing hasn’t gone away, it’s just weathering the latest storm. And when the wind calms and the water stills, you pick up where you left off.

Humbly submitted by H.T. Lord

Transitions

“For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.”  1 Cor. 13:12 (KJV)

from GraphicStock.com

The picture I chose to accompany this month’s blog brought this scripture to mind. It also inspired the title and theme, that and a little prayer asking God for help.

The longer I contemplate the word, “Transitions,” the more incidences come to mind of how it can apply to our lives. Basically, our lives are a series of transitions – birth, toddler, preschooler, grade schooler, tween, teen, adult – to name one just one series.

And for the believer, I would say the first transition would be learning what it means to be “a new creature” in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17). This transition is not a one-time thing either, but a journey, THE journey that takes us into eternity with our heavenly Father – the biggest transition of all.

As a writer, I stink at transitions. Every paper that was handed back to me in college was marked for too many commas and my lack of transitions.

Here’s a bit of irony for you, I’ve noticed a pattern recently during my morning writing sessions. You see, I’m not starting from scratch on my story. I am interweaving original scenes with new ones. 

Guess what the new ones are. Yep, transitional scenes. What can I say? It’s what the story has been missing.

The Elements of Style by Strunk and White define “transition” like this, “A word or group of words that aids in coherence in writing by showing the connections between ideas.”

It sounds simple enough, but just like the picture with the castle view on foggy winter morning, transitions are not always so clear to me. Fortunately, the author and finisher of our faith is always available to help me – to help you – when asked in faith, believing.

Learning to write in the early morning has proved to be a life transition for me, as well. But this is one transition I am especially happy to make, and with Christ’s help, I may even master.

May God bless all your life transitions, the ones in your writer’s life and in your writing, too.

Humbly submitted by H.T. Lord

The elusive writing schedule

They seek it here, they seek it there

Those writers seek it everywhere

Is it in heaven or is it in hell?

That doggone elusive writer’s schedule.

Borrowed from Baroness Emmuska Orczy’s The Scarlet Pimpernel (with minor adjustments)

I have included “Establish a writing schedule” on my New Year’s resolution list every year for a number of years, which I did each year.

I just couldn’t maintaining it the whole year which produced guilt, which then lent itself to frustration, self-doubt, <insert emotion here>.

from Fotolia by Ivan Nikulin

I wanted 2015 to be different so I changed the resolution to “Establish a writing schedule that I, and my family, can live with.” Ah, that’s a whole different animal, isn’t it? And it’s proven to be about as easy as finding other elusive things like say, a yeti, for example.

But found it, I have (and yes, I am a Star Wars fan).

It took me until the end of October, but I did find my schedule – the one I and my family can live with. I have stuck to it through the month of November and I’m still doing it. Plus, I look forward to it.

Before I share what changed, I must praise Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior, for His part in this. He must get the credit because as He said, “… apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:5 (NLT).

Okay, so what changed?

Two things: my perspective and my expectations.

The truth is there are people better qualified, more creative and way more articulate than I am who could be writing the story I am writing right now. The problem is God didn’t give this story to them, He gave it to me - the least qualified person.

Why? After much prayer and Bible study, I have concluded this is a pattern with God. He chose a stutterer to speak for him to the King of Egypt. He chose a small, young shepherd to slay a giant, just to name two examples, there are many more.

Okay, God, I admit I need You to write, but things still aren’t coming together. What am I missing?

What I was missing was that God never intended writing to be just for me. He had always intended “writing time” to be “Father/daughter time;” He meant it for us. Just like a loving Father, He chose an activity I love that we can have fun doing together.

The second thing was my expectation. I had to change how I define a successful writing session.

My new definition of success is simply get up half an hour early, read devotions and pray for a few minutes then spend the rest of the time writing with my heavenly Father.

from Fotolia by blinkblink

It’s a slow process. One day I wrote only 20 words, but the point is I’m moving forward. It is inevitable that I will complete this story, and finish it the way I have always imagined because I have the best co-author ever!

So with God’s help, I found my schedule. I have no plans to try to find a yeti, but with God I could write a story about it.

Merry Christmas everyone! And God bless your New Year!

Humbly submitted by H.T. Lord

The same yesterday, today and forever

I hadn’t intended to write about things for which I am thankful, it seems a bit cliché since its November but that’s exactly what I am about to do.

I wasn’t able to attend the ACFW conference a couple of months ago. I had a choice: go to the conference or invest in my fellow Thistles’ first writer’s retreat. I chose the Thistles this year.

In case I haven’t mentioned it before, along with belonging to ACFW, I also belong to a local writer’s group. It’s called The Thistle Club. We chose thistles as our emblem because, among other things, they are tenacious.

Anyway, I felt a little denied this year not being able to attend ACFW’s conference but I believed that the retreat would be God’s vehicle to speak to us Thistles as His children and as writers. And you know what? It was and He did.

So, firstly, I want to thank God for showing up and spending the weekend with us. I stand amazed at how He knows exactly what we need, when we need it.

Which leads me to the next thing for which I am thankful… the blessing that is the ACFW newsletter, specifically the current edition. If you haven’t had a chance yet to read the November newsletter, I highly recommend you do.

I appreciate Michael Ehret’s notes on Bill Myers’ Second Keynote Address, because they laid the foundation for Allen Arnold’s presentation – “The Wildness of Writing with God: ‘Have fun, God.’” Arnold’s presentation was apparently a well-articulated version of what God also spoke to the Thistles during our retreat.

God is so cool.

Arnold’s definitions of the "Realms of Creativity" really hit home with me personally, and at their heart confirmed what God has been speaking to me for a while now.

So, secondly, I’m thankful to God for His timeless, and timely, Word, and to Michael Ehret for sharing his notes. If I have learned nothing else lately, it is that the writer’s life is not accomplished alone. We need God and each other if we are to finish the race God has set before us.

The greatest part about all this is that God already knew what we would need from the beginning of time and has already prepared it, we only have to ask.

Thank you, God, for being You - yesterday, today and forever.

Humbly submitted by H.T. Lord

Where Does a Writer Go?

by Rachael Phillips

Are you the kind of writer who can write in a parked SUV until your muddy soccer players (at least, you hope they’re yours) pile onto your seats? Can you outline a novel while sitting in a drive-through line, not bothering to look up when you shift gears to edge ahead? Can you pound out a chapter in a Starbucks invaded by an entire middle school of coffee connoisseurs armed with video games?

Then you, my writing friend, are blessed with qualities of concentration I can only dream of.

In order to write, I need a peaceful place where I can park my creaky frame in a cushy sofa or chair. Desks stifle my creativity. So do real waistbands—elastic, please, or none. I want a room with windows I can open or shut, according to my body’s hot flash weather report, with a view of something green or pretty that doesn’t need watering, trimming, or re-potting. Two cups of real coffee early in the morning are a must, then a large, steaming pot of decaf to warm me throughout a fall or winter day. When temperatures rise, a pitcher of iced tea or water is my constant writing companion.

But most of all, I need quiet—sweet silence or muted small-town noises, enhanced by the audio velvet of classical music.     

I am spoiled because I began my writing career during midlife—after my children had lost their last residue of mom admiration and either rolled eyes or ran screaming when I addressed them. As they left, one by one, for college, I grew accustomed to my everyday quiet writing kingdom, where I can plan my schedule and wear jammies all day, if I so choose.

However, small, not-too-distant rumblings have begun, barely perceptible now, but growing louder with every day … retirement.

My husband’s, not mine.

He is a considerate, supportive spouse, mindful of my need for solitude.

But if he reads, sitting near me, he just has to share passages that excite him.

Deeply spiritual, he loves to discuss what God has been teaching him. In great detail. 

He sneezes. And flushes. He crunches big bowls of mixed nuts and guzzles ice cream my diet-starved soul longs for.

Can it be that I may have to banish my laptop and me to my [gasp!] office?

How about you? What writing-space issues have you faced, and how did you solve them? 

Goblins Spamming Your Blog Posts?

by Rick Barry

For months I experienced a daily nuisance. Maybe you have, too--spam comments on blog posts. And not the more recent posts. The goblins' comments always targeted my first couple of  posts of 2014.  But how to block them?

The spam messages might have been less irksome if they at least stated something connected to my post. Instead, I received pointless comments stating, for instance:

When most gamers found out about the i – OS App Store (along with the various other stores for mobile devices), many of them thought the games on the store would never amount to anything substantial.

Other comments arrived in horrendous English:

"Hi mates, how is everything, and what you wish for to say concerning this article, in my view its actually remarkable designed for me. Here is my blog post...."


Yes, I had taken security precautions, and Blogger never actually allowed these junk messages to appear. Yet, it sent me daily email copies of each new message, giving me the option of manually moderating and permitting the message, if I so chose.

Friends offered suggestions. One said her solution is passive resignation, which wasn't good enough for me. Another author explained that she chose to moderate ALL comments, which an additional chore for her, and which slowed the posting of comments by readers.

But my kudos go to author Sarah Sundin for sharing a simple solution. Sarah said, "Blogger actually makes it easy. If they're targeting one particular post, edit that post and click on the box to not allow comments." I had forgotten that Blogger offers that option right on the page where you compose blog posts. Here's what it looks like:

Options

Reader comments

Allow

Don't allow, show existing

Don't allow, hide existing

I clicked the option to keep the previous comments but to block all further comments on my two targeted victims. Sure enough, no more spam.

If you have a blog and have been receiving spam, maybe this option will work for you, too. If the goblins have not noticed your blog yet, beware! You could need these solutions sooner than you think.

Perhaps you have additional insights on blog spam? If so, please share below. I promise not to block you!

Rick Barry has freelanced hundreds of articles and short stories, had two novels published, and has more projects in the pipeline.

Redefining Failure

Reading the loop, following blogs for authors, or attending conferences can leave a person with the notion that REAL writers have to develop websites, Facebook author pages, Blogspots and be active on Pinterest. They may come away with the idea that it is essential to be on LinkedIn or whatever the current networking rage is.

All of these tools can be immensely helpful with self-promotion, making important connections, building writing or business relationships. The pressure to be a part of them can leave one asking, “Am I disloyal to my trade if I prefer not to chase the big dream? Am I abnormal if I only want to live a quiet life? If my dream of writing is simply to touch family and a few friends, is there something wrong with me?”

I reply with a resounding, “No!”

If Christ asks you to write a pamphlet of poetry to share locally, writing a best-selling fiction novel instead is failure. If Christ gives you stories and the desire to publish a work of fiction, do that. Do it to the best you can then whether you sell few or many you are a success. Failure would be to refuse or let fear stop you.

One of the attitudes in ACFW I admire is that we don’t have to compete with one another. Each author, each story fits into a particular time and place. That is why we can rejoice with those who rejoice at winning Genesis or Carol Award or get the contract we wanted.

I’m not saying it’s easy. Some of the best storytellers I’ve known have had their season of struggle with jealousy, comparison, judgmental-ism, and self-doubt. These attitudes can creep in for the seasoned author as well as the newbie especially when God’s timetable doesn’t make sense and expectations end in disappointment. However, the struggle doesn’t validate or excuse the negative mindset. Thank God that we don't have to stay stuck in the Slough of Despond. We have a Rescuer.

Christians do not view success as the world views it. For a Christ follower success is being who Christ made you to be, doing the task Christ gives you to do as he gives it. That’s success in its entirety. Simply put, failure is not doing what the Master asks.

Until next time, 

                   Mary Allen

I Don't Want to Write Today

by Rachael Phillips

Writers love their work 24/7. Intriguing plots flow from them like chocolate from a wedding reception fountain. Passionate wordsmiths, writers read the Chicago Manual of Style at the beach.

They would not prefer dusting ceiling fans to writing proposals. Or watching five hours of Gilligan’s Island in Spanish rather than writing chapters. They would never, ever choose exercise over sitting at their beloved computers, expanding word counts and derrieres.

Because writing is a magical, spontaneous, inspirational experience.

It’s like marriage that way.

But suppose—just suppose—a writer experiences a day that wanes from ecstasy to ennui. What then?

First, he can take a mini-vacation to recharge his creative batteries: brew a mug of his favorite coffee, read a funny blog, or call a friend. He might take a refreshing walk . . . to Chile.

Eventually, though, his editor’s lawyer will track him to Chile and strongly suggest the writer fulfill his contract.

At this point, pleasant self-prompts can signal it’s time to write. Classical music often serves as mine. On gloomy days, I light a fragrant candle. Some writers don a special writing outfit or hat, á la Little Women’s Jo March. Leg irons can also be helpful.     

Should leg irons fail to inspire, grit your teeth and write two sentences, taking care to leave the second unfinished. 

Then dust ceiling fans. Banish alien fuzzes from your refrigerator. Dig out eaves. Scrub smelly trash cans. Even [shudder] balance your checkbook. Slave at household projects that have distracted you for days. Your mind eventually will wander to the sentence you left incomplete. (Writers dislike unfinished sentences the way musicians abhor unresolved chords.) Play with that half-sentence until it gels. Then mull over the chapter that hit the wall. Does it need a different point of view?

Stick with household slavery until writing seems like a wonderful idea. Pleading a cranky back, return to your computer and finish that sentence. That paragraph. That chapter. Switch the POV from the smiling brush salesman’s to the serial killer librarian’s.

Yesss! You just fractured your writing block’s cement-like hardness. Even if the results are immeasurably bad, terrible writing—unlike zero writing—can be edited into something that makes you want to write tomorrow, too.

How about you? Are you still hiding in Chile? Or have you, too, developed a cure for I-don’t-want-to-write days?

Write Anyway

Bing free use image

Some days when the going gets tough, I want to curl up in a ball and hide from the world. 

But I know that’s exactly what the devil wants me to do. 

He hates me and my message. He’ll do anything he can to stop it.

Satan hates you and your message, too.

Don’t let him win.

Write anyway. 

Supposedly, the following poem by Mother Teresa, in its original form, is posted on an orphanage wall in Calcutta. (See original here). I’ve paraphrased it below as a poem of encouragement for writers:

When people are unreasonable, illogical and self-centered:

Write anyway.

When you are hurting, in pain, and feel like quitting:

Write anyway.

If you are kind, and people accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives:

Write anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies:

Write anyway.

What you spend years writing, may be rejected and never be published.

Write anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness in writing, others may be jealous:

Write anyway.

The good writing you do today, people will often forget tomorrow.

Write anyway.

Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough.

Write anyway.

You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and your God.

It was never between you and them.

Write anyway.

This entry was originally posted on the Seriously Write blog. 

Karla Akins is an award-winning, prolific writer of books, short stories, plays, poems, songs, and countless nonfiction articles. Her biography of Jacques Cartier went #1 in its category on Amazon. Her first fiction novel, The Pastor’s Wife Wears Biker Boots was released in 2013. Her short stories have been published in four Splickety Magazine editions. When she's not reading she's writing. When she's not writing she's zooming along on her motorcycle, looking for treasure. You can learn more at KarlaAkins.com - See more at: http://fullflavoredliving.blogspot.com/2014/03/god-will-make-way.html#sthash.2YQRUACv.dpuf

Karla Akins is an award-winning, prolific writer of books, short stories, plays, poems, songs, and countless nonfiction articles. Her biography of Jacques Cartier went #1 in its category on Amazon. Her first fiction novel, The Pastor’s Wife Wears Biker Boots was released in 2013. Her short stories have been published in four Splickety - See more at: http://fullflavoredliving.blogspot.com/2014/03/god-will-make-way.html#sthash.2YQRUACv.dpuf

Karla Akins is an award-winning, prolific writer of books, short stories, plays, poems, songs, and countless nonfiction articles. Her biography of Jacques Cartier went #1 in its category on Amazon. Her first fiction novel, The Pastor’s Wife Wears Biker Boots was released in 2013. Her short stories have been published in four Splickety Magazine editions. When she's not reading she's writing. When she's not writing she's zooming along on her motorcycle, looking for treasure. You can learn more at KarlaAkins.com - See more at: http://fullflavoredliving.blogspot.com/2014/03/god-will-make-way.html#sthash.2YQRUACv.dpuf

Karla Akins is an award-winning, prolific writer of books, short stories, plays, poems, songs, and countless nonfiction articles. Her biography of Jacques Cartier went #1 in its category on Amazon. Her first fiction novel, The Pastor’s Wife Wears Biker Boots was released in 2013. Her short stories have been published in four Splickety Magazine editions. When she's not reading she's writing. When she's not writing she's zooming along on her motorcycle, looking for treasure. You can learn more at KarlaAkins.com - See more at: http://fullflavoredliving.blogspot.com/2014/03/god-will-make-way.html#sthash.2YQRUACv.dpuf

Karla Akins is an award-winning, prolific writer of books, short stories, plays, poems, songs, and countless nonfiction articles. Her biography of Jacques Cartier went #1 in its category on Amazon. Her first fiction novel, The Pastor’s Wife Wears Biker Boots was released in 2013. Her short stories have been published in four Splickety Magazine editions. When she's not reading she's writing. When she's not writing she's zooming along on her motorcycle, looking for treasure. You can learn more at KarlaAkins.com - See more at: http://fullflavoredliving.blogspot.com/2014/03/god-will-make-way.html#sthash.2YQRUACv.dpuf

Tweet this: No matter what happens--write anyway!

Karla Akins is an award-winning, prolific author of books, short stories, poems, plays, songs and countless nonfiction articles. Her biography of Jacques Cartier rose to #1 in its category on Amazon. Her first fiction novel, The Pastor's Wife Wears Biker Boots was released in 2013. Her short stories are published in Splickety and Havok magazines. She recently signed a contract with Beacon Hill Press for her book about autism entitled, Pie in the Sky, due for release in late 2014. When she's not reading she's writing. When she's not writing she's zooming down the road on her motorcycle in search of treasure. Learn more at KarlaAkins.com

Karla Akins is an award-winning, prolific writer of books, short stories, plays, poems, songs, and countless nonfiction articles. Her biography of Jacques Cartier went #1 in its category on Amazon. Her first fiction novel, The Pastor’s Wife Wears Biker Boots was released in 2013. Her short stories have been published in four Splickety Magazine editions. When she's not reading she's writing. When she's not writing she's zooming along on her motorcycle, looking for treasure. You can learn more at KarlaAkins.com - See more at: http://fullflavoredliving.blogspot.com/2014/03/god-will-make-way.html#sthash.c7vAyLWK.dpuf

Karla Akins is an award-winning, prolific writer of books, short stories, plays, poems, songs, and countless nonfiction articles. Her biography of Jacques Cartier went #1 in its category on Amazon. Her first fiction novel, The Pastor’s Wife Wears Biker Boots was released in 2013. Her short stories have been published in four Splickety Magazine editions. When she's not reading she's writing. When she's not writing she's zooming along on her motorcycle, looking for treasure. You can learn more at KarlaAkins.com - See more at: http://fullflavoredliving.blogspot.com/2014/03/god-will-make-way.html#sthash.2YQRUACv.dpuf

Karla Akins is an award-winning, prolific writer of books, short stories, plays, poems, songs, and countless nonfiction articles. Her biography of Jacques Cartier went #1 in its category on Amazon. Her first fiction novel, The Pastor’s Wife Wears Biker Boots was released in 2013. Her short stories have been published in four Splickety Magazine editions. When she's not reading she's writing. When she's not writing she's zooming along on her motorcycle, looking for treasure. You can learn more at KarlaAkins.com - See more at: http://fullflavoredliving.blogspot.com/2014/03/god-will-make-way.html#sthash.2YQRUACv.dpuf