Christian fantasy is one of my favorite genres to read, but until I started writing my own novel, I never realized how tricky it can be to handle religion in a fantasy context. Would the people of a fantasy world approach religion the same way we do? If not, how far can their religious practices […]
Behind the Scenes: Why Author Candee Fick Weaves a Theme Into Her Stories
My favorite part about being a writer is brainstorming new stories. However, even after years honing my craft, I’m the first to admit that my process starts a little differently with every story. Sometimes I start with the character, like a fledgling actress searching for her long-lost brother and her place on the stage. Other […]
Setting the scene, three tips for writers
Writers, do you have a high-action starting scene that just isn’t drawing the reader in? What can you do about that? You need to set your scene to draw readers into the POV of the main character and give us an emotional connection to him. Without that, it’s hard to care about what’s going on. […]
Behind the Scenes: Author Eleanor Gustafson confronts spiritual opposition
Things have not gone smoothly with my upcoming novel, An Unpresentable Glory. The long search for a publisher was not unusual. Been there, done that. A computer scam, however, proved costly in money and time. Think— Changing bank accounts and credit cards, Informing autopay groups, Installing computer security programs, Disabling Trojan-Horse viruses. Spent an hour […]
Behind The Scenes: Author Barbara M. Britton Finds A New Enemy For Nehemiah
The story of Nehemiah is one of my favorite books of the Bible. Nehemiah was a man of many talents. He was: cupbearer to King Artaxerxes, governor of Judah, a man of prayer, and a construction supervisor. Nehemiah left the king’s palace to help rebuild the wall around Jerusalem. What makes this story a writer’s […]
Behind the Scenes: Author Carole Brown listened to her mother’s stories of World War II
Do you have a favorite military picture of a loved one? My journey into learning about the spies of World War II begin with my mother’s tales of living through the war and the pictures I saw. The romance, bravery, fashions, vocabulary, the shows and music, so much nostalgia—all of it fostered a love of this […]
Behind the Scenes: How Author Ada Brownell plots a story
Anytime you pick up a work of fiction, you’ll find a plot. Writers often talk about plotting. Even way back, it sounded boring to me. Too similar to an outline. But when I sat down to write my recent novels, the first, Joe the Dreamer: The Castle and the Catapult, published in 2013; The Lady […]
Behind the Scenes: Author Stephanie Prichard collaborates with husband, stays married
“How in the world do you two write together and stay happily married?” Don and I laugh when we’re asked this question. Believe me, we understand the challenge—and fortunately we have an answer. A two-pronged answer that addresses the hard times and leads to the happy ones. Foundational to our writing relationship is that we […]
Behind the Scenes: Author Becky Melby tastes the cherries of Door County
If you look at a map of Wisconsin, Door County is the tip of the thumb of the mitten-shaped state—the part that gets frostbit on nippy winter days. This location, with its cooler spring months, makes Door County the perfect place for growing yummy, tart Montmorency cherries. At their peak in the 1950s, 700 cherry […]
Behind the Scenes: Author Leeann Betts discusses the fact that she is a pseudonym
Several people have asked me “Why a pseudonym?”, so I thought perhaps more readers and authors might want to know the answer, as well. Within the Christian community, I’ve had folks who said, “Isn’t that like lying?” The answer to the first question is perhaps easier than to the second. So I’ll start with the […]
Behind the Scenes: Author June Foster confronts flawed characters
Prescription for Romance is the sequel to Letting Go, both set in small town Alabama. Scott Townsend made a brief appearance in the first book and dated the heroine. He was a nice guy then. Unselfish, thoughtful, sweet. Or so I thought. He didn’t tell me much in that first book. It wasn’t until Prescription […]
Behind the Scenes: Author Gail Kittleson on War, Magic and Irony
Roald Dahl, who created the incredibly engaging tales my children and I used to read together, said “And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.” It may seem strange […]
Releasing this week: Children of the Forgotten by Charles Franklin
We’re so excited about our new book, Children of the Forgotten by Charles Franklin. We’re sure you’ll like it (provided you can handle reading some violent scenes). Here’s the scoop: Sickness within the city. Deranged killers in the surrounding hills. Is this the end of mankind … or a new beginning? Christian young adult fiction. […]
Behind the Scenes: Author Don Prichard and the Survivor tale
Honestly, although some of my readers ask about it, I’ve never been stranded on a jungle island. But my protagonist is, and with three helpless companions, at that—an eleven-year-old girl, her elderly aunt, and a man-eating prosecuting attorney (okay, slight exaggeration on the latter, but not by much). While most people could survive for a […]
Behind the Scenes: Author Lillian Duncan writes about healing, struggles with her own health
Neuro…What? That’s what I said when my doctor told me I had Neurofibromatosis Type 2 (NF2) in 2012. It didn’t seem like such a big deal. After all, I felt fine and wasn’t really having any symptoms that I knew of. But I was wrong—really wrong! It was a big deal. So what exactly is […]
Behind the Scenes: Author Zoe M. McCarthy and the igloo
Gift of the Magpie takes place in December a few days before Christmas. Richmond, Virginia has had a huge dumping of snow. I planned a scene in which Cam cajoles Amanda into putting her book deadline aside to build a snowman. But, for my story, building a snowman seemed such a cliché. Then I remembered, […]
Behind the Scenes: Author Lynne Tagawa learns to avoid preaching
The plot of A Twisted Strand is ordinary. Well, maybe not so ordinary as all that. A rogue virus comes to South Texas, genetically engineered by terrorists. But writing about bioterrorism wasn’t my main reason for writing the book. I’m not a Michael Crichton (author of such books as Jurassic Park), and my focus wasn’t […]
Behind the Scenes: Author Debra E. Marvin identifies the murder weapon
I recently had the great pleasure of writing a mystery for Journey Fiction’s Nosy Parker series based on ‘grown-up’ fans of the girl detective—girls of the fifties who’d obsessively read those books many of us also grew up with. My original idea was to have a 1950s heroine with a history degree become involved with […]
Behind the Scenes: Author Darlene Franklin cooks up a Christmas tale
I absolutely love writing Christmas stories. A full twenty percent of my books are Christmas-themed, and I hope to write a new nativity story every year until I stop writing! I’ve written historical and contemporary Christmas romance in settings ranging from Vermont to Florida, Rhode Island to Wyoming. I’ve written light-hearted romps and stories inspired […]
Behind the Scenes: Author Jenna Brandt interviews a character
The English Proposal is set in Victorian England and concerns Lady Margaret, a young noblewoman. But what is her maid Sarah thinking? Let’s find out. If you had a free day with no responsibilities and your only mission was to enjoy yourself, what would you do? “I would go into town and purchase a scone […]