Monday, June 20, 2016

Summer Reading

I got this picture from a reader friend today. It warmed my heart!

What are you reading this summer?


Harriet Michael's photo.

Friday, May 20, 2016


It’s Here!!!!!



“Prayer moves the arm that moves the universe … Prayer is the greatest privilege man can have.”
This quote is cited in the book, “Soldiers of the Cross” by Kent D. Dollar who found the quote in a hand-written journal from a civil war soldier by the name of Edward Owings Guerrant. I don’t know if this was Guerrant’s original thought or if he heard someone else say it.

I found the book by Dollar about ten years ago in the gift shop of a civil war battle site just outside of Washington D. C. while visiting my son who lived in D. C. at the time. I could just picture a soldier in the throes of war, sitting by himself contemplating prayer and writing about it in his journal.

I can relate. I may not have ever fought in a physical war but I have been in spiritual wars contemplating and journaling about prayer too.

For four years, in fact, I did just that.

At the end of those four years I had a manuscript written on the topic of prayer. Then, it took another almost eight years working on turning that manuscript into a book. It garnered a special recognition along the way when it finaled in the 2011 Women of Faith” unpublished manuscript competition. But until now it had not made it into book form.

Today, at last, I am thrilled to announce that the book is finally out! It can be purchased in paperback and will be available in e-book form in a few more days.

Here’s the link: Prayer: It's Not About You 





Monday, April 4, 2016

Coming Soon!




It's hard to believe its already April! Here's an update on how my book release is coming:  

A mighty spiritual weapon or a waste of time? What exactly is prayer? Is it something to be engaged in fiercely as if wielding a weapon in the midst of a spiritual battle, or is it a just a personal practice to achieve a calmer, more focused, and disciplined life? Does prayer really change anything

Those questions and so many more are discussed inside the pages of my soon-to-be released book, “Prayer: It’s Not About You”. The book does not simply offer one writer’s perspective on the topic of prayer. Instead, it delves deep into scripture to see how prayer is presented in God’s word.

I am so excited to let you know that I am finally down the homes stretch of the publication and release of the book I wrote on prayer. I turned in the galley edits to my publisher last week, so now it’s just a matter of time until I announce that it is released!

What are galley edits? That is the last step in editing a book. It’s when the publisher sends the author a digital copy of the formatted book with each line in the document assigned a number. The author re-reads her book (for the umpteenth time) and notes any additional edits she may desire by listing the line number and the suggested edit in a separate document that she sends back to the editor / publisher.

This book is my Opus. It took four years to write and longer than that to get published. As an unpublished manuscript it was named one of only 25 finalists out of over 750 entries in the 2011 “Women of Faith” manuscript national competition. And very soon it will be available for purchase on Amazon. I will keep you posted! J



Monday, January 18, 2016

Cover Reveal!

Drum roll please ...

... and here it is! The long awaited cover reveal for my upcoming book. The book should be released within a few weeks by Pix-N-Pens Publishing. Stay tuned.


Friday, January 1, 2016

A Fresh Start


Harriet Michael's photo.
Today is the first day of the rest of our lives! And it’s the first day of a new year too.

Happy New Year!

As I look back at 2015 and forward to 2016, I realize how much I have to be thankful for. In my writing life, 2015 brought the publication of my first book and a publishing contract on my second book. That book should be released soon. Hopefully, I will be making a cover reveal and book announcement in the near future.

I also made many new writing friends within my publishing group, among a blog to which I have been asked to contribute Writing Prompts and Ideas ... Oh My!, in my new association with ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers) and at conferences I have attended. And of course I continue to treasure the other writer friends I have met in the past few years.

I am excited about 2016. There is much happening in my writing life. I continue to freelance devotions and articles and have many already contracted for publication this year—five articles will appear in SEEK Magazine (Standard Publishing), one that will appear in Now What, two devotions, so far, in The Secret Place (Judson Press), one in The Upper Room, and ten days of devotions slated to appear in Open Windows (Lifeway). My 2nd book, “Prayer: It’s Not About You” should be released soon, and I am in the editing stages of my 3rd book (my first fiction). I will tell you more about that book later, probably in a few months. Suffice it to say that I have fallen in love with fiction writing.

I also have some speaking engagements coming up in 2016. I will be speaking at Sweetwater Baptist Church’s women’s retreat in January on the topic of prayer. And will be speaking at the Mid-South Christian Writers Conference in March about devotional writing.

2016 … WELCOME!
















Monday, October 5, 2015

Book Announcement!

Though my work has been published many times, up until now, I have not had a book published. Today, I am excited to announce that is no longer the case. I now have one book released and very soon will have two. I will tell you about these in two different posts.
 
In my previous post, I told about the seasonal devotional book I co-authored with childhood friend, Shirley Crowder, and I shared one of the devotions. Today I want to share its beautiful cover and let you know how it can be ordered.
 
In my next blog I will share the news of my second book.
 
Here is the book and information pertaining to the devotional book:
 
TMP Books's photo.In early November, we get busy preparing for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and the New Year, and we often forget the real meanings behind these celebrations. We can guard against this by preparing our hearts to seek Him as we focus on God’s Word, and by remembering that Thanksgiving is a time to give God thanks; Christmas is the celebration of the Savior’s birth; the New Year brings new beginnings. Then, as we go about doing the things the Lord has called us to do where He has called us to do them, we catch Glimpses of the Savior and biblical truth in the things we experience and observe. These devotionals are based on memories of Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year celebrations in Africa and America. May the Holy Spirit work through these meditations to help readers recognize Glimpses of the Savior in the things they observe, and become skilled at finding Jesus among the celebrations and decorations.