Industry
Freedom by Jonathan Franzen
A satire on two generations of Americans and the American dream (or, more accurately, dreams), Jonathan Franzen wrote a book that at times seems more case-study than novel. Because of this, for a good part of the book, the characters seem almost more caricature than individual. Of course, the big twist in the end is…
Taxes and Writers
Do I need to file taxes as a writer? The simple answer is it depends. Here are a few considerations in deciding whether or not to put your writing on your tax return. Did you receive any income? Many people think you need a certain amount of income to have to file, however, this is…
Review: Lucky Baby by Meredith Efken
After years of swearing she’d never be a mother–particularly because she doesn’t want to turn into her mother, who withheld her approval from Meg–Meg longs to adopt a child. She and her husband, Lewis, adopt an older girl from China, desiring both to give Eva a home and to overcome their pasts of emotional family…
Christy Award Interview Podcast!
Better late than never: I had the privilege of interviewing many of the nominees and winners of this summer’s Christys! Christy Interviews
Our Books in Libraries
This weekend I attended the American Library Association Mid-Winter Meeting in Denver with my library. Some of you might really be surprised at how much libraries have changed in the past decade. From automatic check in systems to new and innovative ways to catalog books and organize DVD collections, signs were everywhere that the future of libraries…
The Verdict’s In…
and you can have a say in determining the verdict in Randy Singer’s upcoming legal thriller, The Justice Game (Tyndale House, July 2009), which features a court case centered on the gun debate. The verdict voted on by the readers will be written into the story and kept under wraps until the bookâs release. This…
Christmas Traditions
Over at my blog, I’ve been talking about giving (time or money since both count) to charity and supporting books for the holidays. It’s been an enlightening holiday season and like many of my author friends, readers, and blogger buddies I’ve been trying to get away from the excess and get back to the true meaning…
Handling the Big Rejection
Q: How do you handle rejection? A: Before or after I stick pins in my eyes and swallow hot coals? No, of course I don’t do that. I usually shave my head, exchange my clothes for sackcloth, and spend days of solitary isolation sitting on a heap of ashes. Okay, seriously, unfortunately, rejection is a…
What is Happening to the Book Industry?
Everywhere one turns these days, people are bemoaning the state of the book publishing industry. Even non-book people can be heard citing news reports of the downturn in sales for publishers and book stores. Downsizing, low sales, bankruptcy, returns, closures of independent mainstream and Christian bookstores–all bad news. And then one of the worst reports arrived in…
Write for the Reader
“I write what I would like to read–what I think other women would like to read. If what I write makes a woman in the Canadian mountains cry and she writes and tells me about it, especially if she says ‘I read it to Tom when he came in from work and he cried too,’…