Christian Author
What a night! My friend, Marcia Purday, treated me to a second row seat at Elton John’s Farewell Tour in Columbia, South Carolina. She couldn’t have gifted me a more thrilling experience. It was the first time I attended one of his concerts and, sadly, it’ll be the last. Elton John, at 71-years-old, took the…
Let’s celebrate! Today is World Book Day! Also known as World Book and Copyright Day, or International Day of the Book, April 23 is an annual event organized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to promote reading, publishing and copyright. It was first celebrated in 1995. Vicente Clavel Andrés Clavel founded…
I love public libraries so much that I’m a member of two systems—Gwinnett County and Hall County—and serve on the fundraising arm for the latter. I’m a firm believer in keeping library services free to all. Today, libraries across our nation are asking for your donations to supplement what the government provides. According to an…
Last Spring, a blue bird took one look at the inside of our house and decided he wanted in. The persistent little fellow bashed into our breakfast room window hundreds of times over the course of several months, knocking himself silly several times. Why did he persist in this crazy self-harm? Why did he believe…
The Girl Scout Promise On my honor, I will try to serve God and my country, to help other people at all times, and to live by the Girl Scout Law. On this day in 1912, Juliette Gordon Low organized the first Girl Scout meeting. It took place in Savannah, in my home state. The…
Today is Ash Wednesday, the day millions of Christian believers around the world confront their own mortality and confess their sins before God. I am one of those millions. Many of us attend worship services and allow pastors to etch ash crosses on our foreheads as a public demonstration of our humility before God. In…
Did you know that in the U.S., authors don’t receive payment each time readers check out books from libraries? However, if you listen to a song on Spotify, the artist receives $.0005. That half of a penny could add up. Last year, Spotify paid cellist Zoe Keating $12,231 to stream her music. Can you imagine…
Yes, I cried. It was a glorious autumn day, blessedly sandwiched between two cold and windy ones. We’d debated about whether November 3rd would be a wise choice, but we were dealing with a complex schedule that included SEC football games, the photographer’s open Saturdays, and work and academic calendars. When we finally settled on…
A spooky true story for the Halloween season: I saw a ghost when I was fifteen years old. Or, maybe it was someone pretending to be a ghost. I had begged my parents to let me accompany my English teacher and four other members of our school’s literary magazine staff to see Sylvia Plath’s “The…
Bet you didn’t know that I’ve been a member of an online writing critique group since February 2017. I’m one of ten members who write for readers under age 18. Hosted by the American Christian Fiction Writers, we submit chapters to each other for review each week. It’s a glorious process that has held me…