May 29, 2014
When Calls the Heart Do you know Janette Oke’s “When Calls the Heart” series on the Hallmark Channel? Last week I met the show’s creator and executive producer, Brian Bird. We were at the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference. I had supper at his table one night. God has called this humble man to serve as a Christian writer and producer in Hollywood. In his keynote address, Brian […]
May 27, 2014
Avortovar Maligtonay (pictured here) is the last waveson. I am excited to announce that my Young Adult novel The Last Waveson: Grafting placed first at the Blue Ridge Mountain Writers Conference. The Last Waveson: Grafting follows the life of a farm boy turned draka rider in a How to Train Your Dragon meets Lord of The Rings fantasy epic adventure. Will Avortovar risk his future as a […]
May 5, 2014
This week I played 56 holes of Putt Putt with my six-year old son. For you OCD people… yes I know we should have played 54, but we had playoffs. I lost by two strokes, I may have manipulated the score a little bit, but isn’t that what dad’s are supposed to do? I learned a few valuable lessons half way up the mountain where […]
December 31, 2013
Do you want to celebrate New Year’s Eve with your children at a reasonable hour and still go to bed early? Let me share you our new tradition… Last year, we celebrated the New Year at 8pm. We didn’t ruin New Year’s Day by making our children stay up till midnight. They woke up refreshed and excited just like any other day. They weren’t tired […]
December 17, 2013
I hate the elf on the shelf… or at least I did. My wife and I didn’t want to add one more thing to our already long list of holiday traditions. We both mutually decided, no elf. We were going to resist the urge to participate in the “fad”. We already do the polar express, Santa, a chocolate ribbon calendar of Hershey kisses’, etc. One […]
May 28, 2013
This week I played 56 holes of Putt Putt with my six-year old son. For you OCD people… yes I know we should have played 54, but we had playoffs. I lost by two strokes, I may have manipulated the score a little bit, but isn’t that what dad’s are supposed to do? I learned a few valuable lessons half way up the […]
May 15, 2013
When my niece Allie was 5, she frequently asked me imaginative questions about God. One day Allie arranged a pastoral ministry session for me. I waited on the front steps of her house while she gathered several of her friends. A study group gathered, and Allie announced, “My uncle is a preacher, and he can tell you what kinds of ice cream there will be […]
May 10, 2013
When our children were young, Barb and I quickly learned that parenting skills were not intuitive or inherited, so we sought mentors who could help us. Bill and Jane, a couple in our church, the parents of five wonderful daughters, agreed to share dinner with us once a month to discuss parenting issues. I remember the evening that Bill and Jane taught us about what […]
May 4, 2013
My oldest son started high school this fall. At his orientation, the counselors spoke to parents about the greatest challenge they see students face in school. I expected to hear about poor study habits or substance abuse, but to my initial surprise, these were not at the top of the list. Apparently, the greatest challenge presenting itself in the office of the high school guidance […]
April 25, 2013
This week, I am rocking it out to “dubstep” worship music at a ministry conference in Atlanta, Georgia. If you don’t know what dubstep is, you are either old, boring, or my own mother. (Just Kidding) During this conference, we continue to review a statistic that came from two national surveys a few years back from Rethink and Lifeway. Those studies examined adults who stayed […]
October 8, 2015
When it comes to entering writing contests, it’s important to remember that winning can’t be duplicated. Many children’s sports leagues contain participation awards. Writing is very different form children’s sports. Publishers and agents aren’t looking for authors who have received participation awards. They are looking for authors who can write well enough to sell books. Contests often help speed up an agents or publishers search […]
October 5, 2015
War chant from the villainous adversaries in my novel, The First Bondson.
October 1, 2015
A master novelist paints his story with dynamic two-dimensional characters. The characters are woven into the story like puzzle pieces. Each is important to the final picture, but standing alone they bring no significant revelation to the final image. Two-dimensional characters are flat. They lack depth, are partially developed, and often are stereotypically inclined. But stories need two-dimensional characters. They bring the story to life, […]
September 25, 2015
Have you ever read through your manuscript only to realize the same words keep popping up like weeds in a garden? If your answer is yes, relax—we all do it. In the flurry of keystrokes, some words just appear. You didn’t want them. You don’t remember thinking them. But nevertheless, they sprout like common weeds. Your mind can often add unintentional words to your writing. […]