Mindy Baker is the author of the just released middle-grade novel Soledad and the Curse of the Phoenix. I had the opportunity to ask the author a few questions about her writing process, her inspiration and her life. What is your writing process like? I need to be in a quiet part of the house…
The Literary Resistance
Like the French resistance, Christian authors work in solitude to deliver messages that the culture doesn't like and actively works against. We are the resistance. We resist the culture and the agendas of the age. We resist the use of literature to manipulate and warp the minds of readers, especially the young and vulnerable. We…
Giving our stories the gift of time
Sending out a manuscript too early is like taking your NICU baby home before she has fully developed. Her little lungs are too immature to work properly and her voice isn’t going to be heard. I remember sitting in the NICU with my brand new granddaughter - wires everywhere, alarms going off, specialized nurses scuttling…
The gift of taking a break
Galway~ April began while I was on vacation which gave me, among other things, a ten-day break from social media. One reason for that was practical. I don’t think it’s wise to announce to the world when your home is empty. I also wanted to enjoy my vacation without the stress of posting, coming up…
Writers as image bearers
As a writer of middle-grade fantasy as well as a life-long reader, I have long been conflicted over the use of magic in Christian stories. Sunlight breaks through a forest As believers and writers, we have no need to employ an external force in order to create the supernatural. We need only use our God-given…
Lifting each other up
“A rising tide lifts all boats.” John F. Kennedy. Investment in the economy benefits all those who participate in it. Therefore, everyone in that economy, theoretically, would encourage that investment. However, a disturbing economic reality is that sometimes the more apt word picture is that of crabs in a bucket. When one begins to climb…
The Gatekeeper’s Daughter: an update
If you’ve been following along, you will know that my seventh book, The Gatekeeper’s Daughter, is currently in revision. What that really means is I am currently spending every day working through my manuscript chapter by chapter and line by line. The big picture, developmental edit is done. Now for a closer look. Characterization, plot…
The Select Few
When I began writing my first book, I was thrown into a new world, the world of marketing. I am a writer, not a marketer, and yet it seemed marketing was to be as big a part of my new calling as the actual writing was. I took in as much advice as possible, implemented…
An epic adventure
Writing a story is like visiting a friend you haven’t yet met. You enter their environment, go along on their adventures, meet new people, and learn new things. Every time you start a fresh story you are entering another world. At first, you don’t know what or who you will encounter and it is tedious…
Guest Post: Author Susan Phelan
Susan Phelan is an author of children's fiction. Her middle grade book Miss Classified, published by Chicken Scratch Books, explores the world through the eyes of a child with ADHD. "I see life through the lens of story. As a little girl my mom would get me to finish dinner by telling me to eat…
