Finally! Some Good News to Share!

 Welcome! I'm so happy I have good news to share in the writing update. There's also been some good things happening in general, so let me get right to the post. 

Author Journey: Writing Update

I am so happy to report progress has been made this week. I managed to sit down and create Scrivener and Campfire files for my upcoming Nano project. Not only that, the Scrivener file contains titles for each of the short stories I want to write. I can't wait to actually get started, though I am still somewhat anxious. 

I don't usually write general fiction that takes place in the world we know. These will be set in modern day or perhaps as far back as post-WW2. I haven't nailed down the specifics yet. I do know some of the topics covered will include military life from a spouse's POV, friendship, loyalty and betrayal, honesty, overcoming difficulties, and faithful living as a Christian. 

Would you like to see the titles? I'll share my ten favorite titles with you, though I can't take credit for them. My plan was to pull titles from a favorite hymn and write vignettes to go with them. The hymn I chose is Faith is the Victory  by John Henry Yates (music by Ira David Sankey). Remember, these are my ten favorites, not in the order they'll necessarily appear in the book. 

1. Christian Soldiers Rise
2. Veil the Glowing Skies
3. His Banner Over Us
4. Saints Above
5. A Whirlwind's Breath
6. They Conquered Death
7. The Foe We Find
8. In Dread Array
9. The Earth Shall Tremble
10. Onward to the Fray

Maybe having seen these, you'll get some ideas to start a new creative work, too. I'm excited to see what this project comes to once it's complete. Having gone through these titles again, I could probably write a memoir using them. I guess we'll see what happens during November. 

On another writing front, I'm trying out a new plotting program called Plottr. It's still very new to me, since I just downloaded it yesterday. I do think it'll bring a freshness to my planning process...when I do planning. I'm usually a plantser, I'll get a general idea of what I'd like to see happen, then just wing it. But the new project needs more detailed planning than that. 

What I like about the program so far:

1.  So many planning options! They've got a planning option for every basic genre (mystery, horror, romance, etc.) and style (poetry, prose, screenplay, etc.)
2. The program has a lifetime purchase option, and several other options for me to choose from. But that lifetime option is what I prefer. This will allow me to download it on my computer and use it offline without the headache of remembering that recurring fee. 
3. Once you purchase the program or pay for your subscription, you can use it on several devices which makes it really versatile. 

It'll be fun to seeing how this program might help me write a better book. I'll keep you posted. 

Another upcoming event is the ALLi Self-Publishing Advice Conference. I wasn't able to attend it last year, but this year's different. I can't wait! Since our internet is better now, I should be able to watch the videos and participate in the Q&A more easily. That's going to be October 19-20. 

Writer's Life: So Many New Things!

There's been a lot going on over the last few months. Since helping with the music portion of our church's worship service while our usual music leader took a short leave, I guess I proved my mettle or something. I was asked to join the regular music worship group this past week and had my first practice with them yesterday. It's going to be a challenge, but one I look forward to. 

We've been having more of our church friends over for meals and fellowship. That's been going well enough. It never fails to crack me up when people see our mannequin heads on display. To me, they're craft projects. But to almost everyone else, they're creepy. shrugs As my mom would say, "To each his own." 

My mom's still having a little trouble with anxiety (well, I think it's anxiety) so your prayers on her behalf are appreciated. We'll see her PCM on Monday and go from there. Hopefully, we can get some answers to what's going on. 

Another thing that's been keeping me busy is feeding and cleaning two little orphan kittens. Their momma just disappeared earlier this week. We saw her eating one day, then we never saw her again after that. The smallest kitten in her litter is now gone, so we think maybe a predator got that one. But the other two are lively, eat well, and right now, are playing outside my window. We have a nice warm kennel to keep them in at night, so hopefully, they'll survive. One is gray. The other is black. 

Spartacus is doing very well. He's extremely uncertain about these kittens that get to eat the "yummier" food. And while I'd normally let him actually check them out rather than just look at them and sort of sniff in their direction, I have no idea what parasites or germs they might have picked up outside. I don't want to risk his health. 

Book Reviews: Joy Ohagwu Inspirational Romances

I read a 3-book collection but wrote separate reviews for each of the books in the collection. I'll share them today. 

Uncommon Ground by Joy Ohagwu
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

If it wasn’t for quite a few oddly worded spots in the story, I would’ve given it five stars. Please do read it if you enjoy suspense romance that clean and with a strong emphasis on faith. The plot made sense to me and the characters were interesting. That made me want to keep reading despite the wording issues. I believe it really is worth your time.

View all my reviews

Unbound Hope by Joy Ohagwu
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Again, some of the wording was stilted, just kind of choppy, in this second book of the series. But the plot worked for me. The MCs were interesting, though I really didn’t understand the heroine’s reluctance to trust someone who proved over and over they were trustworthy. This story is clean and the suspense is mild. The faith element is strong, but not preachy. If you’re a fan of these things, you might enjoy this book. I know I’m moving on to the third book.

View all my reviews

Unshaken Love by Joy Ohagwu
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Good story! I felt like it ran a lot long, but the content was good. The characters were easy to love and root for. It’s a clean romance with more drama/suspense. There was only one mild expletive, spoken by a villain, so it fit well in my opinion. At least, I didn’t find it offensive. I do highly recommend this book as well as the previous books in the series. If you enjoy godly, suspense romance, then you should give it a try.

View all my reviews

What do you think? Do these look interesting to you? 

I'm currently reading the second-to-last story in the Alexa Verde collection I was reading the last time I shared books with you. I took a break from the collection to read a different book by Alexa. I think I read another book after that, then went back to the collection. I'll be finishing that up soon, I think. 

On my autumn TBR, which I share on social media earlier this week, I've added these gems:

1. Duties of Christian Fellowship by John Owen
2. By Grace Alone - How the Grace of God Amazes Me by Sinclair B. Ferguson
3. Assurance - Twenty Tests for God's Children by Susan Heck
4. A Call to Scripture Memory by Susan Heck

Maybe you'd like to add one of these non-fiction, Christian living books to your TBR. I'd love to know which ones look interesting to you. 

Thanks for taking the time to read through this post today. I think the parts that take the longest, are those which require adding links in. Goodreads is a difficult site to work with at times. It took a while to find the book by John Owen. Who knew there'd be 100 pages of books by "John Owen"? I eventually just put the title in. I did find a new book to add to my want to read list, though... Walking Humbly With God by the same author.

I hope you stop by again next Friday. Maybe that post will go out on time. Who knows? 

Until next time,

Keep Turning Pages...