My BIG news

My 400th post seemed like the right time to share something that has been brewing since last fall.

My young adult novel, Never Gone, will release in September.

I'm publishing it as an e-book and a paperback. Little old me. It has taken me a long time to move from being reconciled with the decision to being extremely excited about it. Cautious, perfectionistic person that I am, I've already grown in ways I'm only beginning to understand since I made this decision. Like learning to own who I am and what I think, without backpedaling or wilting in the face of criticism--real or imagined. 

I have confidence in the power of this story. Confidence in the opinions of the 30+ people who read some version of it and encouraged me to pursue publication. Confidence that every professional and creative experience I've had this far in my life has prepared me to make the leap from writer to publisher. Confidence that God will grant me grace each day to walk through the process, faithfully giving it my best effort, if I leave the results to Him.

In the coming weeks, as I busily prepare the edited manuscript for print, I'll share a little about my decision-making process and, of course, news about the book itself.


As part of this transition from writer to author/publisher, I've joined forces with a group of writers of realistic fiction called "The Rabble Writers." Our new site describes us this way: "We're storytellers who play in the shadows, aware there is no compassion without pain. No laughter without silence. No sorrow without love. We celebrate the intimate, the personal and profound. We are the rabble-writers."


Our site not only posts poetry daily, we also engage in conversations about a wide variety of topics we're passionate about. Come on by and say hello!


Did you suspect this news was coming, or have I totally surprised you? Are you naturally cautious or does risk-taking come easily? 

Read More

Putting the con back in confidence? Or the fide?

Periodically I fall into these ditches of apathy, where I have no desire to write or even blog. Every idea strikes me as stupid and I'm absolutely certain I have nothing of value to add to the already burgeoning blogosphere. I read thirty blog posts and comment on three. I feel afraid to be honest about it, because I worry it might be catching. Who wants to be the person turning others' inner worlds into one big "whatever"?

I can stupidly assume others don't get tied up in these neurotic knots. But who's to say they don't? Nothing like apathy to keep you from breaking the silence.

Instead, they (and I) can pretend. "Fake it till you make it," right? Confidence is really just a big con, after all. Pretending you have what it takes. That you're invincible. That death isn't lurking closer than anyone wants to admit.

I don't know about you, but this approach to confidence never works for me. My own soul screams at the fakery. I can remember Samuel picking a king for Israel and having God tell him, "man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."

The word "confidence" literally means "with faith," believing something is true. But believing what? There's the rub.

One can be quite confident that life is futile. Or that suffering is an illusion. Or any host of things. This kind of "negative confidence" leads, as one might expect, to negative outcomes.

Your confidence is what you believe. Not a mask you put on, but a set of truths you live into. Becoming more confident doesn't involve developing a better facade, but discarding lies and genuinely discovering and hanging onto better truths.

Here are a few I'm hanging onto today:

~No one is alone; If I'm in this world, I have a part to play.

~Evil prevails when good people do nothing.

What ideas have given you "negative confidence"? What better truths do you desire to hang onto?

Read More