The Psalms has always been one of my favorite books. It is during times like my sisters broken engagement that I find myself in this book often. One of my favorites for the times when I am hurting is Psalm 42. What do I get from this Psalm? If I could summarize it I would say that it is a simply someone on their knees before God saying:
“God, I’m not okay, but you are.”

When life is hard, the truth that no matter what we feel, God is with us, is good, and is unchanging is huge. Just listen to part of this Psalm and you will see what I mean.

The Psalm goes on for several more verses, but you get the idea. This person was being brutally honest. They didn’t feel good. They felt dry, discouraged, downcast, and were searching for answers. Yet, they knew they could put their trust in God when they didn’t feel like it.

In some of the dark times in my life I have taken comfort from this Psalm and the raw honesty it has presented alongside real hope. Sometimes, I’m not okay. However, I’m grateful that God always is.

I love ya’ll. You are my faithful readers. The people that have helped make my writing dreams come true. In fact, this year has been my best in sales yet! Now, it is time for me to give back to you.

Announcing August Amazingness. Every day for the month of August, I will be giving away prizes, offering books for free, and sharing with you inside information. The special features this year?

• Audiobook giveaways
• Video commentary on three of my books
• And a ninety-nine cent sale for one of my books
Keep your attention on this blog starting August first.

Do you have some friends who might be interested in my books? This is the time to let them know. You can use this invite to tell them about it.

So, I have this new plot, Guilt and Grace, that is pulling at me. When I have an idea fresh on my mind, often the first thing I want to do is drop everything and work on it. After all, it is new and exciting. Often what I am working on is fun, but not as exciting if I have been working on it for a while. So, how do I cope with the desire to drop everything and write on the new story? Here are a few of the things I do.

Write about one-thousand words in the story. I actually did this for Guilt and Grace. Allowing myself to write some in the story helps with the initial urge, and often allows me to move on.

Jot down the ideas that come to me, even if it is in the middle of something else. Some of the best inspiration comes when I am least expecting it. I am using my WriteMind Planner to keep all my notes for this story and keep it on hand as I’m working. I jot it down and then return my focus to my work.

I try to remember what sparked my interest on my current project. Sometimes, in the midst of editing or writing one of the duller parts of a story, it is easy to forget why I wanted to write it. Remembering what sparked my excitement for it helps me to be distracted from the pull for a new story.

Just having deadlines for myself is a motivator. Sure, I want to work on this new story but I don’t want to fall further behind on the projects I already have.

What do you do when something pulls your attention away from the task at hand?

As I said in my last post, if I started in on every new idea that came into my head, I would never finish a project. So, when an idea hits me hard enough that I know I have to write a story, I place it in the writing queue. What is this writing queue you ask? It is my way of keeping track of where I need to be and what is up next. It is the lineup of books for both editing and writing.

What to know something odd? I don’t think I have written it down very often. Part of that is because it changes often. However, If you ask me at any given point, I can tell you what is next for instance, here is what my writing queue looks like right now.

The list can go on and on, but I will end it there for now. My editing queue is also lined up in my brain very clearly.

And so it goes on, not only queueing written projects, but ones still yet to be written. Of course, I like to give projects names for the queue. As you can see, there is a shocking lack of titled books. The Kate series seems to be one of those that a title doesn’t come until it is written. However, I’m excited to unveil the working title for G&G to you.

Buy it Here
Age Appropriate For: 10 and up
Best for Ages: 15 and up

Description: The mystery surrounding their father’s criminal accusations is almost as hard to solve as the many puzzles springing on their hearts. 
Canton, Ohio, 1935. Ellen and Marion Dashiell’s world crumbles when their father is sent to prison. Forced to relocate to a small town, what is left of their family faces a new reality where survival overshadows dreams. Sensible Ellen, struggling to hold the family together, is parted from the man she’s just learning to love, while headstrong Marion fears she will never be the actress she aspires to be. When a dashing hero enters the scene, things only grow more complicated. But could a third man hold the key to the restoration and happiness of the Dashiell family?

I have a confession to make. I pushed my way through watching two different versions of Sense and Sensibility and did not enjoy either. Marianne drove me crazy with her over-dramatizing of everything and, while I loved Elinor, she couldn’t save the films for me. However, I knew I loved Bryant’s work, and so I wanted to give this book a try. I am so glad I did.

Bryant was able to make me feel as if I had been transported back to Canton in 1935, so vivid were the descriptions. The settings were wonderfully descriptive and captured the places and feelings of the time. I felt as if I was visiting the places as they were in 1935.

Ellen and Marion were perfect. They captured not only the original characters but also the spirit of the time. Ellen captured the seriousness of the times and the properness of times past. Marion captured the dreams for a better future and the effects of the 20’s. I loved the plot twist that their father was alive and accused of a crime. It added an interesting dynamic to the story and to the two sisters.

The faith element in this story was wonderful. It wasn’t forced, overdone, or neglected. Each character, like in life, has a different struggle. The story gives a gentle message of faith that is woven almost imperceptibly into the story at times, yet when it comes to the end, you can see how it has been there the whole time.

As with Bryant’s other books, you won’t find any objectionable content in this story. Even the romance is in keeping with Jane Austen’s gentle, non-physical standards. It is rare to find a book that deals with real issues so well yet so clean.

I highly recommend this to those who love historical fiction, Jane Austen, and clean fiction.

When an idea hits me, I want to drop everything else and work on it. However, if I did that, I'm pretty sure that none of my books would ever be finished. I have found my WriteMind Planner (link to review) to be extremely helpful to help me capture ideas quickly so I can get back to the work at hand.

When inspiration struck for G&G I was able to jot down the idea on one of the story sheets. It was helpful to be able just to fill in the blanks.

I started compiling a character list, as I planned to bring in some of the characters from some of the previous stories.

I am now filling out character sheets as further inspiration hits.
And when I get ideas about pivotal scenes, I am also able to jot them down.

Used to, I would make notes on random pieces of paper or a document. This notebook is making my notes far more organized.

I talked about at the beginning of the Holman Writing Adventure series that I wanted to take you from concept to publishing. However, it seems that I haven’t really brought you along with me from the very first with a story. Well, now I will.

It all started when I finished writing Escape and Endurance. I can’t wait to share this story with you, as it is a twist on the old princess-in-a-tower story. However, there was a princess in this story who was very annoying originally, I thought this would be her one and only appearance in a Taelis story, but that was not to be.

I have actually started F&F which is a very fun tale where one of Christopher’s (from Courage and Corruption) children travels beyond to borders of Taelis. However, as I have been working on Fabia’s tale, I found myself writing sections that had some to do with the princess in Escape and Endurance (Fabia’s sister). Suddenly, an old plot idea came to mind of a princess who runs away from the castle. Princess Gail now had a story, but I needed someone who would come after her and a reason they would do it, not just duty.

Philip was a side character I loved in Escape and Endurance and he seemed to be just the man for the job but I needed to give him a compelling reason. In the middle of editing, it came to me – he loves Gail. He knows that he does not have the rank to ever marry her. Even if he did, she is an angry woman who does not love God so he would never pursue her.

Don’t worry, those are just the elements of the story right now. I don’t plan to make the story about the romance. However, I can’t wait to dive into the story about self-control and God’s faithfulness.
That is the concept. Keep reading to find out how this book changes over the next few months.

“I will never surrender or retreat. Victory or death” ~ William Travis of the Alamo
Surrender is not a popular theme or concept. In Texas, we are built as stubborn as they come. Mules have nothing compared to some of us when it comes to stubbornness. Just in listening to me talk alone, you might get the idea that I, and most Texans, would still rather die than give up on…well, anything. Yet, surrender is at the heart of what we as Christians are supposed to do.

A few weeks ago, I read a powerful book by Andrew Murray called Absolute Surrender. The concept was not new to me, after all I wrote about surrender in Courage and Corruption. However, I have a tendency to start trying to take control of part of my life and I needed to be reminded of this powerful concept once again. God also knew that I would need this message for what was about to happen.

When an army surrenders, they drop their weapons and offer some gesture that they will no longer fight, like raising their empty hands into the air or kneel. They are at the mercy of the conquerors and ready to do anything that they are told to.

When we become Christians, we realize that we have done wrong surrender to Jesus and prepare to change our lives to match the commands he has given. After all, he conquered death and sin on our behalf. Yet, too often I try to help God by taking over parts of my heart and life. Stress, worry, heartache, and sin is the result.

There are some things that happen that are out of my control, like my sister’s engagement coming to an end. I look at the hurting people around me and I have a choice: I can either surrender myself to God and allow Him to be my strength and to show me what he would have me do, or I can act on my own. It is a high stress situation and I know what I would do in that case. I normally become very self-focused (after all, I am hurting for my sister) and irritable. Having just read Absolute Surrender I was able to put some of the things that I had just learned into practice. I still struggled, but I found (once again) that when I am weak, God is strong.

What has God been teaching you?

After an amazing blog tour, the day is finally here! Dreams and Devotion is available on Kindle!
Due to my error, the paperback is a bit behind. In August, I hope to work out all the bugs from the three books waiting to arrive in paperback.

This book has been hard to write because it carries so much of my heart. It is honestly difficult for me to share with the world this very personal story. There are always critics and people who won’t like my books. With a book that feels this personal, it is harder to allow others to read it and like it or dislike it. Yet, I think this story is one that God can use. You can pick up a copy for only $4.99

Not sure about it? Check out these reviews and blog posts.

Okay, so one of the most awesome birthday gifts I received this year was WriteMind Planner from my sister Mikayla. I have wanted one since they first came out but haven’t worked one into my budget. Now, I have one that was a gift. Pretty awesome, right?

The whole system is touted as being able to pull out and rearrange at will. I was a bit skeptical. I mean, the closest I have come to that is a three ring binder and I seem to have a talent for spilling the contents of those across my floor. This system really does work. Pages do not fall out but it super easy to pull them out, without tearing or pulling more than one, and put them back in again.

The plastic cover makes me not have to worry about water so much around it, as I'm spill-prone (okay, I admit, I’m a klutz). With a cover that I find very inspiring and cool, and movable tabs that match, what is not to love? With all the cool features, this has become my writing brain.

This has really helped me to visually keep up with my goals and how much I have been writing. I have pulled it out a few times to write on it and it works really well. I will be buying a refill for next year.
I was really excited by the nice thick stack of these that came with the notebook. I love them and use them all the time.

I love this setup! It is an easy way for me not only to keep track of ideas (4 per sheet) but also helps me to keep track of where I am in the process.
When I want to make a quick note or jot down an idea, these sheets have proved so helpful. Having spaces to fill in cuts down on my writing time, especially since I use it to write down those ideas that pop into my head when I should be doing other things (like editing).

I am horrible at remembering to keep a journal, but I am finding that this is a good reminder to me to keep writing down my thoughts. I love again that there are places with spaces just to fill in so it takes some of the brain work out of it.


Since I am using this as my catch all when it comes to writing, this was a must and I have used it so much. I am guessing that I will have to order more when I go to order my 2018 calendar.

Okay, I am really excited about this! I have hand drawn a map of my world, Taelis, but I am looking forward to putting it on a much cooler map.

Over all, this is a writer’s dream planner. I highly recommend it. Not only are you getting a great product, but you are supporting a Christian homeschool mom. You can buy it here.