Balancing Ambition with Reality on Writing Goals

 Erin Bartel      @ErinLBartels

I have set my writing goals for 2021 the same way I set them for every other year: balancing ambition with reality. Only this year I have a better sense of what reality will be! Now that we’re over the shock and fear and confusion phase of the pandemic and into the part where we can see light at the end of the tunnel, I am moving into this new year with hope and expectation. I want to front-load the year with drafting and revising while events are still virtual, and by fall I want to be back to in-person events. My family had to reschedule a trip to Yellowstone we’d planned for last year. My goal is to have a finished, polished draft of my current work-in-progress before we hop on that plane in June.

It has been slower going with the pandemic to finish the manuscript I have been working on. I had thought when I started writing it at the beginning of 2020 that I’d have the first draft done by the end of the year, but in reality I have only managed to get to the halfway point. So, in that superficial way, it has changed my writing. But in a deeper way, thinking of the topics I’m writing about or my writing style, I don’t think it has affected it at all.

Characters Giving Speeches

 Susan Reichert                 @swmeditor

As writers, we normally do not think in terms of anything but fiction, non-fiction, poetry, essays, memoirs, and short stories.

But in listening to the news last night, they replayed a few lines from a speech from a politician and I decided as writers we probably do not think of writing speeches. But some people make good money writing speeches for politicians and senior level executives both in government and in the private sector.

Did you know they also hire speech writers to write for weddings and all kinds of social occasions?

The speechwriter will work with the person they are writing the speech for to determine the theme, points to cover, the message the person wants to get across and what position he wants to take.

Executive speechwriter Anthony Trendl writes, “Speechwriters specialize in a kind of writing that merges marketing, theater, public relations, sales, education and politics all in one presentation.”

So now we know those speeches we here are written to get us on the side of the speech giver!

As writers we are used to getting comments, good or bad…in other words criticism, on our writing so we will not be surprised that this also happens in speechwriting. Each draft you write will go through this procedure until you have it just the way the person wants it.

Writing a speech for someone is like writing a speech for a character in a fiction novel. The direction you start the story in the character often will go a different way. It is the same way with the person you are writing the speech for. What they think they want will turn out to go in a different direction after a draft or two.

You also must work with tight deadlines. Well, authors work with deadlines when they are writing a novel for their publishers. So, this want be a problem for most writers.

One of the things a speechwriter must know up front when writing speeches for other people, they must be able to accept anonymity. A speechwriter is like a ghostwriter. They do not officially get acknowledgement.

We all remember John F. Kennedy’s words, “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.” Who should get the credit? John F. Kennedy or Ted Sorensen (the speechwriter) or to both?

Theodore Roosevelt’s speech “Duties of American Citizenship” one of the 35 greatest speeches in history as is Winston Churchill’s “We Shall Fight on the Beaches.”

There is a speechwriter’s guild, “The UK Speechwriters’ Guild” for professional writers who specialize in writing speeches. From what I can find, speechwriters do not usually have specific training in the area and/or the field in which the speech is written for. Oh, and most speechwriters do not have specific training in the writing craft, at least not that I have been able to find. Check with the Guild.

It helps if you are a speechwriter to enjoy research. A great deal must be done on the topic for which the speech is being written. Many authors know what it is to do research when writing their books.

If you are an outliner you will waltz through writing the framework for the speech. Remember what we have been told…know your audience…who are you going to market to? Same for a speechwriter.

Well, who knows, with all the experience writers have it might be fun to offer our services to writing a speech?

Do you think as a writer you would like to write a speech? You might decide you do not want to do it for a living, but you might enjoy writing a speech for a character in your book.

What are your thoughts? The book you are writing now, any possible chance you might have a character in the book you could write a speech for? 

Susan Reichert is the founder of Southern Author Services and Editor of Suite T. Prior to this was the co-publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Southern Writers Magazine, a national magazine for authors and readers. 

She is the author of God’s Prayer Power and Storms in Life, numerous magazine articles, and in 9 anthology books. Speaker at writing conferences, seminars, libraries, and President of Collierville Christian Writers Group (CCWriters Group). 

Reichert discovered one of her life’s purposes when she began to write. “First, it was short stories as a child and some Saturday afternoons you could find Susan, her sister and friends acting out the stories. “My first novel I wrote, the manuscript was lost in a move. Now I write using a computer.”

Susan lives in Tennessee with her husband. They have four grown daughters with their own families.

You can visit Susan at www.susanlreichert.com; https:susanreichert.blogspot.com; https://www.facebook.com/SusanLeeReichert; https://twitter.com/swmeditor; https://www.linkedin.com/in/susan-reichert-55922a13/; 

Bring In 2021

 

Pantone, the standard language for color, has chosen two colors for the new year of 2021. Gray and Yellow.

I understand the yellow is to show the light at the end of the tunnel and the gray represents the darkness of what we have experienced in 2020.

In other words, we are coming out of the darkness into the light.

I wish you all a Happy New Year.

Let us be grateful for new beginnings. To make this our very best year.

May you all be happy, healthy, safe and prosperous in 2021. And may we remember to thank God for all our blessings.

May we bring in 2021 treating others as we would like to be treated.

Love to all,

Happy New Year

Closing Out 2020

Susan Reichert

I have been trying to decide how to bid farewell to 2020. As I look back through the months, I am reminded how quick things can change. In February we were attending a wedding and in March we are told there is a virus spreading across the world that is killing people.

Now we wear mask, make sure there is six feet between us and others, stay away from crowds.

Even though this is a terrible thing that happened causing sickness, death, loss of jobs, and business closings we do see light coming with a vaccine that they have begun using to vaccinate across the country and other parts of the world.

However, rather than focus on the bad things of 2020, I would like to focus on the good things of 2020.

For the first time in a long time, families had to stay at home with each other and reacquaint themselves. Remember families are most important in our lives.

We are appreciating our families and not taking them for granite. We also are finding ways to keep in touch with friends remembering how much they mean to us.

As for writers, many have spent this time writing and publishing books. What else could we do but write? For me, I am almost finished writing one book and will begin the editing process in a couple of weeks and half-finished on another. Many of my friends have finished two books this year.

So how will we remember 2020? Grateful we survived it. Hopefully, we got our priorities straight.

Even though they closed our church my husband and I continued to attend online every Sunday but one. A lot of my friends tell me they got closer to not only their families but also to God and spending time with Him.

I pray that as we end this year, we will remember how great it was to spend time with our families and do things together––in our homes and backyards. Let us take this with us into the new year. Let us put our focus on God to see us into the new year with a new appreciation for life.

Susan Reichert, author of God's Prayer Power and Storms in Life. Susan is the founder of Southern Author Services. The past co-publisher of Southern Writers Magazine and the Editor-in-Chief. Editor of Suite T. President of Collierville Christian Writers Group (CCWriters Group).

 Susan and her family live in Tennessee.

https:// www.southernauthorservices.com

Contact Susan: editor@southernauthorservices.com 

 https://twitter.com/swmeditor?lang=en ;

 https://www.susanlreichert.com/

7 Things To Do When Social Media Frustrates You

Edie Melson

I wish I had a nickel for everyone who’s told me that Social Media just doesn’t work for them.

Let me suggest, respectfully, that you’re just going about it the wrong way.

These tips will help realign the time you spend on social media, giving it structure and encouraging interaction.


1. Go back to doing the basics. I teach that to have an effective social media presence on the Internet you need to do three things: Facebook, Twitter, and Blogging. The reason you must use Facebook and Twitter is because, no matter what or who you’re promoting, you’ll find almost one hundred percent of your audience on these two networks. There are other valuable platforms like Instagram and Pinterest, so those may be better choices in certain instances, but in general Facebook and Twitter are the gold standards.


You also need to be blogging someplace regularly. Notice I did NOT say you have to have a blog. I said you must be blogging somewhere, regularly. It could be a group blog or professional blog where you have a regular column. The idea is to have somewhere to send your audience so they can interact with you on a deeper level than social media. Think of it as a place to sit down and have coffee with them, to get to know each other better.



2. Quit trying to be fair. By this I mean you’re trying to spend the same amount of time on all the social networks you’re involved with. Each of us has differing personalities. I’m better at some ways of engagement than you are. For instance, I excel at Twitter, but not at Facebook. So, I spend most of my time on Twitter because I get a better return on investment. I don’t ignore Facebook, but I know my limitations and my strengths, and I work to those.



3. Stop trying to do too much. These days we’re all busy…crazy busy sometimes. So why make yourself even crazier by trying to do it all. I remember a commercial in the 70s that showed a beautiful woman holding a frying pan, singing a song about how she can bring home the bacon and fry it up in a pan. The prevailing myth was women, as well as men, could do it all. Maybe some can. But I must ask, who wants to? Not me. Work on the basics, then just add what you can handle and/or what you enjoy. Remember, this is a means to an end, not the point of your existence!



4. Change your unrealistic expectations. Unless all the stars in the universe line up exactly right and spell out your name, with your blog’s URL and social media accounts, growing a following takes time.



5. Start—or Return to—being consistent. Blogging on a schedule for six weeks isn’t long enough to grow a following or even tell if you have an audience that’s interested—ESPECIALLY if you’re not also being consistent at social media. How long should you do it? Minimum of six months straight. Then come to me and tell me that social media doesn’t work. At that point we’ll have something to talk about.



6. Stop spending too much time on it. Yep, you read that right. After you come up to speed on social media, I recommend you spend NO MORE than thirty minutes a day on social networks and a one-to-two-hour block of time, once a week, writing your blog posts for the week.



7. Quit only talking about yourself. One of the biggest mistakes I see with social media is people confusing it with mass marketing. Let me ask you a question. Do you engage with people who are constantly trying to get something from you? If you don’t like to engage with advertisers, you can bet no one else will. Instead post things on social media that are valuable to those who follow or friend you. Talk about them, share interesting tips gleaned from others, promote other people. I know it sounds counterintuitive, but I guarantee you it works


Building an online presence isn’t a one-size-fits-all proposition. But when we have a foundation in place, we can build it into something valuable. 

As an author, blogger, and speaker she’s encouraged and challenged audiences across the country and around the world. She’s penned numerous books, including While My Child is Away a book of prayers for when we’re apart.

As a leading professional within the publishing industry, she travels to numerous conferences as a popular keynote, writing instructor and mentor. Her top-ranked blog for writers, The Write Conversation, reaches thousands each month, and she’s the Director of the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference.

In addition, as a respected expert in social media, Edie has the proven expertise to teach others how to plug in without sacrificing valuable writing time. Her bestselling eBook on this subject, has recently been updated, expanded and re-released as Connections: Social Media & NetworkingTechniques for Writers.

She’s the Director of the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference, the Social Media Director for the now retired Southern Writers Magazine, and the Social Media Mentor for My Book Therapy. She’s a member of the Advanced Writers and Speakers Association, regular columnist for Guideposts.org, Just18Summers.com, and PuttingOnTheNew.com. She and her husband, Kirk, have been married 35 years and raised three sons. They live in the Upstate of South Caroline. Connect with her on Twitter and Facebook.

Even With Pandemic, Writing Has Goals

Jennifer Deibel

Did the pandemic change my writing in some way? Hmmmm, I don’t know that it has changed my writing style at all. However, during this time I have learned how to write productively outside of my ideal conditions. Before, I would hole up alone, in the silence, and write for hours on end. As you might imagine, I didn’t often write as much as I wanted because of that! Pandemic life changed that.

My family needed me—and I needed them. The majority of my second book was written sitting at the kitchen table with the chaos of a family of 5 at home all day every day swirling around me. And I grew to love it! I feel like they are much more part of the second book, simply because they were in my periphery rather than blocked out entirely. While I do still enjoy a good isolated writing session, I don’t know that I will ever go back to pursuing that exclusively.

Has the virus affected my writing? Oh my, so very much. When everything first shut down, I was so excited to have some extra time to write! I ended up with an extra week of spring break, during which I was not suppose to do any work, so I planned to use that time to write as much as I could. However, my mind was just…blocked. As time wore on, and I adjusted to quarantine life, I found my muse again. I wrote the bulk of book 2 in the month of July. The words were flying and flowing like mad! It was amazing!

But then, the new school year started. We were online the first quarter, and I suddenly found myself working 10-12 hours a day, 7 days a week. I was exhausted and soul-weary. I was in sheer survival mode and didn’t touch a thing to do with my own writing for nearly 3 months.

Now, I seem to have found the balance again and am able to start being creative again.

The idea for my new book, A Dance in Donegal started as a way for me to process our experience of living in Donegal for 2 years early on in our marriage.

That time we spent there was so refining. Those were, in many ways, the hardest 2 years of our lives. But at the same time, it was also a time of intense growth and blessing. After we returned, I found myself pining to return, while at the same time vowing “never again.”

Then, the idea for a story struck me, and I just had to get it on paper. I first started writing it way back in 2004 not long after we returned. Once our daughter was born in early 2005, it sat for years.

I finally picked it back up in 2011, and worked on it sporadically until I finally completed it in January 2017. Writing this story became a way for me to honor our time there, while exploring more deeply all the things I love so much about Ireland and her people.

The descriptions of the lush Irish countryside were by far the easiest parts of the book for me to write. There is no shortage of fodder for the eye in Ireland, and the landscape has a way of seeping into the soul of all who behold it.

The most difficult thing for me was to accurately express what the culture is truly like. So many feel that they understand Ireland, when most of us have barely scratched the surface. There is so much more to the Irish people and culture than shamrocks, luck, and beer. They are a deep, complex people who have overcome so much across the centuries.

Over the nearly 6 years we spent there, the Irish outlook shaped my own so much, and I wanted desperately to give others a glimpse of the authentic Irish life and experience.

My first and main goal for the new year for my writing will be to finish my manuscript for my second book which is due to my editor at Revell in early February.

After that, I will work on plotting out my next few story ideas! I have several rattling around in my head, but I haven’t had the time to really sit down and focus on which one I feel lead to pursue.

Jennifer Deibel is a middle school teacher whose work has appeared on
(in)courage, on The Better Mom, in Missions Mosaic magazine, and others. With
firsthand immersive experience abroad, Jennifer writes stories that help redefine
home through the lens of culture, history, and family. After nearly a decade of
living in Ireland and Austria, she now lives in Arizona with her husband and their
three children. 

You can find her online at www.thisgalsjourney.com.

Merry Christmas

 

A Special Blessing and Wish

 

May you and your families be safe and healthy!

Discovering the Secrets of Wonderland

Regina Scott

I love research. I love delving deep into history to discover interesting tidbits about how people lived, worked, worshipped, entertained themselves, fell in love, married, and raised their children. The information I gather helps me flesh out my characters, bolster my plot, and bring settings to life. And I never know when one of those tidbits is going to spark a new story entirely!

Such was the case for my October 2020 release, Nothing Short of Wondrous, the second in my American Wonders Collection. The novels are all set in the history surrounding our national parks.

I was researching information on the Army Corps of Engineers and their survey crews for my 2019 release, A Distance Too Grand, set in 1873 Arizona Territory. The characters in that book undertake the first Army survey of the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. U.S. Cavalry officers often accompanied these surveys for protection. One line in a research book tantalized me.

“The U.S. Cavalry was also called in to manage Yellowstone National Park.”

Interesting.

So, I dug some more. Yellowstone National Park was our first national park. There was nothing like it in any other nation at that time either. So, our leaders in Washington, D.C., weren’t too sure how to manage it. They knew it must be protected so that future generations would be able to enjoy its splendors too. But the first superintendent of the park attempted to manage the millions of acres from across the country.

That did not go well.

Subsequent superintendents moved out West but also struggled to find ways to protect land spread so far and wide and so varied: mountains, rivers, waterfalls, lakes, and the amazing thermal features for which the park is famous. By 1886, vandals were carving their names in the formations. Poachers were killing game in the park or starting wildfires that drove the animals beyond the boundaries, where they could be killed with impunity. Even well-meaning visitors broke off pieces of the geysers to take away as souvenirs.

Enter Troop M of the 1st U.S. Cavalry. On the direction of Congress, they rode into Yellowstone in August 1886, determined to protect and defend the area the public was coming to know as Wonderland. I discovered the reports of Captain Moses Harris, the first commanding officer, available online. They make for fascinating reading. Through them, I learned the kinds of structures built to accommodate the cavalrymen, how Harris organized them to cover so large a territory, and the problems they encountered along the way.

Including the fact that the first snow fell in September that year, right in the middle of my story. You can bet I worked that into the story!

Yellowstone National Park also has its own Heritage and Research Center, and many of its treasures are digitized, giving me more insight into how park tourism and hotels were managed in those early days. I also located the e-mail address of the park historian, who graciously answered my nitpicky questions about how visitors were fed when there was no hunting in the park (the “meat wagon” came through from outside the park on the regular basis!) and how the early tour companies functioned (one driver, one group of tourists, together for days). The National Park Service even has a digitized set of recordings, so you can hear what geysers and mud pots sound like. I’d visited Yellowstone in the past, but reminders of what it’s like to tour Wonderland only whet my appetite to go again.

Ah, research! Nothing like it to discover the secrets of your story.

 Regina Scott is the author of more than 50 works of warm, witty historical romance, including A Distance Too Grand. Her writing has won praise from Booklist and Library Journal, and she was twice awarded the prestigious RT Book Reviews best book of the year in her category. A devotee of history, she has learned to fence, driven four-in-hand, and sailed on a tall ship, all in the name of research. She and her husband of 30 years live south of Tacoma, Washington, on the way to Mt. Ranier.

Visit Regina at: https://www.reginascott.com/

A Chance Meeting With An Angel

Dennis Bailey

Hello, I’m Dennis Bailey and I’m the author of the “just in time for Christmas” thriller, The Boy Who Cried Christmas. Before continuing, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Susan for inviting me to be a guest on Suite T and giving me this opportunity to tell you the story of how a chance meeting with an angel on the streets of New York City leads a skeptical young boy back in time to meet the newborn Messiah. There, he faces threats from a number of adversaries, including a king named Herod. However, when he returns to the present, he faces as much skepticism about the veracity of his ordeal as he did physical danger while visiting the past.


I think one of the toughest decisions for an author to make is what to write for their second novel. It’s a unique circumstance, one to which their third, fourth, fifth, and every book following seems immune. This is especially true if their first title experiences even a modicum of success. The pall of suffering the dreaded sophomore jinx can prove quite debilitating.


People often ask where writers get their inspiration. In my case, beyond the leading of the Holy Spirit, that’s not an easy question to answer. I knew I wanted to write a Christmas story. I just didn’t know when. For my theme, I chose a story about a spoiled brat sent back in time to witness the birth of Christ, who would then return to a cool reception of incredulity at the testimony of his experience. Thus, the tie-in to Aesop’s famous fable about a boy who cried wolf. The title character from “A Charlie Brown Christmas” provided the inspiration for my protagonist, Logan. Like many of you, I’d watched Charlie’s story on television every year since childhood, yet always hoped for him to have had a more personal experience with the Messiah. I was, therefore, determined for Logan to have that experience and so created the character of Robert to escort him back to Bethlehem.


What writer looking to craft the character of an angel doesn’t immediately think of Clarence Odbody, the kindly old man sent to save George Bailey in the holiday classic “It’s a Wonderful Life?” Tempted as I was to use Clarence as my template, instead I opted for a man in his thirties, deceased World War II hero Robert. Choosing a younger man to play the part of an angel not only allowed him to better identify with Logan, but also to more easily relate to my co-protagonist, forty-something FBI Agent Marcus Garraway.


2020 has been a difficult year for all of us. My hope for all those reading this book is that they will be able to experience a small taste of the wonder and excitement, the childlike faith that brought the Christmas story to life for Logan. In a world fraught with worldwide disease, social unrest, and political upheaval, the message of the manger remains an enduring truth. And aren’t we all thankful for that?


Merry Christmas!

Dennis Bailey is a retired police detective who turned in his gun and badge for a monitor and keyboard. He is an ardent student of the Bible who felt the calling of God on his heart to take that learning and use it to further His glory. 

Dennis’s first novel, Army of God, a story about how the animals of Noah’s Ark rose up to defend it against an invading army, is a Readers’ Favorite 2020 Gold Medal Award Winner.

For an even better flavor for The Boy Who Cried Christmas check out video trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jT3Ga7ziKTQ

Visit Dennis at  https://dennisbaileyfiction.com/

Christmas Songs for Writers

 DiAnn Mills

Are Christmas songs rolling through your head, making it difficult to concentrate on your writing project? I’m humming and singing along to favorites and loving the distraction. Is it possible to change the words to our fun Christmas songs and make them more writerly? Can you help me finish any of these?

“White Christmas” 

I’m dreaming of a new contract. 

With every Christmas card I write . . . 

“Jingle Bells” 

Jingle bells, jingle bells 

Jingle all the way 

Oh what fun it is to write 

In a comfy chair today. 

“It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas” 

It’s beginning to look a lot like edits. 

Everywhere I go . . . 

“Baby, It’s Cold Outside” 

I really must write (but baby, you have no deal) 

My deadline is tonight. (but baby, you have no deal) . . . 

“Rudolph, the Red-nosed Reindeer” 

Rudolph, the one who’s published, 

Had a very shiny hook. 

And if you stop to read it. 

You’d even buy the book. 

“All I Want for Christmas is You” 

All I want for Christmas is a good review. 

“Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” 

Have yourself a little writing conference. 

Make your hard work bright . . . 

“Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” 

Rockin’ around the Christmas tree with a social media twist . . . 

“You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” 

You’re a mean one, Mr. Editor 

You keep sending back my prose. 

You’re picky and your stubborn 

You’re details makes me cry, 

You’re a mean one, Mr. Editor . . . 

“Up On the Housetop” 

Up on the laptop words do fly 

Out jumps more than who or why. 

Off to the agent with lots of prayer . . . 

“Santa Claus is Coming to Town” 

Santa Claus is coming to town. 

He’s making a list, checking those hints 

Gonna find out if I have an agent. 

“Frosty the Snowman” 

Frosty the snowman was a suspense writer, they say . . . 

“Last Christmas” 

Last Christmas, I gave you my book. 

The very next day you refused a look . . . 

I didn’t use the traditional Christmas carols. The words and the meaning are much too sacred and precious. So let me suggest when the season becomes a bit too hectic, allow the sweet sounds of “Silent Night,” “God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman,” “Oh, Little Town of Bethlehem,” and “Joy to the World” fill you with the reason for the season.



For some fun, how about completing one of the songs above OR writing an original verse to one of your favorite Christmas songs and sharing with us in the comments below?

DiAnn Mills is a bestselling author who believes her readers should expect an adventure. She weaves memorable characters with unpredictable plots to create action-packed, suspense-filled novels. DiAnn believes every breath of life is someone’s story, so why not capture those moments and create a thrilling adventure? Her titles have appeared on the CBA and ECPA bestseller lists; won two Christy Awards; and been finalists for the RITA, Daphne Du Maurier, Inspirational Readers’ Choice, and Carol award contests. DiAnn is a founding board member of the American Christian Fiction Writers, a member of Advanced Writers and Speakers Association, Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, and International Thriller Writers. She is the director of The Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writers Conference, Mountainside Marketing Conference, and the Mountainside Novelist Retreat with social media specialist Edie Melson where she continues her passion of helping other writers be successful.



Visit DiAnn Mills at https://diannmills.com/, https://www.facebook.com/diannmills, https://twitter.com/diannmills

How All Through The Night Came About ~ Part 2

Tara Johnson

continued . . .

Since Cadence is desperate to become a nurse, I knew Joshua would need to directly oppose her goals, at least in the beginning. What better opposition could a nurse have than a stubborn doctor? As their relationship grows, I loved that Joshua becomes her biggest cheerleader but is blind to his own flaws. In many ways, Cadence and Joshua are both struggling with facets of the same issue . . . being accepted. They just have different ways of handling their wounds. This is true for many relationships. The way we see the world is filtered through our past, and that filter affects how we deal with fear. I loved exploring Cadence’s and Joshua’s emotions and the way they see the world.

My favorite character to write is the humorous secondary character. They lend so much charm, charisma, and wisdom to a story. They usually bring an opportunity for the reader to take a breath but also give the main character a chance to reflect on some sage advice . . . even if it’s delivered in a comical manner. I relate to this character because I’m a bit this way myself! Laughter is great medicine but it also speaks truth.

For years, I was a singer and songwriter signed with a Christian record label. When I was diagnosed with gastroparesis, and I began to lose my ability to sing for long stretches of time, I was confused. I thought God had told me he would use my voice to tell others about him.

As I began singing less and writing more in my personal blog, I gained more and more followers. Stories soon began to flood my mind. A friend suggested I attend the national American Christian Fiction Writers conference, and after some encouragement from my husband, I went with a good amount of trepidation. In my very first class, my instructor taught us about each author’s unique voice, the way writers string words and phrases together to tell a story. And that’s when God spoke to my heart.

Tara, you can have a voice and still not have a voice.

I’ve been writing ever since. I still sing when I can and speak often, but God has brought me into a beautiful season of creativity with him. Weaving stories that touch hearts and share his truth with others is such a delightful calling.

When I was growing up, my mom and I enjoyed a yearly tradition of watching Gone with the Wind together. I have loved learning about the Civil War ever since. When I was young, the drama and potential romance of the period drew me in, but as I’ve gotten older, I’ve fallen in love with the stories of heroism from brave men and women on both sides of the conflict. The Civil War was a turning point for our nation on so many levels . . . politically, socially, emotionally, not to mention the amazing inventions and reformations that occurred as a result. It completely changed the landscape of our society.Here are some of my upcoming projects. I just finished a middle grade story about a precocious preacher’s kid named Sarah Grace who gets into all kinds of mischief and learns some interesting lessons along the way. I’m also in the middle of writing two new historical romances. One is based on the life of Dr. Mary Walker, the only woman ever to receive the Medal of Honor, and the other is about a young girl who is mute and sold to Barbados as part of the Irish slave trade.

Tara Johnson is a passionate lover of stories who uses fiction, nonfiction, song, and laughter to share her testimony of how God led her into freedom after spending years living shackled to the expectations of others. Tara is the author of three novels set during the Civil War: Engraved on the Heart, Where Dandelions Bloom, and All Through the Night. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and makes her home in Arkansas with her husband and three children. 

Visit her online at tarajohnsonstories.com.