Category Archives: Christian Writers

Meet Christian Writer Sandra Merville Hart

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Sandy M. Hart

Sandra Merville Hart serves as Assistant Editor for DevoKids.com where she contributes many articles about history and holidays. She also serves as an Assistant Editor on The Barn Door Book Loft blog, www.barndoorbookloft.net. She is a contributor for Faith & Finance: In God We Trust. She has written for The Secret Place, Harpstring, Splickety Magazine, Voice, Pockets Magazine, Common Ground, Afictionado, and ChristianDevotions.us. A finalist in the 2011 Hamilton Writers Guild Fiction Contest, Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas will release her Civil War novella, A Stranger on My Land, on August 21, 2014.

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Ready to Call it Quits by Sandra Merville Hart

My writing hit a brick wall about four years ago. After much prayer and soul-searching, I had followed a strong urging to leave a job I enjoyed to pursue a writing career in 2004. Knowing I needed to learn the craft, I took correspondence courses, a few college classes, and attended writing conferences.

My goal was to write books. I loved reading inspirational historical novels and wanted to write them. At conferences I met editors and agents who asked me to send them proposals and manuscripts. No one offered to represent me or gave me a book contract, but I had small successes in publishing devotions. Other opportunities in the writing field came my way but I didn’t even pray about them so they passed me by. This was a mistake. I remained focused on writing books.

I signed up for another writing conference and paid the deposit. After a series of painful rejections, I began to question whether I had misunderstood God’s leading. No one wanted to publish my books. Obviously I was not gifted at writing.

In this depressed state, I didn’t feel like going to a conference. Why waste more money? I attended knowing that this would be the last time to see many of my writer friends. I was giving up.

My heart ached as I continued to pray for God’s leading. Many friends at the conference bubbled over with excitement for the opportunity to speak to agents and editors. I had lost hope.

After the evening’s activities, many people met casually in lobbies to talk. I enjoyed the camaraderie of getting to know other writers and joined in.

One evening I arrived first to the lobby and sat down to wait for friends. One of the faculty members, Todd, sat down with me. I was almost too depressed to speak. He asked how the conference was going for me.

“I did something wrong,” I blurted out.

This upset him. “What did you do?” Obviously apprehensive, he didn’t know if he’d hear that I robbed a bank or blew my chances with an editor.

“I quit a good job to write.” My heart broke as I confessed.

Todd looked at me compassionately. “That took a lot of courage.”

“But no one’s offering me a book contract.” To me that defined success.

“You’re in the right place to learn more about writing. You meet editors and agents at conferences. You’re doing the right things.”

God used this wonderful author to somehow say the words I needed to hear to get back up and start walking again. He answered my prayers for guidance.

I wish I could say that an editor got excited about one of my manuscripts and offered to publish it at the end of the week, but that didn’t happen. It wasn’t time.

I received my first book contract last year. It releases next month.

Rejections still sting every time. Some devastate me and take me to deep valleys. Praying for guidance and the courage to take another step on the journey, I cling to God’s hand.

Our lives have a purpose. There’s a reason God created us. Whatever journey you’re on, pray for guidance and the courage to take the next step. He knows where the path leads. It’s enough.

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Sandy’s Civil War novella, A Stranger on My Land, is available for pre-order on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/Stranger-My-Land-Sandra-Hart/dp/1941103278/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1405606746&sr=1-1&keywords=A+Stranger+on+my+land.

Meet Christian Writer Linda Hultin Winn

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Mac, 15, and Linda
Mac, 15, and Linda, ageless

My mission as a writer, Bible teacher, and speaker is to encourage others to listen for God’s voice, engage Him in conversation, and think from His point of view. I’m an Advanced CLASS graduate with a Master of Arts in Teaching degree. My first book, Happy Tails: Inspirational Stories for Dog’s Best Friend, published by Thomas Nelson, is a result of God moments with my dogs. My current book project is What’s So Great About Being A Christian, and I’m developing the second interactive session in my speaking series, A Gathering of Chicks. I’m represented by Joyce Hart of Hartline Literary. Below is a chapter from Happy Tails.

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The Gate Is Closing by Linda Hultin Winn

Make every effort to enter through the narrow gate, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to. (Luke 13:24)

A couple of weeks after Mac got used to being fenced in, I began letting him run for a few minutes before breakfast. It was the only free run he was allowed, because I knew he wouldn’t be gone longer than five minutes. He didn’t want to miss a meal. But one morning Mac scoured the shoreline of the cove while I stood at the back gate calling him.

“Mac? Come. Here, Mac.”

He bounded half way up the hill and stopped.

“Good boy, Mac. Come on. Let’s go to the house,” I said.

He looked at me then looked back at the lake. I didn’t know whether he’d rather feed his belly or his instinct to hunt; but I hadn’t won him over yet, so I softened my voice.

“Mac? Come on, buddy.”

He took another step in my direction, then he looked back at the lake again.

While he was still trying to decide whether to follow my call or to follow the call of the wild, I spoke his name once more.

“Come on, Mac,” I said. “The gate is closing.”

His eyes widened as he watched my hand pull the gate toward me. Then with a sudden burst of energy, Mac sprinted inside before being completely shut out.

As we walked to the house I thought, we humans are just like Mac. We stand on the edge of eternity not knowing when that narrow gate will close, but one thing we know for sure. The gate will close. So today we have to make the same decision Mac had to make. Will we follow the Good Master home or will we follow the ways of the world?

Jesus said, “Make every effort to enter through the narrow [gate], because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to. Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, ‘Sir, open the door for us.’ But He will reply, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from. Away from Me all you evildoers!’ There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out,” (Luke 13:24-25, 27-29).

Today while the gate is still open, Jesus urges us, “Come, follow me.”

But one day Jesus will step out on a cloud and call His followers to the home He has prepared for us. People will come from all points of the globe to feast in the kingdom of God. Will you be among them? Will you have made the only decision that matters during your life here on earth?

The gate is closing now. Do you feel the urgency for deciding? Mac did. He sprinted to be inside the gate with his master. How will you respond? Not to decide is to decide.

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Happy Tails is available in paperback and Kindle at

http://www.amazon.com/Happy-Tails-Inspirational-Stories-Friend/dp/1404105271/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1406583852&sr=8-2-fkmr0&keywords=Happy+Tails+Linda+Hultin+Winn

For autographed hardcopies, email Linda at lhwinn@comcast.net

HT FB Book Covers

 

Meet Christian Writer Marilyn Turk

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marilyn_turk_ws_photo

Marilyn Turk has been published in Guideposts magazine, Guideposts books – A Joyful Heart and A Cup of Christmas Cheer, The Upper Room, Clubhouse Jr. magazine, Chicken Soup for the Soul, and Lighthouse Digest magazine. The first book in her Coastal Lights Legacy series, Rebel Light, as well as her Lighthouse Devotions book, will be published in September 2014. Fascinated by lighthouses, she writes a weekly lighthouse blog @ http://marilynturk.com. She lives in Florida with husband Chuck and enjoys boating, fishing, tennis, and gardening when she’s not climbing lighthouses or playing with her grandsons.

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Sing! by Marilyn Turk

God has saved me several times that I know about. I’m sure that when I get to heaven, I’ll find out there were many more times. If we do indeed have guardian angels, mine has been very busy.

I’m really not such a daredevil. As a child, I was saved from drowning twice, just because I wanted to swim before I knew how. I won’t go into the other incidents now. I’m here to tell you about one of the many God-moments I’ve had – the time I heard His voice.

When I was young and single, I lived in a huge apartment complex in Atlanta. Times were exciting as I experienced life in the big city for the first time ever. I had recently graduated from college, had a new job and a new apartment. There were thousands of young singles like me there, and I was excited to be one of them.

One night a friend of mine and I decided to go to a party in the sprawling complex. We always jumped at the chance to go to a party and meet new people, in particular, guys. Add to that the expectation that we might meet one of the professional football players who lived in the complex, and we were there! The party was in a building quite a ways from our building, so we drove over in her car.

After a while at the party, I was bored. I hadn’t met the man of my dreams, was tired of smiling and being sociable and wanted to go home. But my friend wasn’t, so I told her I’d walk home. It was between eleven o’clock and midnight, but I had no fear. To begin with, I was naïve to any dangers. Secondly, the complex was fairly well lighted.

I wove around buildings, staying on the sidewalks along the parking areas as I tried to navigate my way back. About halfway back, I felt a strange sensation that I wasn’t alone. I suppose it’s that hair standing up on your neck kind of feeling. A heavy, evil presence lurked nearby as if the shadows were moving closer. I quickened my step, a sense of urgency to get home pulling me.

“Sing.”

What? Where did that come from? Then I heard the word in my head again. “Sing!”

Sing what? Even though the popular music at the time was disco, all I could think to sing was hymns. So I sang–softly at first, then louder. I sang hymns I learned at church from my childhood. “Just a Closer Walk,” “Every day with Jesus is Sweeter Than the Day Before,” “Jesus Loves Me,” “How Great Thou Art” and others came to my mind, and I sang every one of them. I never saw another person on my way home, but the oppressive feeling disappeared and I hurried inside and locked the door.

The next day, news spread through the complex that a young woman had been abducted and raped at knifepoint. She survived, thank God. But I know that woman could have been me. The culprit who violated her was watching me, I have no doubt.

I felt bad for the other girl, and I have no idea why God rescues some people and doesn’t do the same for others. I just know that He spoke to me that night and told me to sing. Not long afterwards, I adopted Psalm 40:1-3 as my life verses.

“I waited patiently for the LORD;

he turned to me and heard my cry.

He lifted me out of the slimy pit,

out of the mud and mire;

he set my feet on a rock

and gave me a firm place to stand.

He put a new song in my mouth,

a hymn of praise to our God.

Many will see and fear the LORD

and put their trust in him.”

Meet Christian Writer Eleanor Gustafson

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ellie-2

Ellie’s short stories and articles have appeared in a number of national and local magazines. Her pallet of experiences (from being a minister’s wife, teacher, musician, writer, and encourager, to horses, building houses, tree farming and making maple syrup) has helped bring color and humor to her fiction. In many of her stories, Ellie explores the cosmic struggle between good and evil in light of God’s overarching work of redemption.

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I began thinking up stories at age five or six. When I started to read, God drew me to Himself with, yes—a story. My fascination with story continued, but after reading early written attempts, friends and even my mother told me straight-out to stick to music as a career. I pushed manfully along, however, and began publishing both fiction and nonfiction in 1978. Dynamo is my fifth published novel and builds off a lifelong love of horses. My previous title with Whitaker House is The Stones: A Novel of the Life of King David.

One of the major influences in my life has been the writings of Eugene Peterson. Again and again, he has picked me out of the dust and set me on the shining path of spiritual wholeness. I just finished his Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places: A Conversation in Spiritual Theology. Took me two years of small bites to read and digest. It taught me that life on my terms simply won’t do; we flourish spiritually only by living the Jesus life. Now I’ve started on Eat This Book, which lines out the concept of spiritual reading. A quote:

“There is a certain kind of writing that invites . . . soft purrs and low growls as we taste and savor, anticipate and take in the sweet and spicy, mouth-watering and soul-energizing morsel words—”O taste and see that the Lord is good!” (p.2)

 This is the sort of spiritual nourishment I want to take in and, in turn, to produce through my writing.

My extraordinary God moment was Dr. Peterson endorsing The Stones, my novel on the Life of King David. May God’s word, Eugene Peterson’s words, and even my words feed your soul.

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You can enjoy Ellie’s tasty morsels by visiting her website: www.eleanorgustafson.com and blog http://www.eleanorgustafson.com/blog/. Look for her books The Stones: A Novel of the Life of King David and Dynamo in stores nationwide and at amazon.com. Just copy and paste this link.

Meet Christian Writer Molly Noble Bull

Christian Writers

 Molly Noble Bull

Molly Noble Bull is a native Texan and a published novelist. Her Christian novels were published by Zondervan, Love Inspired and Tsaba House. Tsaba House published Sanctuary, an historical novel set in France and England in 1748. Sanctuary won the 2008 Gayle Wilson Award and tied for first place in the 2008 Winter Rose contest in the inspirational category. Gatehaven, a Gothic historical set in a scary English mansion in 1784, won the grand prize in the 2013 Creation House Fiction Writing Contest as a manuscript and was published in trade paperback and as an e-book in March 2014. Elk Lake Press will publish Molly’s new western romance, When the Cowboy Rides Away, in 2015.

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The Day God Walked Me Home From School by Molly Noble Bull

I was in the second or third grade on the day God spoke to me for the first time, and I was standing at the curb in front of my elementary school. I noticed a gray sedan parked across the street. I’d never seen a car parked there before, and a sense of danger swept through me.

Maybe I should go home a different way, except I didn’t know another way. When the light changed, I crossed like I always did.

The sidewalk and curb were connected by a two foot strip of recently mowed grass, and the man had parked his car as close to the curb as he could get it. He watched me in his rearview mirror as I stepped onto the sidewalk.

He had black hair, dark eyes, and a mustache, and his cheeks puffed out at the sides like he was grinning. As I moved closer, I noticed the window closest to me was rolled down.

“Would you like a ride, little girl?”

My heart pulled into a hard knot. He had a pleasant sounding voice. But somehow, I knew I needed to run.

“No!” I started running.

As I raced down the sidewalk in the direction of our garage apartment, I tried to understand what was happening.

Mother had told me never to ride with strangers or even talk to them, but she never told me what to do after I refused the offer of a ride. I had assumed the stranger would say something like, “you don’t want a ride? Well, okay. Goodbye.” Then he would drive off.

But he wheeled as close to that curb as he could, braking his gray sedan to a crawl. He kept pace with me as I sprinted down the sidewalk. My heart pounded.

I didn’t stop at the first intersection. I ran across the street without looking for oncoming cars. As I approached the second intersection, I considered turning right after I crossed the street instead of continuing down the sidewalk. I could walk between houses until I reached the alley and then run down the alley until I got home.

A voice in my head said, “No, Molly. Just keep running down the sidewalk.”

I did exactly as the voice said and kept going. However, I soon realized that I needed to slow-down or I’d dash right by our apartment. I reduced my speed, hurrying across the three driveways in front of our house. The man must have noticed that I was walking fast instead of running. He stopped his car about forty feet ahead of me next to the tall grass of the vacant lot next to our garage apartment. The grass on the lot and between the sidewalk and the street hadn’t been cut in a long time. My head and shoulders barely showed above the weeds when I walked down that sidewalk.

A stairway to the side of the garage apartment had a landing about three or four steps up. I climbed the stairs two at a time without looking back. At the landing, the stairs went up the back of the building to a porch where the doors were located. I grabbed the handle on the screen door and pulled as hard as I could, but the door wouldn’t open. How could I have forgotten? Mama always kept the door locked

“Mama,” I shouted. “Let me in! A man is after me.”

Waiting for her to open the door, I looked down. Fear devoured me as the man stood on the landing, peering up at me. I couldn’t define the look he gave me then. Now I know it was pure lust.

Mama opened the door and went out on the porch to see what was going on as I raced inside.

“I just wanted to tell you, lady, what a cute little girl you have.”

“Thank you,” she said. “We think so, too.”

Then the man turned, got in his car and roared off.

Mama didn’t know what happened earlier, therefore, she didn’t even try to get his license plate number. However, she walked me to and from school after that.

What happened that day changed my life. I had disturbing dreams for years, and tall, dark, and handsome men were not an option for me.

I have no idea why evil men capture some children while others manage to escape. I only know that I am glad I obeyed my mother and didn’t ride with a stranger; and I’m thankful that God spoke to me that day and told me what to do as He walked me home from school. He protected me from all harm, and I praise Him for it. And I am thankful that I listened to what I believe was the voice of the Lord.

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Visit Molly at www.mollynoblebull.comor  https://www.facebook.com/molly.n.bull

Meet Zoe M. McCarthy, Christian Writer

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Zoe McCarthy

A full-time writer, Zoe M. McCarthy spins contemporary Christian romances and short stories with splashes of humor. A self-publisher of two books of contemporary Christian short stories, Zoe has also published short stories with Christian Fiction Online Magazine. She is represented by Hartline Literary Agency, and her debut novel, Calculated Risk, will be available November 2014.

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GOD-DIRECTED PRAYER BLITZ By Zoe M. McCarthy

During my morning devotions one day, I felt a sudden pressure from God to pray for my 17-year-old grandson. I received no specifics as to how I was to pray. Only to pray.

So I stopped and petitioned God many times during the day and when I woke during the night. Not having been given any direction from the Lord, I bombarded God with whatever funneled into my mind for my Grandson’s well being.

I counted on what Paul said in Romans 8:26. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes according to God’s will. (NIV)

My prayer blitz went on for days. I kept 1 Samuel 12:23a in the forefront of my mind: As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by failing to pray for you. (NIV)

Almost two weeks after I answered God’s call to pray, I received an email from my son titled: A Night in the ER. My son assured me my grandson suffered only minor injuries in a car-rolling accident. A photo followed.

My grandson lay on an ER bed in a hospital gown and a neck brace. Wires spanned between him and monitors. My grandson’s smile was the only thing that calmed my spirit.

Then a photo arrived of the mangled car.

Zoe's car

A wooden fence stake was driven into the windshield on the passenger side where my grandson had sat. I learned the driver pushed the car’s speed and lost control. The car slid, crashed into a fence, and then rolled over and over.

The fence stake pierced my grandson’s leg a half inch from the artery in his groin. Many glass shards shot into his arm. The boy in the back wore no seatbelt, but had seconds during the slide to hook his feet under the seat in front of him. He received an eye socket injury when his head struck the car roof. The driver incurred less serious injuries.

How had my grandson and his two friends survived that mashed car? How had my grandson, covered with blood, exited the car on his own strength? Had my obedience to God’s directive made the difference between his life and death and that of his friends? What if I had disobeyed?

My grandson’s arm still has glass shards imbedded below his skin. I pray they remind him his survival was a miracle, and only God can do miracles.

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Visit Zoe at Creative in Everything, http://zoemmccarthyblog.wordpress.com; on her Facebook Author Page, http://www.facebook.com/ZoeMMcCarthyAuthor, and through Twitter at http://twitter.com/zoemmccarthy. and look for her new book this fall.

Zoe's book

Meet Christian Writer Diana Wallis Taylor

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Diana Wallis Taylor

Have you ever wondered how writers come up with their book ideas? For Christian writers it’s usually divine inspiration.

Diana Wallis Taylor, an award winning author, has completed her fifth book of Biblical Fiction. She has written three other books of fiction and a book of poetry. Along with her books, her writing has appeared in various compilation books and magazines. Diana recently completed an Easter cantata, “Glorious”, with her fellow collaborator, Carolyn Prentice, who wrote the music. Diana lives with her husband Frank in San Diego, California, where she serves on the Board of the San Diego Christian Writer’s Guild. She enjoys speaking and sharing her heart with women of all ages.

Enjoy this God moment from Diana.

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Last year I was busy finishing three book projects: “Claudia, Wife of Pontius Pilate” for Revell; “Ruth, Mother of Kings” for Whitaker House; and “Shadows on the Mountain” for Total Recall Press. I didn’t have much free time.

This year I finished a small book called “Halloween: Harmless Fun or Risky Business” for Whitaker House. Because of the subject matter– witches, ghosts, psychics, etc.– I had major computer problems working on that one. Perhaps I was sticking my toes in someone’s territory.

When it was done, I felt a bit adrift. No new contracts and no real inkling as to what I should work on next. I sought to work on another character from the Bible, in spite of the wane of Biblical Fiction, but it wasn’t coming together well.

I always enjoy e-mails from my readers and forward the best ones on to my editors. It is always good to let them know people are reading and enjoying my books. Every bit of PR helps.

As I was forwarding a nice e-mail from an enthusiastic reader who had read “Claudia,” I found myself typing the words, “I’m working on Mary, the mother of Jesus.” I hadn’t even thought of her until that moment. It had to be a God thing. I got out my notebooks, got down my research books and began the first chapter. The creative juices are flowing again and ideas are rampant. God certainly has unusual ways of getting through to us when our efforts are within His will.

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Isn’t it interesting how God leads us without our even knowing that He’s leading us? For Diana, the simple typing of a possible subject led her to her next book project. What simple step of faith is God waiting for you to take, so He can continue His work through you?

To learn more about Diana and see her list of writing awards and published books, click here: www.dianawallistaylor.com. To order, copy and paste this link…

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_16?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=diana%20wallis%20taylor%20books&sprefix=Diana+Wallis+Tay%2Cstripbooks%2C178