Monday, November 5, 2007

Potpourri...

Not the dried flowers, leaves, and herbs that add fragrance to one's room... No, just a jumble of things as I haven't written here in awhile.

First off, I made the cut. My short story will be included in the North Texas RWA Silver Nuggets Anthology. NTRWA is a writing group, a local chapter of Romance Writers of America. To help celebrate NT's 25th anniversary, we had a little contest with the top ten entries being published in an anthology. Then The Wild Rose Press came aboard and did the judging and will be publishing this thing. Very cool. Yes, my first publishing credit. I'm excited about it. Right now, I'm working with an editor to spit polish my entry. It should be available for release in March of 2008.

Next week, I'll be attending my first writers retreat. Each year my writers group, the aforementioned NTRWA, holds a conference we call Writers Roundup. This year it's really a retreat more than a conference. But I'm looking forward to it. I've got a story I need help on, so that's what I'll be working on, with the help of my fellow writers.

Reading wise, I just finished the thriller, Blowback, by Brad Thor. Very good book, if you like this genre. Read it in a day. Comparable to Vince Flynn.

Read Basher Five-Two, The True Story of F-16 Fighter Pilot Captain Scott O'Grady. I'd read this back in the late nineties when it first came out, but I read it again for research for a story I'm working on. Also for research I read Black Aces High, The Story of a Modern Fighter Squadron at War. Very interesting and insightful - despite the swaggering persona depicted on TV and in movies, fighter pilots experience real fear when going into battle.

And God is awesome. I've been really searching for guidance on a particular issue and God has provided the answer and in spades. It seems every time I open my Bible, the passages I read speaks in one way or another to this issue - or to me in handling it. Even in listening to sermons online, again, my issue was addressed. So I know when the time comes for me to address the issue, someone's not going to be happy. But I'm here to bring glory to God's name and please Him... so that's what I'm going to do.

Speaking of sermons online, Andy Stanley is wonderful. He has an engaging style and speaks about issues of everyday life, not just interpreting various parts of the Bible. Visit the North Point Community Church web site and check out the collection of sermons.

1 comment:

MRMARK said...

Thanks for the kind words about NPCC. Andy is a great teacher/pastor. Have you had an opportunity to visit us? Do you have a favorite sermon or series?

Mark