Earlier this year, I started a series highlighting the prominent minor characters in my novel, Coin and Dagger. First, we caught up with Bartimaeus, the blind beggar from Jericho. In this installment, we’ll get to know John Mark as we examine his place in scripture, unpack the rich traditions about…
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As I write, it is the final week of the school year, the temperatures are rising, and the birds are filling my backyard with music. We must be entering the summer season. What I like most about this season is that it is easier to get away from my desk…
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As I write, it is mid-morning, and already I have accomplished quite a bit. I’ve dusted, enjoyed a short workout, swept the kitchen floor, put away the clean dishes, and removed some junk from the basement. It must be drafting day. If you laughed at the previous line … you…
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It is hard to believe it has been over a month since my last post. In that entry, I shared how my life—including my writing—has changed in light of my wife’s recent passing to her eternal home. Perhaps it shouldn’t surprise me that it’s been over a month since I…
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When I began this blog, I envisioned it as a place where I could connect with readers and offer a peek behind the curtain at my current books and future projects. So, it is primarily an extension of my writing that I use to grow and engage my reader base.…
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One of my favorite ways to engage with scripture, particularly the narrative portions, is to contemplate the people in the stories. It is fun and enriching to examine the possibilities of their lives and consider how their unique circumstances and perspectives enhance my understanding of the passage. The gospels are…
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Whether you look to movies, books, TV, or podcasts for entertainment, you’ve probably experienced the excitement of discovering an Easter egg or two along the way. It is pure fun to stumble upon one of these hidden references to an obscure historical fact or a favorite past movie, song, or…
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This week I had an epiphany. Then, as I noodled with the fruit of my brilliant “aha” moment, I found that my next-level insight could be best described as … Obvious. What a letdown! I went from “Yes! That’s it!” to “What took me so long to see it?” in…
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Have you ever watched a favorite movie or TV show so often that you are shocked that one time you noticed something different? Perhaps something in the background, or a piece of dialogue that managed to fly below the radar during the first five (dozen? twenty?) viewings. When this happens,…
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As a relatively new writer, I am learning on the go. Not just about the craft of writing, but about the whole process: drafting, editing, revising, fact-checking, publishing, distributing, and … marketing. Marketing. I am not made for marketing. This isn’t something that I have learned on my writing journey.…