Fresh Start, Redo, Starting Over… It sounds good when it’s your idea. But when it isn’t your idea, well that’s a different story.

Starting over when someone decides they don’t love you anymore… The job you are working at doesn’t work out… Or God tells you to move when you’re perfectly content where you are…

None of these fresh starts sound fun. They don’t fit into anyone’s plans.

But that doesn’t mean they don’t fit into God’s plans.

He knows they serve a purpose. His purpose.

God knew the heartache was coming. The layoff was on its way. The breakup. Even the guy who swerved in front of you, causing you to be late for the important meeting.

Continue reading “Starting Over when it’s Not My Idea…” →

About Me, Behind the Curtain

Saturday Starbucks Writer: Behind the Scenes

July 20, 2019July 25, 2019 Anna Christine

Saturday at 5 am and I have the Starbucks to my self for a little bit. Soon the seats will be filled with strangers chatting, studying, playing on their phones, or even just drinking coffee. But, right now, it’s just me.

I’ve always enjoyed people watching, even as a kid. It was fun to make up stories about strangers passing me by. It never ceases to amaze me the people I meet, especially now that I’m writing novels. God has a wonderful way of putting just the right person in my path. Everything from nurses, firemen, bank tellers, people to encourage me, pray with me and much more.

If you’ve been reading my posts for a while, you know I’m NOT A MORNING person except on Saturday when I go write at the local Starbucks. The only place open at the ungodly hour of 5 a.m. I write there every weekend because I love watching the people and can’t wait to see who God sends my way. Continue reading “Saturday Starbucks Writer: Behind the Scenes” →

Writing 101

How to be a Fantastic Beta Reader

April 20, 2019April 20, 2019 Anna Christine

Beta Readers help make my novels better. How? They bring another pair of eyes to my writing which can catch:

Spelling errors I can’t see anymore because the text is so familiar to me and my editor.

Structure issues – making sure my story flows and doesn’t feel too rushed or too slow.

Strange wording that doesn’t make sense – either too wordy or phrases a common reader wouldn’t understand. Being a Southern girl, sometimes the phrases common in my life mean nothing to someone not born and raised in the South or even in my family!

Factual errors – I haven’t had EVERY job or experience I write about and Beta Readers can catch mistakes in careers, facts about dogs, or even places I haven’t been.

Consistency mistakes – saying it’s October at the beginning of the chapter and it’s September by the end, or having a character with blue eyes at the beginning of the novel, but brown toward the end.

Beta Readers are an important part of the writing process and I have been blessed with some fantastic beta readers…