by Katy Kauffman @KatyKauffman28 I never get tired of looking at my mother’s sideboard. Each season, she “scrapbooks” it, decorating the shelves with gorgeous dishes, flowers, and greenery. The details capture my attention, and the loveliness feels like home. For Christmas, pine branches and holly sprigs peek out between ivory…

by Edie Melson @EdieMelson The writer’s life isn’t an easy one. So much of what we create comes from some place deep inside ourselves. Giving that way can be exhausting, not to mention frustrating, when we feel empty. The good news is that there are things we can do to help ourselves. I’ve come to…

by Sandy Kirby Quandt @SandyKQuandt Have you ever looked at your writing journey as a process of taking the land of writing little by little instead of all at once? Let me explain what I mean.  After I completed my first book for middle grade readers, I knew without a…

by Josie Siler  @josie_siler For many of us, the recent Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference was a mountaintop experience. It was for me. I was one of the Zoomies, the group of conferees who attended virtually and connected during the breaks over Zoom. We had such a blast getting…

By Heather Kreke @HKreke A few weeks ago when I was planning to write this post, I thought I’d write about how my experience at The Blue Ridge Conference was. I knew the event would be amazing, and it was —spiritually, craft wise, and making new friends while encouraging their…

by @RamonaRichards So . . . it’s Thanksgiving . . . with all those expectations of joy and family and love. And many folks will experience just that—a time of celebration and hope. But not everyone. So . . . our 2020 delayed conference ended last week on a high…