by Lyneta Smith @LynetaS A squirrel clung to the tree trunk behind my new friend Kellie as we sipped iced tea on her deck. He skirted back and forth, unsure whether it was safe to jump onto the railing. I was about to comment on his unusual tail shape when…

By Cindy Sproles @CindyDevoted We have chickens. They've been a real source of enjoyment for our family, and each chicken is lovingly named. There's Lovie, Sassy, Lucy, and Mae. Though we refer to them collectively as "the girls," we aren't sure if Lucy is a rooster or a hen. When…

by: Shannon Redmon @shannon_redmon Over the last few weeks, the world has been captivated by the death and life of Queen Elizabeth II, including myself. Television stations run multiple segments a day, the newspapers print hundreds of articles, and magazines post photo after photo of the royal family on their…

Vincent B. Davis II, @vbdavisii Imagine walking into a bookstore. Recall the warm smell of roasting coffee beans, the quiet chatter of baristas and bookstore clerks. But what’s the first thing you see? Most of us take a moment to check out the displays at the front of a bookstore.…

by Ane Mulligan  @AneMulligan Last month, I opened the conversation by asking when is a novel like a layer cake? By adding layers, of course! And we talked about hearing and smell. Today is the rest; it’s all about Sight, Taste, and Touch. Sight As I drove home from grocery…

By W. Terry Whalin @terrywhalin Within the publishing world, I’ve often heard it is harder to sign with a literary agent than to locate a publisher. Because publishers have been inundated with poor and inappropriate submissions, many of them have created policies of only accepting submissions from literary agents.  This practice…