The Storyteller | Mary Vee

Mission Point, Mackinaw Island photo by Mary Vee This week I had the wonderful opportunity to celebrate my anniversary at an exquisite restaurant, Chianti located in the Mission Point resort on Mackinac Island. Very expensive. Very worth the money. Hubby and I were shown our finely decorated table near the windows overlooking the harbor. The hostess placed our cloth napkins in our laps, handed us our menus pre-opened, and informed us our waiter would be with us shortly. To me the restaurant earned a four star at this moment. (I am told no American restaurant can earn a five star)  I couldn't help but notice others dining around us. The writer never rests. To our left sat a couple about ten years older than my husband and me. The woman had blonde hair and honestly looked like a Hilary Clinton clone. The man was the social one. He spoke with animation to the waiter, and looked around the room. Sadly the couple spoke little to each other. I felt sorry for them and hoped ...

Today is my wedding anniversary. My children told me he has a surprise for the next two days, and that is all they said. They have amazingly kept his secret safe. I have been blessed to have the husband I do. He is quite the gentleman and always has been:  He still opens doors for me. Sends me texts during his break from work:  Luv u Actually remembers our anniversary and my birthday Works extra hours to afford something special for these celebrations Sometimes gives goofy gifts Drops me off at the door for church, parks the car, then meets me inside Leads family devotions in the evening (now that the kids are older this is sometimes done by Skype). Listens when I talk about the stories I write even though he totally doesn't understand why anyone would read fiction much less want to write it. Agrees to go on wacky adventures to the mountains, hot air balloon rides, and communist countries. Let's me buy special souvenirs. Has been a...

Today I welcome an inspirational woman. She is a lawyer, mom, AND  author!  To meet this lady of grace is to know you've met someone called to serve Christ: Cara Putman Enter to win Cara's  new release, A Wedding Transpires   Scroll to the end of the post to see how to enter. Cara Putman introduces newbies to the ACFW conference. Two years ago, I was the newbie and quite overwhelmed.  I met Cara through the newbie loop a few months before the conference. She guided, answered questions, prayed, expressed concerns and encouraged us. An absolute icon in my mind. At the conference I timidly went up to her and asked if I could have my picture taken with her. She didn't even blink an eye. "Of course", then came her beautiful smile.  With her new book release, I asked Cara to share with us how God has led her on her exciting writing journey. Here is her answer: The Dream Never Died Many writers will tell you...

In the current story I am working on, I have a character named Janey who is a foster child.  To give this character a sense of reality for the story, I contacted several friends who work with Child Protective Services, Teen Agencies, Drug Enforcement, Office of Public Assistance, and Suicide Prevention and asked questions.  Some answered with mandates written in the law, some referred to their cases, and all spoke from their heart because it is a meaningful topic to them. I bounced off my ideas to insure accuracy in my scene. With this information in hand I wrote several scenes for Janey and showed them to a beta reader. The person lifted her eyes after finishing the scene and smiled. She pointed out portions she especially enjoyed. The one thing she didn't discuss was the technical foster care points finely threaded into the scenes, and that made me happy.  I love watching Olympic ice skating competitions. The performances, even with flaws are magnificent. The ...

We've lived in our house for eight months. The coffee cups have been in the cupboard to the left of the sink and the glasses in the cupboard to the right.  Teen daughter walked in at noon and opened the cupboard to the right to get a coffee cup. Her conclusion: We need cupboards with special features. One that changes the contents of the cupboard depending on the need. For example, if I stand before this cupboard and say coffee cup, the door would open and poof, the desired object is there. Good idea! The movie Sleepless in Seattle came to mind after teen daughter left the room with her coffee. Sam Baldwin, (played by Tom Hanks), an architect, is having difficulties with the buyer of a house. It seems every day she requests changes to her new home structure. The one change Sam hates to change is: move the kitchen cabinets. He'll never finish the house.  Sam Baldwin is speaking with his date Victoria, Here is the scene: "She's on her sixth painter...

Today I welcome an author who loves to read, ride horses, play with dogs, go sailing, basically anything outdoors. She is a fun person to have as a friend: Miralee Ferrell Enter to win Miralee's  book, Blowing on Dandelions   Scroll to the end of the post to see how to enter. I asked Miralee to share with us how God had led her on her writing journey. Here is what she said: God Opened the Door I know a lot of writer’s believe they’re called to write but my calling was more dramatic than you might expect—and it showed me quite clearly that God had something special in mind.  I was at an evening church service with a visiting pastor speaking. At the end he had a call for prayer, and I went forward. He prayed with me and then stopped. He said he believed God was calling me to write and it needed to be published. I went home, prayed about it, and felt a confirmation, although I had no idea what direction to go. All I could think was t...

A song sung by the Detroit Bible College Choral: Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honor and glory for ever and ever amen, amen, be honor and glory for ever and ever amen. From I Timothy 1:17 . Before a family meal is eaten, the table must be set. There can be a wide range of dishes and other assorted pieces placed on the table, depending on the need. For me, I had an opportunity to dine with the Father at a table He set this last weekend. Here is how: About a year ago, my son gave me an exterior hard drive for my computer and recommended I back up my data regularly. I set the device in my computer bag and promptly forgot about it. Last Friday, I happened to visit him and while there asked him to teach me how to do the back up for my computer. He taught me by doing the job. Sunday, I received word that Jim, a good college friend passed away. Several friends from our college choral went to the visitation. Jim's brother, Robert, gree...