The Storyteller | Mary Vee

Today I welcome author:  Gail Gaymer Martin To win a copy of Gail's book Treasure of her Heart or  By the Firefighter Scroll to the end of the post  to see how to get your copy. Gail is a fellow Michigan writer. I've enjoyed getting to know Gail recently and simply had to asked her to share with us how God has led her on her writing journey. This is what she said: The Lord's Path to Publication I’ve learned an important lesson in my writing journey, and that is the Lord sometime has to knock me in the head before I realize what He’s trying to tell me. Perhaps you are the same kind of person. Facts have to drop into your lap and then you say, “Oh, could this be God telling me something?” I didn’t start writing for publication until many years after I had been told I had a writing talent. My 3rd grade teacher, Mrs. Blackburn, wrote a note about it on my report card (and yes, I still have the...

Photo by Mary Vee Walking through the Chicago O'Hara airport amused me. The terminal connecting B and C has a color show with coordinated music. It seemed to be the one place few people ran to get where they were going.  Although the lights were over my head, the colors and sound enveloped me with the same calming effect I presume others experienced. On the other side of this tunnel, an escalator transported travelers up one level. I felt lost and walked to the first sign for directions.  Next to the sign was an odd piece of art, something we might see in the front of a federal building or in a modern art museum. It stood as tall as me. I shrug the meaningless shape off and continued looking for the directions I needed. I read the sign, turned back toward the odd art piece to walk toward my gate. The farther I walked, the more the odd piece of art seemed to grow before my eyes. I looked toward the mammoth ceiling and discovered the art piece was a dinosaur....

This weekend, my big sister had her birthday. She will be reading this, and probably doesn't appreciate being called big sister any more. She actually is a smidgeon shorter than me and is slimmer. Still, my memories mostly revolve around younger years when she was the taller one. The one I looked up to (and still do). The one I ask questions, spill my guts, rant my frustrations, and yes-when we were little fought with.  She paved the way in schools and church. My name was not Mary but Myra's little sister. I knew where to go in our high school of 3000 students because she showed me. I knew what classes to take and not take because she first tried. I knew who to hang out with and who to stay away from. And when our school had riots and the Nation Guard came to empty the school, she was the one who was hurt, not me.  So today, I want to honor her and let her know she is important enough to have her own name. Please pop down to the comment section and say, Happy Birthday...

Today I welcome author:  Jennifer Slattery To win a copy of  Beyond I Do Scroll to the end of the post  to see how to get your copy. Jennifer has become a sweet friend in very short time. As you read her words below, you will instantly see how God has impacted her life. What a joy to read. I asked Jennifer to share with us how God has led her on her writing journey. This is what she said: The Dream Giver Have you ever received a gift from someone and felt like it pointed to something greater? Or perhaps someone said something in conversation that pricked your heart in an eerie, foreboding sort of way? In October of 2009, Dr. Art Criscoe, Senior Editor of Christ to the World Ministries, sent me a book. One that made my knees quake. One that assured me not only of the call, but that God planned to do a great deal within me, to prepare me for that call. I had no doubt the pruning process would be pain...

Sometimes I like to snuggle with a down-home cozy read, don't you? I found the perfect book for this occasion. And to sweeten the pie, the story is set in autumn. Melody Carlson's book, A Home at Trail's End , is a delightful story in the same fashion as Little House on the Prairie and Anne of Green Gables . The only difference is the story focuses on the adults instead of the children. Set in the frontier days, Elizabeth and her children arrive near the Pacific coast after a long journey on the Oregon Trail. She is anxious to plan her wedding to the handsome Eli Kincaid, and thankfully, he chose to hang up his wagon trail scouting hat to settle down in the same Oregon territory. Elizabeth had brought a hired hand, a freed slave, to help her on the journey, but laws in the new community prevented blacks from becoming new residents. More than anything she wants to help him start his own life nearby by first building a cottage. She needs to be cautious tho...

Have you ever gone on that vacation...the one that pops in your head when you hear a song, see someone do something, smell a certain scent? Yeah. Me too. I have several vacations that are definitely on the memorable list. Photo by Mary Vee Today's memory is brought to you by the vacation sponsor: Paris. I just can't help revisiting my trip to Paris and bursting with interesting tid bits to share with you. Today I want to talk about cell phones.  Here in America, we have a fetish for our cell phones. Didn't you see someone using theirs this morning? Yep, me too. Hubby wanted to cut the lawn. Plump gray and blue clouds were swirling in the sky. Will it rain? He whipped out his cell phone to check the weather report. Voilà. No rain. (hmmm we'll see if this is really true.) Oddly enough, during my visit, I didn't see a single Parisian with a cell phone. It's true! I assume they had them, but they didn't walk about the city with their cell pho...

Today I welcome author:  Nancy Mehl To win a copy of  Gathering Shadows Scroll to the end of the post  to see how to get your copy. I met Nancy at the conference this year. I mean the in-person, Nancy. I've enjoyed her posts on FB and getting to know the online Nancy, but the live, breathing, dressed up in her gala-gorgeous-blue-dress Nancy was so sweet and wonderful to meet!  I asked her to share with us how God has led her on her writing journey. This is what she said: Doing It for the One Usually writers start out with a clear direction. We know what we want to write, and we know what kind of readers we want to reach. Unfortunately, once we sell a book, things can change. Suddenly we’re faced with editors who have their own ideas and reviewers whose words can sometimes shake our confidence. Many authors wind up confused, no longer knowing why they’re writing or who they’re writing for. My advice is t...