I saw a movie the other night with friends. A movie we thought would be fun to watch and provide us with the humor we all desperately needed. But the movie was not good; so not good that I was glad when it finally ended and I could move on to having dinner with my friends.

Why did I dislike the movie so much?

Because…

• There were no suprises. The movie was dull and predictable. 
• It was too unrealistic w...

Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. I Corinthians 9:26,27, NLT

I got up one morning to accomplish my writing routine for the day. Although I expended a lot of time putting words down on paper, after looking at what I had written I realized I had just been "punch...

In your strength I can crush an army. With my God I can scale any wall. Psalms 18:29, NLT

But I have given as much I know how to give. I have nothing else to say; I have nothing left to give!

Those are the words I told my editor after receiving her feedback about a manuscript I sent her to review. I had labored for hours writing the manuscript and felt like I had given it my all. Yet she sent it back letting me k...

I am currently in the process of publishing another book and at the stage of having to choose a cover design. And because I have spent countless hours perusing pictures and talking to my graphic designer about the concept I want for the cover of my book, sometimes I feel like I should just design the cover myself.

And to a great degree, I am doing just that. Because I've chosen to self-publish, that means I not only wear the role of the writer of my book, but also the role o...

"Ms. Stokes, your manuscript has been received."

This is the message I received today after submitting my manuscript to a publisher who requested to review it for possible publication. I can't begin to explain the many feelings I experienced after I hit the submit button. The feelings of  joy and happiness knowing I had finally sent my manuscript to a publisher. The feelings of elation and excitement knowing a publisher would now read my manuscript and let me know if it...

I enjoy watching documentaries of how great athletes came

into being. And watching the documentary called The

Last Dance these last few weeks about Michael Jordan was

a reminder once again that great athletes aren't just born,

they are made.

You see, Michael Jordan's documentary illustrated that he

didn't become a great player simply because of his innate

talent; while that was a good start, Michael became a great

player because he p...

I didn’t feel like writing my blog post today. I needed to write my blog post so I'd have it ready to include in my weekly newsletter, but the motivation just wasn't there. So I almost didn't write a blog post for today's newsletter. Until I remembered my why.

You see, my why determines why I write. My why is my purpose for writing. It helps me get up every day and stay committed to my writing goals. And it reenergizes me when the journey of writing ge...

Lewis Carroll’s book, Alice In Wonderland, perfectly illustrates the importance of goal setting during an exchange between Alice and the Cheshire Cat.

Alice asks, “Would you tell me please, which way I ought to go from here?”

The cat replies, “That depends a good deal on where you want to get to.”

“I don’t much care where—“

“Then it doesn’t matter which...

Can you believe it? Another year is almost done.. And as I reflect today on the lessons I’ve learned in 2019 as a self-published author, here are ten I’d like to share with you in my last blog post for the year:

Lesson # 1 – If I had to do it over again this year, I would pay a fee and submit a book proposal to a Christian Manuscript Submission service

Although this resource is mainly for aspiring Christian authors who want...

At the Lord’s directions, Moses kept a written record of their progress. Numbers 33:2 NLT

Recently I attended the funeral of a friend’s father. Initially, I found it difficult sitting through the funeral because I didn’t know him. But as I listened to what others said about my friend’s father and watched his life scroll across the monitor, I was connected to him by his story.

At the Lord’s direction, Moses recorded the ...