by Olivia | Nov 22, 2012 | Uncategorized
How many colors do you see in this photograph? Give thanks for God’s imagination, which we experience every time we see and taste and touch and hear and smell the world around us. Let your imagination meet God’s in creativity and worship. Give thanks with...
by Olivia | Nov 19, 2012 | Lens on Life, Uncategorized
Did Thanksgiving sneak up on you? It sure did come fast for me. I had another trip earlier in November, and I focused on that. When I got home, suddenly Thanksgiving was six days away. And I’ll hit the road again, this time for a long drive between Colorado and...
by Olivia | Nov 15, 2012 | Books in Process, Uncategorized
Close to 20 years ago I wrote a book. In those days, you could send a manuscript to an editor at most publishing houses, so I chose one and submitted. I got a very kind non-form letter with an actual name and signature, but it was a rejection. Even then I knew that...
by Olivia | Nov 12, 2012 | Lens on Life, Uncategorized
What do you do when you can’t win for losing? We’ve all had those experiences. No matter what we do, we get slammed. When my son was three and a half we could no longer ignore that he was not developing normally, particularly the way his language was...
by Olivia | Nov 7, 2012 | Books in Process, Uncategorized
Wondering about Accidentally Amish? Did you like The Pursuit of Lucy Banning, but you’re not sure if Amish fiction is your cup of tea? Here’s a quick round-up of what some blogging readers are saying. They’ve been surprised at Amish with a new twist....
by Olivia | Nov 5, 2012 | Lens on Life, Uncategorized
My kids don’t look like this. Not any more. Not for a long time. They grew up. I know! How did that happen? We haven’t taken a family vacation in quite a few years actually. Recently, I got to talking with my daughter, 22, about what she remembered about a...
by Olivia | Oct 31, 2012 | Books in Process, Uncategorized
Here are a few sights Annie Friesen might have seen when she first discovered Westcliffe, Colorado in Accidentally Amish. Can you picture Rufus walking these streets? Thank you for the many kind reviews and messages I’ve been receiving. It’s exciting for...
by Olivia | Oct 29, 2012 | Lens on Life, Uncategorized
Probably you have more exciting things to do on a Friday night. Me? I’ve been running around like a headless chicken for the last four hours. Pay the bills. Pow-wow with daughter about a project she wants help on. Trip to Target for the glamorous stuff we all...
by Olivia | Oct 24, 2012 | Books in Process, Uncategorized
Where do stories start? For me, stories begin with characters. As a writer, a character is likely to pop up in my brain first, then a setting. After that I need the elements of plot—an objective, obstacles, stakes that keep rising. As a reader, also, I tend to attach...
by Olivia | Oct 22, 2012 | Lens on Life, Uncategorized
It’s my brother’s birthday. I would say my “little brother,” but he’s not that much younger. I am one of seven kids and am squashed between a couple of brothers so closely that, as a parent, I have many times wondered what in the world my...
