A Double Standard?

I hesitated to write this, but I thought I’d think alound and ask the question. I think it’s safe to say that for many readers, books aren’t their only form of entertainment. The realm of what we call inspirational or Christian fiction is a rather small circle when compared to the general reading population.

We are quick to point out in a “Christian” book if there’s something that offends us or we don’t like. But we tune into television shows that cross many, many lines.

Take the crime shows for example. They show the grittiness of life. Some of us don’t take much issue with the violence and/or gore. “That’s part of the story,” we say. Characters dropping references with sexual innuendo, hopping in and out of bed with each other. “Oh, that’s part of the story,” we say. Lying for the sake of an investigation or to trick someone. “That’s what cops and investigators do,” we say.

For example, I adore the television show “Castle.” Why? Snappy dialogue, crimes with some good plot twists, the fact that there’s a writer as one of the main characters. However, all of the above have occurred in the story lines of this show. So I guess in a way I’m referring to myself and I’m not comfortable with the observation.

Yet, some of us can be so much harder on Christian writers in what they “show” and “don’t show.”

“You didn’t have that character get redeemed,” we say. Well, in real life, that doesn’t always happen.

“You character did something underhanded to help solve the crime,” we chide the author.

Where do we draw the line of what’s acceptable in “entertainment?”

Or, do we move that line to suit our own tastes or to fit the author or television show? Is all this relative?

I find it ironic that readers–viewers–will watch certain shows and not be offended, yet they will pick up a book and find all types of moral infractions, trivial or no.

Am I mistaken? Does this really happen? Am I the only one who has a double standard?

New Year’s What?

There’s something to love about a new calendar, almost like getting a new box of crayons before the school year starts. The younger you are, those days might crawl by, especially January through May. Then during June through August they’ll flash like lightning. The older you are, those days just keep flashing and flashing and…

Something about a new calendar has prompted people—for thousands of years—to resolve to carry out certain actions. The Babylonians resolved at the beginning of their new year to return borrowed farming equipment, since the new year coincided with the start of their growing season. I’ve read that historically, the Chinese culture observed the new year with cleaning house and starting the new year fresh. My husband would like that one.

Then there’s our modern Western culture. An early 20th century New Year’s resolution postcard reads, “Your New Year’s Resolution: Resolve to renew all your old resolves, and add a few that are new. Resolve to keep them as long as you can. What more can a poor man do?” I can’t imagine renewing all my old ones, plus adding more, and then trying to keep them longer than January 2nd. Statistics show that less than half of us make resolutions, and a little less than half of those people keep them more than six months.

I wonder how many people have already given up on those New Year’s resolutions. We want to break a bad habit, or make new ones. Read more (who doesn’t want to do that?). Exercise. Start being on time. Eat better. Save money. However, I think the reason we drop those resolutions is that we don’t realize how hard it is to create a new habit and stick with it. I’ve heard the 21 days theory of creating a new habit. Well, it takes a LOT longer than 21 days for me, and I can still break a resolution.

There’s a neat little song called “New Year’s Day,” and it talks about making a list of all the things we plan to change…until January 2nd. It goes on to say, instead of trying to change a whole bunch of things, to make just one resolution: Every day is New Year’s day.
I kind of like that. If each day is another gift, then it’s definitely New Year’s each morning. The song also says another chance to change, another chance to grab grace and never let it go. We always have a chance to work on that diet, form that new habit, break the old one. This year in 2013, if you make one resolution, why not resolve that every day is New Year’s day?

 

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Lynette Sowell writes fiction for the inspirational market, from contemporary romance to mysteries. She’s always looking for the perfect recipe for a story–or a great dish–and is always up for a Texas road trip.

‘Tis the Season…for a Christmas Tale

Here it comes, no matter what we say or do, or don’t say or do–Christmas time!

Parties, programs, cooking, shopping, wrapping, lines, eating, watching favorite movies we grew up with and finding new favorites. There is something about Christmas time that can bring out the best and sometimes the worst in people. Grouchy parents, demanding kids, family friction, frustration about not meeting expectations,etc. I’m sure you can tack on your own list.

But I do love  Christmas stories–whether it’s movies from childhood past, or the classic tales that don’t grow old. For example, I don’t tire of A Christmas Carol, in the original Dickens, of course.

“You may be an undigested bit of beef, a blot of mustard, a crumb of cheese, a fragment of underdone potato. There’s more of gravy than of grave about you, whatever you are!” Gravy–grave, get it? Even now Dickens’ humor makes me smile.

“There are some upon this earth of yours,’ returned the Spirit, ‘who lay claim to know us, and who do their deeds of passion, pride, ill-will, hatred, envy, bigotry, and selfishness in our name; who are as strange to us and all our kith and kin, as if they had never lived. Remember that, and charge their doings on themselves, not us.”  Not much of an issues-based book, is it? But then Dickens tackled the issues of his day head-on. Some aren’t much different than what we face now.

And  of course, who could forget the wisdom of Tiny Tim?

“And how did little Tim behave?” asked Mrs Cratchit, when she had rallied Bob on his credulity and Bob had hugged his daughter to his heart’s content.

“As good as gold,” said Bob, “and better. Somehow he gets thoughtful, sitting by himself so much, and thinks the strangest things you ever heard. He told me, coming home, that he hoped the people saw him in the church, because he was a cripple, and it might be pleasant to them to remember upon Christmas Day, who made lame beggars walk, and blind men see.”

Allow me, one more quote from Dickens:

“He was conscious of a thousand odours floating in the air, each one connected with a thousand thoughts, and hopes, and joys, and cares, long, long, forgotten.”  Exquisite, and even better when read aloud.

I’ve had the joy of writing several Christmas titles over the years in the books A Big Apple Christmas, A Riverwalk Christmas, and Christmas At Barncastle Inn. Each of my novellas were from my heart, and I was thrilled to focus on an aspect of Christmas that was significant to me — the lighting of the tree in Rockefeller Center, the beauty of San Antonio at Christmas time, and a nod to one of my favorite Christmas movies, “White Christmas.”

What are some of your favorite Christmas stories, that you’ve read or watched? Is there an old favorite you bring out each year, or have you recently read a new book for your keeper shelf?

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Lynette Sowell writes fiction for the inspirational market, from contemporary romance to mysteries. She’s always looking for the perfect recipe for a story–or a great dish–and is always up for a Texas road trip. You can listen in to the Flashlight Reader on Monday nights here.

Read, read, and listen

I’m going to tag along with Elizabeth’s post, because her venture homeschooling and reading with her children reminded me of when my two were very young.

Some of the best memories I have of my children growing up involve our discovery of books; or rather, my joy as I rediscovered many of my favorites with them. Before they were old enough to dive into the books on their own, I read aloud to them. There’s a lot to be said for reading aloud. You can do the accents, make your voice pitch high or low, depending on the character. You learn the time to make a dramatic pause, and when exactly to stop reading for the day so the kids are ready next time. You get to experience the book together.

One of the other benefits of reading aloud is the imagination can take over instead of a newer reader trying to figure out the words on the page. The early readers might struggle with reading an “older book” for themselves, but they’re not too young to learn to listen to the pages and let their imaginations sprout.

However, when we took road trips, books on tape–and eventually CD–became our traveling companions. We traveled back and forth from Narnia as our car headed back and forth from the beach, to Tennessee and then to Colorado. In the heydey of the Left Behind saga, we listened to some of those titles too.

It’s a shame, really, that there aren’t more audiobooks in the world. While they’re not written words on printed (or digital) pages, the sound files can also transport us, especially with a good narrator that knows how to do all the voices just right.

We writers are told about the importance of reading our work aloud as we go, because the ear can pick up what the eye has missed. Maybe that’s because reading aloud reminds us about what it is to be storytellers, not just storywriters.

Is there a particular book you loved hearing read aloud, or one you wish they’d record? How many of us still read aloud to our children?

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Lynette Sowell writes fiction for the inspirational market, from contemporary romance to mysteries. She’s always looking for the perfect recipe for a story–or a great dish–and is always up for a Texas road trip. You can listen in to the Flashlight Reader on Monday nights here.

A “Perfect” Book

I’m going to piggyback my post with Beth’s from yesterday. The ACFW awards gala was amazing. It was a special evening to recognize winners in published and  published fiction. The air felt weighty with anticipation: whose work will win the top awards?

This year one book in particular that won the Carol Award for women’s fiction, Dandelion Summer, by Lisa Wingate. What distinguished it this year is that it’s the first book that received a perfect score from all five judges. Perfection.

When they closed the book, I’m wondering what went through their minds. Were they tired, or exhilarated? Did they wipe the tears away? Did certain turns of phrase resonate in their minds, even when they laid the book aside and went about their business?

I had the opportunity to interview Lisa on my online radio show, The Flashlight Reader, on Tuesday evening. She was stunned, thrilled to win, but also equally pleased that her book touched readers.

When I asked her about how she developed the characters for the book, she told me that the elderly male character in the book was based on a very-real character who was involved in the Howard Hughes space program. He’d become a fan of Lisa’s books and one day, while she was away researching, he told her his own story. One of the things he told her was he’d never told his story because he didn’t think it mattered to anyone.

Of course it did. Of course ours do.

His story went on to become the genetics of Lisa’s character. To think if she’d never heard his story or took the time to listen.

We all have stories, maybe none of them perfect. But our own stories can resonate with someone.

What’s the best true–or fictional–story you’ve read lately? Anything “perfect?”

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Lynette Sowell writes fiction for the inspirational market, from contemporary romance to mysteries. She’s always looking for the perfect recipe for a story–or a great dish–and is always up for a Texas road trip. You can listen in to the Flashlight Reader on Monday nights here.

What’s in a word?

I love pizza.

I love Saturday morning breakfast.

I love the full moon.

I love swimming at twilight.

I love my cat.

I love my husband.

I love hearing the still small Voice.

One word and so many different meanings. Love is a word that can be cheapened and tossed around glibly. I don’t love pizza like I love my husband.

So when I say, “I love you,” what does that mean? Love you like pizza?

Sometimes our words don’t mean much. I’m not posting to criticize our words. But it’s easy to clap a friend on the back and say, “Love ya,” and go on our way.

Check out 1 John 3:18. My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.

We can say I love you by what we do. The people in our lives, I’ve discovered, pass through so quickly sometimes. The younger we are, we think that our current situation will last forever. But then you wake up one day, and months or even years have passed. And so people move along as well. Either they leave this life, or leave our lives and move away, or people get too busy and grow apart.

I think back to the times I’ve told a friend I loved them, or assumed they “just knew.” Lately I’ve realized how it’s more important to do simple acts of love, those unexpected little things that will show someone that I love them. Not just telling them “love ya,” or figuring they already understood that.

What would mean something special to someone you love? A card or letter? An afternoon together? A cup of coffee, made just the way they like it? A verse you read, that you know they’d appreciate? A listening ear?

Deliberate demonstrations of love might make someone uncomfortable, though. When we acknowledge how truly important someone is to us, they may be embarrassed. But maybe it’s exactly what they needed.

My new promise to myself: no more regrets, no more holding back, no more thinking, “Oh, they already know I love them.”

Don’t forget to say I love you…Love out loud.

“Award-winning” Books

I’m starting with a disclaimer here, lest anyone think I’m out to bash contests. I’ve written at least one book that’s won an award, two that have finaled in contests. Even before I was published, I entered contests, finaled and won. I still enter my books in contests when I can.

I think it helps sometimes to hear that affirmation that our book somehow fills a need, touches a heart, resounds with someone. Hearing that affirmation makes those thousands of hours of research, writing, and revising worth it.

I continue this post with a confession: last Friday I kept one eye on my phone and the other on my work throughout the day. I knew that this was likely the day I’d get a phone call if I finaled in a contest. The hours ticked by and the day wound itself down. Then came the weekend and I knew that the phone call wouldn’t come, at least not this year.

Not to negate the importance of contests, but books in contests are measured by a small group of judges, likely a trio or a quartet. Most of the time the book is judged by industry experts, fans, and sometimes library pros.

I find myself going back and forth between loving contests yet not quite believing in their value. I find myself still entering and still waiting for a phone call. There are books that I’ve read and loved that have never won a prize. There are some books that have won prizes that truly deserved the award.

I’ve found myself giddy with delight at an awards banquet, hearing a friend’s name called as they won an award for their book. The year I won, I was speechless and could scarcely breathe as I made it through my speech.

Where do you stand? Does it matter to you if a book has won a particular prize? Does the judgment of a trio or quartet of readers outweigh the rankings of readers in places such as Goodreads? I want to know.

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Lynette Sowell writes fiction for the inspirational market, from contemporary romance to mysteries. She’s always looking for the perfect recipe for a story–or a great dish–and is always up for a Texas road trip. Her next book The Sweetheart of Starlight releases through Heartsong Presents in August and spotlights Texas barbecue.

Book overload!

I’ve always believed that you can never have too many books. However, with the advent of the electronic reader and the recent ebook explosion, I’ve noticed that while I still have a good number of paper books, my “load” of ebooks is growing.

No, they don’t weigh anything and they don’t take up any literal space, but I see that my Kindle is packed with books, from mystery to romance to suspense to nonfiction and research related books.

I noticed the overload when I went to purchase a title online. I was informed by Amazon that I’d already purchased that one–over a year ago, thank you very much.

So, I’d had that book for a year and didn’t remember buying it?

Oh boy.

Maybe I’d better start clearing that pile.

But it’s an exciting time to be a writer and a reader. At last year’s ACFW conference in St. Louis, I attended a session by the then-publisher at Thomas Nelson. He said that publishers are now information suppliers. Books are still books, but not quite as we know them. He said that his company will supply the books (aka information) in any format possible that readers will want.

I call that moving with the times. I also call it a time for a book avalanche warning.

How do you keep track of what you’ve read and haven’t read? Do you have a system? Or are you like me, with that virtual pile and real pile of books surrounding you on every side?

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Lynette Sowell writes fiction for the inspirational market, from contemporary romance to mysteries. She’s always looking for the perfect recipe for a story–or a great dish–and is always up for a Texas road trip. Her next book The Sweetheart of Starlight releases through Heartsong Presents in August and spotlights Texas barbecue.

Words We Throw Around by Lynette Sowell

We’re so quick to throw “Christian” words around in the confines of our church doors. Mercy, forgiveness, love, grace. We smile and nod that there should be more of those qualities in the world. We also know that we should help spread them around. When you’re on the receiving end of mercy, forgiveness, love, and grace, it’s a precious thing.

I’ve been thinking of mercy because of the blatant lack of it in the world. We are quick to pity and have compassion for those who deserve it, but what about those people who don’t, or the ones who inconvenience us?

I went out to eat one time with some professing Christians. On a Sunday, of course, which brings out all sorts of bad behavior from “Jesus people.” I wanted to “crawl under a tile,” as my husband likes to put it, at our friends’ behavior. Nothing seemed to please them. They complained about everything and I’m sure the poor waitress was either angry or hurt by the time she was finished serving us. I’m not saying we should sit there and eat what we didn’t order, or not say anything if an order is messed up. Lots of times–no, most of the time–a lot of how people react depends on our attitude (remember mercy, forgiveness, love, and grace above?).

Think about the waitress. Say she messes up your order. Y’all, she’s probably not intentionally trying to ruin your day. Did you think for one moment that maybe her feet are killing her, or maybe her babysitter quit. Maybe she wishes she went to college, or maybe she’s trying to finish college, and this is just a job until she finishes? Maybe she thinks you look self-righteous in your Sunday best. Christians are characteristically among the worst tippers to servers.

We ought to honor servants. But while we trip over ourselves and make sure that we have a copy of our Sunday bulletin to get our 15% discount at the restaurant, we also leave our salvation in the car, along with those words we like to toss around–mercy, forgiveness, love, and grace. We leave that grace and mercy so freely given to us, and snub our server and express our impatience with someone’s who’s just doing her job. Maybe our waitress did a lousy job. But does that excuse our lack of grace? Mercy says, “I know you’re having a tough day. Here’s a good tip. Be blessed.”

Love is all about inconvenience. It is so, so easy to inconvenience ourselves for those we have warm fuzzies toward. What about someone who passes through your life and after an hour or so, you won’t see them again? Are we showing Jesus, even for an hour? Maybe if enough Christians tipped better and acted more merciful when the service is less than stellar, someone’s life could be changed. Big changes happen in small steps. And those words aren’t just mere words.

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Lynette Sowell writes fiction for the inspirational market, from contemporary romance to mysteries. She’s always looking for the perfect recipe for a story–or a great dish–and is always up for a Texas road trip.

Living Water…Accept No Substitutes by Lynette Sowell

I don’t have to tell you that getting lost in a book is a great source of joy to readers (and writers). I feel sorry for people who never learned the skill of letting a book pull their imagination along through space and time.

However, I have had to remind myself that although I love the power of a good story, it won’t satisfy deep longings in my heart. Maybe I’m going through a dry spell, my faith is challenged yet parched. A book might, oh, provide a welcome distraction for a short period of time. I might have some good laughs and my mood might lighten for a time, but that’s simply a Band-Aid over a deeper problem.

I might just need some alone time with God, with my notebook and pen and my Bible, and try some of that liquid refreshment that soothes a parched spirit. Better than hanging out with friends or looking for that great shopping deal. After a while those things don’t nourish and refresh.

After I remind myself about finding some liquid nourishment for my spirit, I crack upone the Bible and let the words pour out. Here’s some of my favorite ones, written by King David over 2,000 years ago.

You, God, are my God,

earnestly I seek you;
I thirst for you,
my whole being longs for you,
in a dry and parched land
where there is no water.

I have seen you in the sanctuary
and beheld your power and your glory.
Because your love is better than life,
my lips will glorify you.
I will praise you as long as I live,
and in your name I will lift up my hands.
I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods;
with singing lips my mouth will praise you.

On my bed I remember you;
I think of you through the watches of the night.
Because you are my help,
I sing in the shadow of your wings.
I cling to you;
your right hand upholds me.

Now isn’t that refreshing, reading words written over two thousand years ago by a man who felt like he was in the desert? Yet he knew where to go, where to put his focus. Now that’s refreshing. He learned to dip into that Living Water.

Used Book Sales, Gotta Love ‘Em

Twice a year, our town library has a used book sale to benefit the library. They cover all the tables of the alternative school’s cafeteria with every kind of book imaginable (except the ones fit to be covered with discreet brown paper wrappers, I was told). And most of the time I try to remember to show up and support them. Now that I’m an author, I realize that all these books were once sold brand-new and the author received royalties on that sale. But what about now? They don’t.

I also realized as I look at those rows and rows of books that I don’t mind. Of course I’d like to sell a ton of books, but I also realize the value of free (or inexpensive) samples. There’s a population of readers who aren’t “cheap” people, but for whom buying books at full price is a luxury. Part of me can’t begrudge them the experience of getting lost in a story.

And truly, what place did we get most of our reading done as kids–and then try to escape from? The library, where we can read for free.

Those free or cheap sample books can lead to future sales for those authors whose books covered the tables. I’ve got a stack of books I’ll probably still be working on when the sale comes in April.

The town library invited me to be their guest speaker one February for their volunteer appreciation dinner. Let me tell you, the library people make authors feel like rock stars. And I owe a lot of my writer’s journey to them.

Anyone been to some good book sales lately?

Preaching or Storytelling?

Every so often the discussion comes up in Christian circles, with writers and readers both:

What makes Christian books…Christian?

When does a writer go from storytelling, to preaching?

How much is too much?

On the other hand, what makes a spiritual message “watered down?”

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus told the disciples that “You are salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.” (Matt. 5:13)

From this verse, I understand that we believers give a flavoring to the world that can’t be found anywhere else. Saltiness is distinctive. You can tell when it’s there, and when it’s not. Have you ever tasted a salt substitute? It’s kinda-sorta salty, but not the same thing.

The next verses tells us that we’re “the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matt. 5:14-16)

From these verses, I understand that if we’re the light of the world and let our lights shine, our good work will point others to God and bring glory to Him.

What does that mean? How exactly do writers let their words become salt and light, so readers enjoy the flavor and can clearly see a Godly message?

As readers, is there such a thing as too salty, too much of a message for us? When does the story fall to the side and the message take over? Is that a bad thing? Worse, when does a message become watered down and turn into just “a positive, feel-good story?”

This is where writers must know their audience, and think about who they’re writing for. Of course, we writers never know who’s going to read our book. For example, authors who’ve had a title release as a Kindle freebie are open to a myriad of reactions/reviews from readers, especially those who aren’t believers and who find the salt overwhelming in a book. And by overwhelming, that could be as simple as a character praying over a situation they face. This should not surprise us, as what comes naturally (or should) to a believer, is as unnatural to an unbeliever as a fish trying to breathe air.

I have to admit that when I’m reading, and a character starts “sermonizing,” as in telling another character “this is the lesson that you are learning through this situation,” I will start to skim if it goes on for very long. That’s my confession for today, I suppose. What about you? Thoughts? Reactions? Thrown tomatoes?

A Confession…

…I almost don’t want to share this, since this is a blog about reading, specifically Christians reading. But, here it is.

I really don’t read as much as I’d like to. What happened to the days when I’d finish work, then curl up for an hour or so with a novel, or even better, read late into the night, devouring pages with my eyes? (I’ll pause while that mental image sinks in…okay.)

Are you like me? Do you envy those who can read one book per week? I don’t know how they do it AND get everything else done, especially if they’re a writer. First, many writers have some kind of a day job. I do–two part-time jobs. Then there’s things like family and household affairs, like laundry, cleaning, keeping bills organized. Of course, the electronic world beckons–email, social media, etc. Oh, and if you’re a writer, writing. I also critique for a few friends, so that reading counts as well. Since we’re talking Christians reading, there’s also church and spiritual commitments as well.

It seems almost hypocritical to me for a writer NOT to read. After all, I believe that the more we read, the better we’ll write. Taking stock of 2011, I’m almost ashamed to count the number of books that I didn’t finish. I started tallying the books I managed to read all the way through, and it’s a dismal number. Not even double digits.

Part of me would like to blame my Kindle for that. In March of last year, I purchased a Kindle, thinking I’d read more. I haven’t. I have plenty of material, both fiction and nonfiction, at my disposal, in print and digital editions.

So what’s my problem? There’s plenty of reading material, as I already said. Is it quality? Have I become too highbrow a reader for my own good? In the past few years, I realize that I’ve needed to “hush” my inner editor while reading a book. After all, it’s not my story–it’s someone else’s. Or maybe it’s my attention span? Have social media and media in general caused me to not have patience for longer books?

One of my goals for 2012 is to read two books per month. I figure that is a manageable goal, to read 24 books in one year. No specific number of them need be fiction or nonfiction.

I know I’m not alone out there. C’mon, I know you’re there too. Readers with good intentions, but not finishing.

Does anyone else notice a sporadic reading habit? What should we do? I may venture back to my bookshelf for some old favorites, to see if I still love them as much as I did the first few reads through. I know, I can hear a few of you now: Well, if you really WANT to read, you will.  Um, yes, I do. And I will. But how to fit reading in and make it a priority? Not sure about that one. Or maybe I’m confessing about nothing, really. I’m curious to know.

When Christmas Stinks by Lynette Sowell

You can feel it in the air. Everyone’s talking about baking, Christmas parties, good foods, beloved traditions, gifts they’ve tucked away,and leaving town to see friends and family. The feeling can be almost contagious.

Most of us have endured Christmases we’d rather forget. Because troubles don’t keep Christmas from coming. It comes anyway, and if we look at the sparkling joy around us and don’t feel it, we feel like downers who might ruin the most perfect Christmas party.

The new town we’ve just moved to doesn’t have those special memories and people we love. When we’re unemployed, the bare space under the Christmas tree taunts us. After a divorce or breakup, the Christmas parties and gatherings are filled with people who still have their “someone.” No amount of gifts can fill the gap at the dinner table after the death of a loved one, nor the empty space next to us in the bed after losing a spouse. When our hours are filled, not with fun at the mall and baking, but sitting beside a hospital bed, Christmas can seem a million miles away. Painful changes come our way, and sometimes it’s reflected in Christmas.

Isn’t that a good thing, though? The first Christmas was steeped in trouble, its preceding months filled with scandal and rumor. I often wonder if Mary liked to have things just so, or if she was a go-with-the-flow kind of girl. “Sure, I’ll give birth in a cave. Without my mom nearby, in a strange town, without any of my family here. And my ‘midwife’ is my husband, and the baby’s not his.” Talk about a reality show!

When she and Joseph were engaged, they probably had plenty of plans. Don’t we all? But we never plan for sickness, separation, bereavement, economic hardship. We don’t plan for the bottom to drop out of our worlds, especially at Christmas time.

What can we do, then, to find something to celebrate? In the hard times, peeling away the wrapping paper and gifts, the parties that come and go, the songs that fade, we get to the heart of the celebration: hope.

The world can be a dark place, and without the hope of Christmas, we don’t have the comfort of knowing we’re not alone. We don’t have the assurance of God’s provision for our needs. But our hope came wrapped in swaddling clothes and tucked in a manger. That is a reason to celebrate, and get to know Jesus, the child who grew up to reunite us with God, the source of all peace. Without Him, all the celebrations are never enough. With Him, we can always find something to celebrate.

We can put our troubles aside, for a moment, and reach out to someone else. Find one new thing, something meaningful, to celebrate at Christmas. This season will pass and Christmas will change for us from now on. But it’s going to be okay. We have a promise. Hold onto hope! Fear not!

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

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Lynette Sowell  writes fiction for the inspirational market, from contemporary romance to mysteries. She’s always looking for the perfect recipe for a story–or a great dish–and is always up for a Texas road trip. Her most recent release is Christmas At Barncastle Inn and contains her novella Christmas Duets, a modern spinoff of the classic movie White Christmas.

*Image by Simon Howden

In Defense Of Fluffy And Light by Lynette Sowell

I’ve been hearing a lot about books needing a theme, that deeper thread, that “message” that Christian readers like to find. You’ll hear varying opinions on what makes a book have a good “message.” As I’ve listened to opinions on both sides, I found myself feeling a bit defensive. So far, my books have not addressed those hard-gripping, emotionally charged issues that make you feel like you’ve been wrung out and hung up to dry. My heroes and heroines haven’t faced deep problems. I’m willing to say that as a writer, I’m not alone in that. We who write genre fiction, shorter novels, might be looked at as writing something that’s disposable. Here one month, gone the next.

I realize that some readers don’t want, and probably don’t need, the heavy-hitting, gut-wrenching, box o’ tissues read. The world has enough trouble and sorrow of its own that sometimes it’s nice to curl up in someone else’s world.

However, I am reminded that often, as Mary Poppins sang, “a spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down in the most delightful way.” We who write sweet and light realize that our characters don’t have the pristine lives as they’d like for us to believe when we first meet them. I’ve enjoyed discovering their little secrets and that yes, indeed, my characters have–gasp–issues.

In Christmas At Barncastle Inn, my contribution to the anthology is a novella called “Christmas Duets.” Sweet and light, it’s my writer’s homage to one of my favorite movies, “White Christmas,” I discovered that the marshmallow world in the winter masked some issues.

Middle school music teacher Marcella Goudreau doesn’t like change. Change came in a big way when her grandmother threw grandpa out of the house the day after Thanksgiving. So she and her sister cook up a plan to get them back together over Christmas. Where else? By singing duets from “White Christmas” at Barncastle Inn. Armand Goudreau and his wife of over 50 years face what many couples do–growing older, starting to grow apart, and not communicating well.

Physician Assistant Sean McSweeney, a veteran whose time in the service is over, works for the Veterans Affairs facility where Armand likes to work out at the gym. Sean is very successful at shutting people out of his life. For him, Christmas is a solitary time because of his fractured family and alcoholic mother. Then he takes Armand in after the man shows up on his doorstep. Armand, though, refuses to miss out on the family’s Christmas gathering at Vermont’s Barncastle Inn, and insists that Sean go with him.

A fluffy and light Christmas read? Maybe just a little. Sometimes, though, that’s exactly what we need, and any “message” goes down easy and settles inside us to do its thing. I hope my readers think so. Merry Christmas to you all, and as you go about your preparations, remember that it’s okay if not everything goes according to plan. Sometimes that makes for the best Christmas ever.

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Lynette Sowell  writes fiction for the inspirational market, from contemporary romance to mysteries. She’s always looking for the perfect recipe for a story–or a great dish–and is always up for a Texas road trip.