Rightfully Ours by Carolyn Astfalk, published on April 1, 2017, by Full Quiver Publishing, has been awarded the Seal of Approval by the Catholic Writers Guild. Books…
Leave a CommentRelevant Fiction for Body & Soul
Author: CAstfalk
Carolyn Astfalk is a wife, mother, and author of contemporary Catholic romances, including her latest, All in Good Time. She formerly worked as a communications director and now works just to keep her head above water. Find her books on Amazon and her other words scattered around the blogosphere and social media.
Won’t You Be My Neighbor? Edition
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The Elderly Couple
When we moved into our first (and current) home eighteen years ago, our neighbors were an elderly couple. She’d been widowed twice. Him, once. She baked pies from the cherries grown on their tree. He told stories of his Merchant Marine days in WWII. They spent evenings sitting in the shade of two giant maple trees. When it snowed, the previous owner of our home often came with his snow blower. When he didn’t, we shoveled out the shared mailbox area in front of our homes.
8 CommentsBy Guest Blogger Sarah Damm
Have you heard the Christmas song “Grown-Up Christmas List”? Many singers have recorded it, but the version I am most familiar with is on Amy Grant’s Home for Christmas album.
The lyrics reflect back on childhood when Christmas included writing out a wish list and sending it to Santa Claus. As children, we hope for the magical appearance of presents underneath the tree on Christmas morning. However, as we grow up, our Christmas wishes change. We realize that we care less about material goods, and we begin hoping for less tangible gifts like peace, joy, friendship, and healing.
Last week, that song came to mind as I was sitting in the Adoration chapel at my church. My children were completing their week of Vacation Bible School, and I was closing out my own “Grown-up VBS.”
1 CommentI thought life would slow down a bit once school ended. How wrong I was! After a month filled with baseball and softball games, Boy Scout meetings, talent show rehearsals, a ballet recital, field trips, eighth grade graduation, and many other activities and events that I’ve already forgotten, I was sure life would return to a manageable pace.
Unlike many YA books written for adults, yours seem to be truly aimed at teens. While neither The Perfect Blindside nor An Unexpected Role take on big, controversial issues, they focus on natural concerns and problems that are, in fact, important to teens, both personally and spiritually. What inspires you to write for teens?
My oldest child was always an avid reader, and when he was in middle school he began searching for YA books. It was difficult to find fun, adventurous books that he wanted to read that also reflected the values we were trying to instill in him. So many YA books contained things that weren’t appropriate. I kept wondering why someone didn’t write adventurous books for teens with good messages. At the time, I didn’t know God would call me for this task! But shortly after, the idea for The Perfect Blindside just popped into my head. Since then I’ve concentrated on creating intriguing mysteries that can also encourage teens to grow in their faith through their underlying messages. Although I do have to say that even though my books are about teens I have a lot of adults that have been enjoying them as well.
As Independence Day grows near, it’s natural to turn our thoughts to our nation’s freedoms, which we hold dear. I can’t think of a better time to read Theresa Linden’s Liberty Series, which focuses on the values we Americans cherish.
The final book in the series, Fight for Liberty, will be featured on Erin McCole Cupp’s Sabbath Rest Book Talk July 9, 2017, as we discuss the month’s theme: revolution!
About the Series:
4 CommentsBy Guest Blogger Jeannie Ewing
It could be any day now, I tell myself as I huff and puff my way to the midwife’s exam room. Everything seems different, new, and I can’t seem to determine whether or not all of these changes are good. I pat my expanding belly and offer our daughter in utero a wry smile. “I can’t wait to meet you, Veronica,” I tenderly whisper to her, even as the fear sweeps over my heart.
The what ifs aren’t just nervous jitters. Well, maybe some of them are. My what ifs involve reliving the very dramatic and in some ways traumatic birthing experience I had with our soon-to-be middle daughter, Sarah. I went from a joyful anticipation in early labor to complete, drop-dead terror as my doctor announced a necessary c-section was in order.
Welcome to the June 2017 edition of An Open Book, hosted both at My Scribbler’s Heart AND CatholicMom.com! My family is in a bit of a reading…
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