B.J. Hoff's Blog, page 12

Q & A

 I drew this week's questions from those that have to do with writing.  Hope you find my answers helpful. 

Q.    Could you refer me to a good writers handbook or style book?

A.    There are so many of these! Over the years, a writer builds up quite a collection. There are also usage handbooks and grammar handbooks and references--and most of them are reliable. The ones I tend to use most often include the Chicago Manual of Style; The Careful Writer (Theodore Bernstein); Merriam-Webster's...

Happy St. Patrick's Day

"Be Thou my vision, O Lord of my heart,

Naught is all else to me, save that Thou art.

Thou my best thought by day and by night,

Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.

Be Thou my wisdom, Thou my true word;

I ever with Thee, Thou with me, Lord ...

Thou my soul's shelter, Thou my high tower;

Raise Thou me heavenward, power of my power.

Riches I heed not, nor man's empty praise,

Thou mine inheritance now and always.

Thou, and Thou only, first in my heart,

High King of heaven, my treasure Thou art ...

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Many Thanks

 Just wanted to drop in long enough to say thanks to all who have contacted me about my husband. His surgery went extremely well, and he's making good progress. 

I appreciate so much your inquiries--your emails and cards--and especially your prayers. There's still one more procedure to go, once he's fully recovered from this time around, and I'll keep in touch as we go.

Again, many thanks. You've been wonderful!

BJ

Here Today ... Gone Tomorrow

Just so you know ... I'll be away from the blog for a few days.

Life interruption.

BJ

Writers and Their Macs

 Someone (a non-writer) asked me the other day why so many writers use Mac computers instead of PCs. After thinking about it, I suspect the answer to that is likely the same as it would be if someone were to ask why people in general use Macs instead of PCs. 

As a writer who's also a diehard member of the Mac camp, I have some very specific reasons why I'd never go back to a PC after "switching" several years ago. You can find a few posts about those reasons here, in the Mac Stuff...

Words by the Pros

Like to know what other writers think about their craft? I have a hefty collection of "writerly thoughts," and from time to time I like to pass them on to you. Here are just a few:

 I refuse to write the same story twice. I keep
experimenting. I keep learning how to work. I've been at it pretty much 50
years, and I'm now beginning to learn how to do the job well. -Harlan Ellison

We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes
a master. 
-Ernest Hemingway

Don't fear making a...

A Few of My Favorite Things (As in Books)

 This is one of those reprinted by request posts. A few days ago a reader asked for a list of some of my favorite books. Because I've talked about this kind of list here at Grace Notes before, I decided to just pull an entry from the archives and reprint it. 

In no way is this particular list a comprehensive one, but it's a good sampling.

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To me, a list of favorites would be made up of those books I've read more than once. Which brings up a question: what makes a book worth rereading?

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Underground Railroad

 After reading the first two novels (Rachel's Secret and Where Grace Abides) in my Riverhaven Years series, several readers have written to me in search of more information  about the Underground Railroad. (One of the anchor characters--"Captain Gant"--is a conductor on the Railroad.)

Below is an abbreviated list of books for those of you who want to read more about this dramatic, clandestine movement and its stories of heroism and courage. Far from comprehensive, I've simply listed a few of...

Q & A

 Q.    I know you write only novels, but do you read nonfiction? If you do, who is your favorite nonfiction author? 

A.    I read a lot of nonfiction, and there are a number of NF writers I enjoy. Probably first on the list would be A.W. Tozer. I read most of Philip Yancey's work also. I love the works of the Irish missionary, Amy Carmichael. C.S. Lewis. Journalist and essayist Pete Hamill (who also writes fiction). Biographies and devotionals are also among my favorite NF writings.

Q.    Do...

And the Title Is ...

 To clear up some confusion about the titles of my Riverhaven Years series: At the end of the first book, Rachel's Secret, it was mentioned that the title for Book Two would be River Song, when in fact the title for Book Two turned out to be Where Grace Abides. 

Then, at the end of Book Two, Where Grace Abides, it stated that the title for Book Three would be Gideon's Hope, when in fact the actual title for Book Three will be River of Mercy. 

This sort of mixup happens more often than we'd...