R.A. Nelson's Blog, page 13

Frodo Lives: An Author’s Awakening

Today we pick up the tale of “How I Became R. A. Nelson” in high school.

I was beginning to explore my identity as a poet, and I was still writing stories, mostly for school. My academic years proved a fruitful time for me as a writer, providing me opportunities to write both for school assignments and extracurricular contests, some of which I won. (Yay, recognition!) Most of my stories were a) longer than the assignment (or contest deadlines) called for; and b) overtly Christian i...

The Bigness Which You See

Happy 2018 – and Happy Eve of Epiphany!

The Feast of Epiphany is tomorrow. It marks the end of “Christmas” and celebrates the visit of the three wise men to the Christ child, the event that signifies this baby as Messiah not just for Israel, but for the gentiles also. “Epiphany” literally means “an appearance or manifestation” (thank you, dictionary.com). It is about that moment when light breaks through and you see what you were not able to see before. It feels very appropriate to...

A Poem for Christmas Eve (Sort Of)

My mom has always said that everything that happens in life is either a “blessing” or an “adventure”.

Well, friends, if your 2018 has been anything like mine so far, your days are full of “adventures” (that do, indeed, contain within themselves much blessing and grace), and the last thing you need is one more blog to read.

I did, however, promise a poem for each Sunday in Advent AND one for Christmas Eve. This practicing of Advent through poetry has been my tradition for a few year...

A Walk Through Wonder

’Tis the fourth Sunday of Advent, friends.

This year, ’tis also Christmas Eve.

One week ago, my husband and I ventured out into the winter wonderland that lies at our doorstep. Right across the creek lies the White Mountain National Forest; and, when the creek is frozen, you can simply walk across to enjoy the wild, solitary beauty.

Have you ever walked across a frozen body of water? It's quite a thrill.

I found myself almost breathless at the wonder of it all, and ref...

Gatekeeper III: Another Beginning

The third book is a bit different.

It is, in my opinion, the best in the trilogy. For one thing, it had a longer writing process and more editing attention than the other two combined. Furthermore, I had a few more years of living and hours and hours of writing in my experience when I set out to write The Keeping. Beyond these obvious advantages, the plot of The Keeping departs more from my own life than either The Finding or The Leaving. The story went through several v...

Gifts for a Snowy Monday

It’s snowing again. The waterfall now looks like this:

No problem with that here, my friends. Snow is utterly magical to me. We went for a walk in the woods yesterday, and I got to walk across a frozen creek. I could hardly take in the sheer wondrous beauty of it all. (Expect poetry about it soon.)

Alas, not everyone in our little family has taken so blissfully to this northern move. Behold the doggie boy:

"Um, so...why?"

We know part of his ennui is simply...

Gatekeeper II: A (Mostly) Academic Memoir

I cannot talk about Gatekeeper II: The Leaving without talking about King – King College, that is.

Just as Gatekeeper I: The Finding is my love letter to Oxford, Gatekeeper II is my tribute to my alma mater, a private, Christian, liberal arts college tucked away in the mountains of Tennessee.

The Oval. Legend has it that, if you walk with someone ’round it three times, you’ll marry that someone. As I met my husband about five years after leaving King, I cannot verify this le...

GIFTS! (and poetry)

Dear ones,

‘Tis two weeks ‘til Christmas!!! I am savoring every moment of this northern holiday experience. This past weekend, we got to watch White Christmas while it was actually snowing. What’s more, we were eating homemade tomato soup and Swedish bread, followed up by eggnog cake (be on the watch for that recipe in the near future!). It. Was. Amazing.

In the spirit of sharing all this wintry love, here are some views from our walk yesterday:

Needless to say, I am enj...