Erin Lewis's Blog, page 3

Seeking Beta Readers!

As I work on edits for Chalice Book Three, The Fire of Your Love, I am simultaneously preparing my next book, Up in Flames, to go through the beta reading process!

What is a beta reader?

A beta reader gets to read an early version of a novel and offer feedback for improvement to the author. This is different from an ARC reader, who receives a fully edited, near-final copy of a novel to read purely for pleasure in exchange for an honest written review.

[Those of you hoping to for an ARC (advance rea...

Three Catholic Book Reviews (and Happy Thanksgiving!)

Hello, friends, and I hope you are having a wonderful Thanksgiving! As I write this on Wednesday, I’m ready for some of this pecan pie! As you’re sitting around feeling stuffed from all that turkey today, why not peruse these reviews of three new books I’ve just read?

And speaking of reviews, to those of you who have read Firetender and/or Enkindle in Me, I would be forever THANKFUL if you could spend a few minutes this holiday weekend leaving my books a review on Amazon, Goodreads, or both. Plea...

Does Profanity Have a Place in Fiction? part 2

Part one of this series resulted in lots of good discussion in the comments, which shows that this is a topic with many opinions and a lot to chew on. Remember, this conversation refers to books written for adults, not fiction targeted at those under age 18. I will continue the discussion today with a focus on two things:

The humanity of the characters

The impact on the reader

The Humanity of your Fictional Characters

Yes, they’re fictional: not real people. But why do we create fictional characters...

Book Reviews - Fiction

Wanted to drop a few book reviews in here of things I have read this summer. I’ll share a few non-fiction titles soon, but first, here are two fictional stories: one novel and one novella.

Sparks Fly Upward:

I read a digital ARC (advance reader copy) of the third (out of a planned four) title in Kelsey Gietl’s Larksong Legacy series. I was not required to leave a positive review in exchange for the ARC. I have read all of the first three books now and appreciate what Kelsey is doing with her stori...

Does Profanity Have a Place in Fiction?

Depiction of the use of profanity and other ugly human actions in stories can be a controversial topic. I often see it portrayed in a black-and-white, all-or-nothing approach. I want to go deeper into the nuances of profanity in fiction and discuss when and why an author may include it, and if there are times when it is the right choice as well as those when it is unnecessary.

I will refrain from spelling out most cuss words in this series of posts. Maybe that seems ironic, given that we are disc...

The Chalice Series in its own setting!

I have said before that I often place my fictional scenes in real places I have never actually seen. Well, I changed that for one pivotal location in all three Chalice Series books last month when we stopped at the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Denver!

Channing’s Memorare prayer card outside the church where he found it in the catechism given to him by Father Benedict

If you’ve read Firetender, you may remember this as the setting of an important conversation about faith betwe...

Enkindle in Me is turning ONE!

It’s been almost one year since Enkindle in Me joined Firetender as a published novel, continuing Dallas’s story from loss and despair to redemption and through discernment of his future. I’d love it if you would join in the celebration with me!

EIM at the basilica in Denver!

Here’s some ideas on how to celebrate:

Take a photo of your copy of Enkindle in Me—be creative! Maybe it’s on your bookshelf, or you’re reading it while on vacation. Then send the image to me via email or share it and tag me o...

Writing Updates

Hi everyone! It’s been a few months since I have sent out a newsletter, and now that summer is here, we are taking a break from homeschooling, and I am ready to get back into sending these out with a little more regularity. My family has already vacationed for two weeks, and that was a blast. We saw a lot of our country that we’d not yet visited!

my family climbing rocks in Joshua Tree just after sunset

In author news, I have several exciting writing-related things going on! I recently got to visi...

Happy 99th Birthday, Flannery O'Connor!

Hello, everyone!

Today marks what would have been the 99th birthday of Flannery O’Connor, Catholic American Southern gothic author who died young after a struggle with lupus. My family recently took a spring break vacation around our state of Georgia, and we concluded with a stop at Andalusia, the farm and homestead where Flannery O’Connor lived much of her adult life.

I wanted to share some photos. These below show some of the outdoors: the property extends down to a pond and stream with a trail ...

Recent Reads and Lenten Update

Hello, friends!

It’s been over a month since I have done a newsletter, so I have a few in the works for the coming month: book reviews, a visit to a Southern author’s home, and another Backstory Excerpt.

How is your Lent going? One of my main sacrifices for this penitential season was to mostly get off social media. I’ve only responded to messages or if I was tagged or otherwise contacted. You would think this would free me up for other things, but… not really. Maybe that’s because I’m revising Ch...