Robin Lee Hatcher's Blog, page 76

Adding New Layers to a Story

My head is deep into the revisions of A Promise Kept. I’m loving the new layers I’ve been able to add, and I look forward to doing more of the same throughout the book.

I so appreciate the wonderful editor I’m working with on this novel. She’s a gem (we’ve done quite a few books together over the past 15 years). She’s able to help me see where a story can be improved while always allowing it to remain mine, to stay true to my vision. That’s the best kind of editor to have.

I have one writer fri...

WordPress & the Writer’s Web Site

It’s been about twenty years or so since I had my first web site developed. This was back in the dial up Internet days. I can still hear the dialing and beeping of the modem as it made its connection. The Internet was slow, so most sites weren’t very complex.

Heisenberg Media

The web designer I had at the start could take a week or more to correct one word on my site, and I got billed for it too. So after some time, I made the next logical step: I took over the management of my site myself. Lit...

Documentary Review: The Last Days

Tonight I watchedThe Last Days, a 1998 documentary about the Holocaust that (I think) is new to DVD. At least that’s how it appeared on Netflix. Here’s the official blurb:

Directed by James Moll and executive-produced by Steven Spielberg, this powerful, Oscar-winning documentary recounts the harrowing stories of five Hungarian Jews who endured the horrors of the holocaust and the reign of Adolf Hitler. In addition to the testimonials of the Hungarian subjects, the heart-wrenching film also inc...

Rest

It’s rather fitting, after my post about juggling books and how hectic my writing schedule has been, that my church’s study of spiritual disciplines this week is on Rest. STOP is the keyword. Learning to quiet ourselves and know God is the key lesson.

In this morning’s devotional, a quote from 24/6: A Prescription for a Healthier, Happier Lifef by Matthew Sleeth, MD (ebook, $2.99; print, $11.64) was used:

[image error]We don’t just work at one thing anymore. We drink coffee and drive cars. We drive cars and...

Documentary Review: Hitler’s Children

Once again, I have no idea how or when this documentary made its way into my movie queue. Because of my interest in WWII history, I’m sure I added it as soon as I saw it in some magazine. At this time, it is available both on DVD and via streaming.

This is a 2011 German language documentary, with English subtitles. Here’s the blurb:

The descendants of Adolf Hitler’s inner circle — Hermann Goering, Heinrich Himmler, Amon Goeth, Rudolph Hoess, and Hans Frank — come to terms with their infamous su...

Juggling Books

[image error]I would love to write on my blog that the life of a novelist is one of glamor and fame. It may be for some, at least the fame part. And there are a few times in a writer’s life when she might get all gussied up in sequins and walk the red carpet, so to speak. But mostly, the writing life is sitting in front of a computer, sometimes still in PJs, sans makeup (for the gals), and putting down words, day in and day out. And for many writers, contracts and publication dates mean we are juggling se...

Christian Fiction Wednesday

[image error] LETTERS TO KATIE

by Kathleen Fuller

Everything changed between them the first time he called her Katie.

Katherine Yoder has loved Johnny Mullet since the two were children, but he’s never returned her affections.

Now Johnny is trying to forge a new life for himself by purchasing a farm and building a business of his own. But times are tough, and he soon learns that he can’t take anything for granted—especially Katherine. Before Johnny has the opportunity to tell Katherine his true feelings, she’s...

Reading & Writing as a Spiritual Discipline

Our church is doing a sermon series (with accompanying weekly devotions) on various spiritual disciplines/practices. This past Sunday, we were looking at reading and writing as a spiritual discipline. And as part of the sermon, Pastor Mike did a mini-interview with me.

Following is just the interview, not the entire sermon. I cringe as I watch it, wishing I hadn’t done this, wishing I would have said that. You know how that goes. We can pick ourselves apart, given enough time. But I hope you w...

Revealing My New Book Cover

[image error]I’ve been anxiously awaiting the end of the Scavenger Hunt so I could share with all of you the title and cover of my January 2014 release, A Promise Kept. Ta da!

Kudos to the wonderful folks at Thomas Nelson for this beautiful design. They gave me some fabulous options to start with and then worked closely with me to come up with a cover that fits the story perfectly.

Without the benefit of a back cover blurb (I’ll share that with you later), care to tell me what this cover “says” to you? I’d...

Scavenger Hunt Stop #22

[image error]Welcome to the 2013 Summer Scavenger Hunt! This hunt (which begins at noon Mountain Daylight Time and not before) has 32 stops and runs May 17 through May , 2013. You can make the loop, reading unique content from 31 different authors, and if you complete the loop, and fill out the Rafflecopter form at Stop #32, you’ll be in the running for an iPad Mini (loaded with all our books), or one of two runner-up prizes—all 31 of our new releases in paperback. In addition, some authors are offering a...