Janet Sketchley's Blog: Tenacity, page 81

Review: Trial by Twelve, by Heather Day Gilbert

Trial by Twelve, by Heather Day Gilbert (WoodHaven Press, 2015)

Despite her troubled past, Tess is thriving in the close-knit Spencer family. She’s a feisty, straight-talking (and straight-shooting) wife and mother, trying to supplement the family income. She’s not looking for trouble, but trouble finds her – this time in the form of skeletons found buried at the spa where she works. Newer deaths suggest the killer isn’t finished yet.

Tess nearly lost her life the last time she investigated a...

Where I’ve Been Lately

This post’s title makes me smile. Mostly where I’ve been, writing-wise, is hunkered in my writing corner, finishing the first draft ofNo Safe Place.

My writing nook, complete with stuffed “muse.”

However, this introvert has taken herselfand her books into the wider world, and found it’s not as scary as she thought. So far this year I’ve spoken to a readers’ group at one local church and a seniors’ group at another. Most people at the first event had read one or both of my books, and it was so...

Enough Time

My times are in your hands;
deliver me from the hands of my enemies,
from those who pursue me.
Psalm 31:15, NIV*

This is one of my comfort verses. The NLT translates “times” as “future,” and that seems to be the major meaning of the text in context of the danger from David’s enemies.

My “times,” then, are all the minutes of my life. God holds my future and no enemy can shorten it. He also holds my present.

Sometimes all that’s pursuing me are to-do lists and deadlines. I’m in the middle of...

Review: Shadow of a Butterfly, by J.A. Menzies

Shadow of a Butterfly, by J.A. Menzies (MurderWillOut Mysteries, 2015)

In typical Golden-Age mystery style, J.A. Menzies creates a tapestry of well-formed characters whose interplay offers – and masks – motive and opportunity for murder. The dynamics between old-school detective Paul Manziuk and his much younger partner, Jaquie Ryan, add another satisfying layer.

The murder takes place in an upscale apartment complex for senior citizens, making everyone on that floor of the building a potenti...

Learning and Remembering

“The problem isn’t that we aren’t learning. The problem is we forget.” (Emily P. Freeman, “How I Keep Track of What I’m Learning“)

Forgetting leads to remedial lessons and to missing the chance to learn even more. If you take time to read her post (well worth it, just click the link above) you’ll see her wonderful journal suggestion. I’d love one with graph paper markings (that’s the sort of paper I use in drafting my fiction ideas), but I went to Dollarama instead. Here’s the (straight-lined...

God at Work

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
Romans 8:28, NIV*

Many of us know and rely on verses like this in times of trouble. I hadn’t paid attention to the NIV footnotes before hearing Rob Whittaker (Principal of Capernwray Bible School) speak recently at the HalifaxKeswick Convention.

Look at one of the alternate wordings mentioned in the footnote:

…that in all things God works together with those who love...

Review: Buried Secrets, by Irene Hannon

Buried Secrets, by Irene Hannon (Revell, 2015)

The discovery of skeletal remains on a construction site unites a small-town police chief and a county detective in a search for justice. Lisa Grant and Mac MacGregor have both stepped into lower-stress roles to find balance in their lives… and maybe to carve out enough time to find someone to settle down with. Romantic sparks fly at their first meeting, but the case must come first.

Thanks to the opening scene, readers know how the body arrived...

Write Canada: 5 benefits, plus 1

One of the best things a writer (or wanna-be writer) can do is invest in a conference. Consider these benefits:

practical teaching on the craft connection with other writers making new friends and growing existing friendships learning from those ahead of us on the trail passing on what we’ve learned to those behind us affirming that we’re not alone in our writerly oddness opportunities to cross-promote our work, guest post on others’ blogs, etc. connection with faculty pitching ideas to...

Revealing Jesus

I did not recognize him as the Messiah, but I have been baptizing with water so that he might be revealed to Israel.
John 1:31, NLT*

John says that Jesus “has revealed God to us.” (John 1:18, NLT*) We who believe in Him are called to reveal Jesus to those around us just as surely as John the Baptist was called to prepare the way. (See Matthew 28:18-20)

Each of us will have a different way of revealing Jesus to the world. John the Baptist called the people en masse to repentance, confronting...

Review: The Speed of Dark, by Elizabeth Moon

The Speed of Dark, by Elizabeth Moon (Del Rey Books Mass Market Edition, 2005)

Spend some time in a high-functioning autistic man’s head, and you may be surprised at how much you relate.

Lou Arrendale is in his 30’s, employed with a small group of other autistic people in the computer division of a large pharmaceutical company. He works at pattern analysis, although he likely couldn’t tell you the purposes of the patterns he creates from what’s on his screen.

The time is our near future. Othe...