January 2018 Around the Web

Sandra Ardoin @Sandra Ardoin

INSPIRATION:

I enjoyed this devotional post from author J.A. Marx as she talks about going from “weary” to “wonder.”

“Not coincidentally, ‘your’ word will seemingly appear everywhere and will pop up in various ways to keep it on your mind and heart.” Oh, how true is that sentence from a post by Jennifer Bunderle on the Heart”wings” blog. Did you choose a word to concentrate on this year? I did. Mine is courage. It’s been crazy how many times I’ve already come across that word and its mirror word “fear.”

We love to speak “Christianese” don’t we? Chuck Lawless wrote a post called “10 Phrases I’d Like to Hear More Often in the Church.” Some of those stepped on my toes. 🙂

READING:

Beth Erin at Faithfully Bookish gives her list of “Highly Anticipated 2018 Reads.” Are any of these novels on yours?

Like any other business owners, authors must sell books to keep publishing. If you have a favorite author (or a list of them), here are 18 Ways to Support an Author (Besides Buying Their Book) from the The Write Life blog.

Family Fiction’s interview with Laura Frantz, author of The Lacemaker, reveals the background behind the story, some history, and what’s next for her fans. (Read my review of The Lacemaker.)

This article from Publishers Weekly is both for readers and writers and involves an agreement between Walmart and Kobo to offer ebooks in the U.S. As a reader, it’s an expanded source for ebooks. For indie writers, would this entice you to spread your story’s distribution, rather than going exclusively with Amazon? Do you see this as the beginning of stronger competition for Amazon?

WRITING:

On the Craftie Ladies blog, Lorraine Beatty describes how she goes about building the hero and heroine for her stories.

If you’re a Pinterest user, you might find this article on the Make a Living Writing blog helpful to market your work.

I’ll be honest, I cannot imagine myself writing five books in one year. But, then, I guess I’m not as disciplined as Jody Hedlund. 🙂 For her tips to accomplish that feat, including the “One Essential Tip to Creativity,” check out this post on the Inspired by Life blog.

Since I began writing full-time, I’ve noticed the negative effect working on the computer has had on my eyesight. (Okay, some of it is age.) The article “#5onFri: Five Eye Care Tips for Writers” on the DIY MFA blog caught my attention.

Let me know which internet articles you’ve found insightful this month!