Thank you guys for your prayers. Those incidents are some of the reasons I plead Yeshua's blood and the hedge of protection and angels around them and everyone else everyday. She's grown up in this area so she's use to some of it, but it seems to have gotten worse-or more frequent. I didn't mean for this to come up as a prayer session, but could you please pray they get a good car and safer place to live, hopefully of their dreams, sooner rather than later? It would be appreciated. (I could use a bit of that prayer, too, please. There are concerns about my 18 yr-old car, which they also use to get her husband to work, etc. Right now I can't afford another one and they can't afford one at all).

I never thought about "making it big". I guess because to me, that would be someone like J.K. Rowling and I really don't care about that kind of success. I wouldn't know what to do with it! But I have 2 WIP that are the most important books I have ever done. What I want is for them to make a real, lasting and personal impact on some people's way of thinking about God and the environment. Since I am retirement age and see no means of doing it even in the distant future, I guess, for me, "making it big" would mean my dream come true of financial and health security so I can "retire" and have my time free to write and do my art full-time before my hands betray me any further.

I built the tension in my children's book, Amazonia, The Legend, in a slightly different way. The threat is the plantation owners' desire to destroy the animals' area of the rainforest, their homes and families. Tension mounts as they face dangerous conditions while carry out what they believe to be the most obvious solution, but it slows down to a more relaxed and funny scene, lulling them into believing they succeeded in saving their world. They don't know what the audience knows; that one of the plantation owners is bent on burning their forest to the ground. They wake from their peaceful slumber to the smell of smoke. . . It is not until the second half of the book that the audience finds out who lives and who dies.

My heart goes out to them. Plz keep us updated on his condition. Not long ago I asked for prayer on a premature baby girl named Penelope. The people on this site were quick to respond and I treasure them for it. God heard all our prayers and the baby is beautiful, plump and healthy and home now. I believe God has heard all our prayers and you will have a wonderful update on Aaron, too.

As far as breaking away from your set genre, I read that several well known authors, such as Stephen King, wrote books under other pen names. We could always take a cue from Patrick Stewart, Capt. Picard on Star Trek, Next Generation. He realized actors before him who worked on the Star Trek movies and series became type cast. So, during hiatus he would do other acting jobs totally unrelated and had a very successful career because of it. I am working on two books that are deep in my blood, but they are about as far away from each other as you can get. When I'm stuck on one I can go to the other. If both are successful, they should help me not to be get pigeon-holed into one genre.

One of our own, BK Hunter, wrote a scene that stood out for me in his book where time was ticking as events were happening. It was like an imaginary clock running out of time as each stage of the scene marched forward. I thought it was very effective and definitely built up the suspense..

My daughter lives in an unsavory neighborhood. Yesterday, as she was getting her 16 month-old son out of the car, she spotted a strange man watching her. She was only a few yards from her front door, but as she tried to get to it, the man began chasing her. He would have caught her before she could put her keys in the door so, she ran screaming, clutching her son to her, to her father-in-law's house just 3 doors away. Someone came out of that house and chased the man from her, but he ducked into an abandoned school yard just across the street. At that point the concern was for the neighborhood children who often play there after school. She does not know if the police caught the man or not, but she was afraid to leave her own home for three hours after that. She said it was the scariest thing she has experienced even though she has seen her brother-in-law stabbed, and the men in her family have chased down and held a naked man, high of course, who was going after the neighborhood children until the cops got there. There are so many other "incidents" that have happened in this part of town, but I think these would fit your LA setting.

Suspensewriter, if you don't mind my asking, is there a reason why your writing methods changed after your stroke?

Thank you for your insight. It is especially appreciated since it is coming from someone who is working inside the business.

it sounds like the little plane accident that was on the national news. if so, I know prayers went up then for all the families, including my own. I believe you have more praying for Aaron and the families across the country than you know. Thank you for giving us a bit more information to apply our prayers to. It makes it more personal and I will continue to pray. God said he is father to the fatherless and husband to the widows. I believe that. They so much need him now. God have mercy on Aaron and all of them. In Yeshua's Holy Name, Amen.

I have a plaque in my kitchen that has a steaming cup of coffee on it with the words, "Good morning. This is God. I will be handling all your problems today." Sometimes I read it, breathe a deep sigh and think, "Yeah, God. You got this and I trust you."

Oh, how I wish I could see that. :) You are so blessed to live in such a beautiful area. It was literally 28 degrees this morning (in central Oklahoma) and the leaves are falling without much of a nod to the fall colors. We broke a record! Good thing I didn't quite trust the weather people and covered my faucet and roses last night. Maybe next year I'll have a good enough car and time and money to travel 5 hours up the road to Arkansas' Boston Mountains. They are suppose to be beautiful in the fall. And just maybe someday I'll be able to see Vermont and the surrounding states' fall colors. The bible does say God will give us the desires of our hearts and that has always been one of my dreams. :)

.Wow, I've never been told that before. It is probably the most beautiful compliment I've ever gotten on my writing. Thank you so very much for that and your encouragement and faith in my work. God's blessings to you and yours. Becky

Hi HLT, There's not much to say about my journey. Though I concentrated on my art since childhood, I think there was an underlying need to write back then, too. In between life I wrote several children's stories and one novel (that I ended up tossing--though I'm not sure I should have considering how successful 'Stargate' was and it was very much along those lines way before Stargate came out--hmmm). That's ok, though, since SG1 turned out to be one of my favorite tv series so, I get to see it on reruns anytime I want. :) The truth is, I didn't feel comfortable with all the demi-gods and didn't have the experience to write it. But it was good practice. As the years went by, I started my novel on the beginning of literally everything. It's a historical fiction about the Creators, Satan's attempted coup and the fall of Adam and Eve (Chavvah). I finished it, but it was lacking. Just as I was about to find time to redo it, my husband got cancer and died. Between the troubles that came afterward, finances, and a whole new way of getting books to the agents and publishers, etc., my novel has been slo-ow going. But I am so much more satisfied with it and I think the excess time is insuring a better chance at its success. God is always with me, but I especially appreciate the time and help he has given me on this book since it is a book literally about him and Yeshua. All I know is it is going to be published. In fact, one of the scenes I did was based on an open vision I saw of it as an advertisement for a movie--a movie that does not exist.

Hi Rasman. Congratulations on finishing your book. The people in this forum are friendly, wise and willing to help so, I am sure you will find at least some of your needs addressed. With that and the Lord's help, I believe your book will be well on its way to a success story.