Timothy's Thoughts

S everal days ago, a reader asked me which of my novels I and other people think is the best. I completely understand why people would ask that question. I ran into the problem when I decided I wanted to try one of Tamela Hancock Murray’s books. She has about 40 books available and since many are romance novels, I don’t anticipate reading them all. I have fewer books, but even picking from five novels can be overwhelming when you just want one. I wish I could say that it is an easy question to answer, but all of my books are good. I love each for a different reason. Add to that the fact that the book most fresh in an author’s mind is the one he will prefer above the rest. But having given it some though, I’ve narrowed the question of my best work to date down to two. And since I feel I must choose one or the other as the book I would recommend if people wish to read one book and no more, I will place Mother Not Wanted in the top slot and For the Love of a Devil in the second. Wh...

W hile looking through some forums I found the following post from a fellow writer: Hello Ready-Readers! This is Ready Writer, [name deleted], and I'd like to introduce my Christian Fiction novel titled, "[title deleted]." This is a must-read page turner you will NOT be able to put down. This book is 100% clean that will not only edify the Body of Christ, but will also minister to the lost and backslidden. Please check out my website: [URL deleted] or search for the title here on Amazon.com for reviews and testimonies. Thank you for looking. Blessings to you all for a Happy and Healthy 2011! I’ve removed the identifying information to protect the guilty, but thought it might be useful for us to consider this post and its inability to promote the book the writer intends to promote. The first problem appears first thing. “Hello Ready-Readers! This is Ready Writer!” Doesn’t that just make you want to puke? Whatever else this writer says, she has already turned us off by ta...

P ublishAmerica is by far the most notorious publisher in the publish-on-demand game. And here I pick my words carefully because PublishAmerica goes to great lengths to say that they are not a vanity press. Looking at their website, they give one the impression that they are a traditional publisher. In fact, they are not very discriminating in determining what to publish, making them more of a publish-on-demand publisher than a traditional publisher. I was unaware of this several years ago before I published my first book. An acquaintance had published a book through them and I gave serious thought to doing the same, but when visited their website, I saw wording that said that PublishAmerica “specializes in books about, or by, people who face and overcome hardships and obstacles in life (both fictional and nonfictional), and who turn stumbling blocks into stepping stones.” I looked at the nature of my book and decided it didn’t fit in that category, so I didn’t send them a manuscript. ...

I t’s normal for people to care what other people think about them. If people didn’t, some people would show up to work in their bathrobes or even less. If we find someone who truly doesn’t care what other people think, we generally think that person is insane. And yet, people go through life wishing they didn’t care what other people think about them. We want people to be impressed with us in various ways, but we hate that we are hindered from doing things we believe we should be doing because we’re afraid of what people will think. A classic example is sharing the gospel. We have this idea that we should find a way to share the gospel with everyone we meet, but we don’t do that. In many cases, this is because we are fearful of what they will think of us when we do. It’s easy to say we shouldn’t worry about that, but the reality is that we do. It is similar to what I experienced in high school when we were required to get up in front of the class to give speeches. You would think th...

I had an epiphany the other day. Occasionally I do. The topic was retelling fairy tales. Moreso, it had to do with continuing an existing story like Cinderella. The discussion had to do with people not liking how a continuation of the story of Cinderella had turned out. In this particular story, Cinderella didn’t live happily ever after, but instead turned into a self-centered adulteress who wasn’t happy with the prince but wanted some other guy. Of course, the first thing we think of when we think of that is that Cinderella wouldn’t be like that. She isn’t that type of girl It messes with the archetype. But consider that there are hundreds of Cinderella retellings out there. I know of one in which they turned the story around. Instead of Cinderella having humble beginnings and attending the ball to meet the prince, the Cinderella character was wealthy and was magically forced to become a servant and only regained her position after learned to be humble. No one objected to that stor...

25 copies of Mother Not Wanted are being made available to bloggers willing to post a review.   Mother Not Wanted - When a granddaughter, that Fox Jacobs never knew he had, shows up unexpectedly, she brings hope to a family still reeling from a fatal accident. But Fox could do without the woman who is with her. Amber Mills is a con artist by her own admission and a woman who has her sights set on Fox’s son. Fox must determine if Amber is telling the truth about the girl, and must protect his family from the threat that Amber poses. With the help of the woman Fox sees as a more suitable match for his son, Fox sends Amber away, but the celebration is short lived. Fox soon discovers that Amber is much closer than he thought. As he continues to look for ways to protect his family from this con artist, Fox discovers that there is a bigger danger lurking that may turn his family against him and lead them into financial ruin. To Sign Up to Review Mother Not Wanted Complete the for...

T o celebrate the full moon on a Friday in February, I'm announcing a Free Friday. Post whatever you want in the comment section (keep it clean). Ask a question. Post a link to your blog. Tell us about your book. Complain about the state of the world. Complain about me. Say whatever you like, I want to hear it.