The first question folks often ask a novelist is about their book’s inspirations. How did you come up with the idea? Is this a true story about you? What inspired the book? Often I tell people a fictional story is a compilation of truth and made up details. I might find a person’s …
Author Archives: Linda Mackillop
Reaction Videos and Book Releases
I learned something new yesterday. I’ve never heard about Reaction videos on YouTube before. (Thanks, Joel!) My first reaction was to be dumbfounded people spend time watching how others react to their favorite movies or songs. Don’t they just want to watch the video or listen to the song themselves? But then I …
When Your Main Character Hijacks Your Blog
Photo by Jake Thacker on Unsplash My name is Eva Gordon, and I may have memory loss, but I can still read. And I’ve read all those harsh words people have used to describe me in that book: cantankerous, hard-edged, stubborn, irascible, unpleasant. At least one person tacked on that the author portrayed me with “grace and …
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Encircled By Friends
Photo by Matheus Ferrero on Unsplash An excerpt from my article on friendship in The Redbud Post. We were in a heavy conversation about career frustrations and disappointment and the way life’s planned path sometimes jumps the rails. My son was expressing pent up feelings about his financial situation and its impact on starting a family with …
An Instrument of Peace
I still own the same sewing machine that once belonged to my grandmother and great grandmother. The small black Singer machine assisted me with making childhood clothes, my wedding dress, and curtains hanging today in one of our rooms. In the past, when people saw my machine, they often asked, “Is it a toy?” No, …
The Keys to Bonhoeffer’s Haus
Photo by Brian Ho on Unsplash Several years ago, I was deeply influenced by a biography I read with a friend about German pastor and theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer. I am now a lifelong admirer of the man. When I heard about Laura Fabrycky’s new book, The Keys to Bonhoeffer’s Haus, I knew I needed to read it. And …
We’ve Been Here Before
I’ve been quiet during this stay-at-home pandemic season, working out my thoughts, reading many articles and posts written by others. Connecting with people online has been a source of comfort and pleasure, hearing about their experiences, giving and receiving support and encouragement through words and prayer. Until now, I’ve been hesitant to add my own …
Novel Beginnings
I’m getting to know some new folks these days. I’m feeling them out, watching them in their private moments, wondering why they do what they do. They’re a little hard to read and sometimes they act inconsistently. They change their clothes a lot and make awkward hand gestures over and over. Something unspoken lies beneath …
Finding Purpose in Jail
Photo by Ye Jinghan on Unsplash “There is only one thing that I dread: not to be worthy of my sufferings.” Fyodor Dostoevski My husband and I go to jail weekly. One night a week we enter a maximum-security facility, get searched and patted down, and led deep into the bowels of the place to be locked …
A New Madeleine L’Engle Biography
Many years ago during my season as a young mother, I felt a deep longing for older women mentors. If those mentors were writers, all the better. Unfortunately, I didn’t know other wordsmiths at the time and felt isolated by my longing for people who could speak to me about art, faith, and the importance …