This week in Denver

This week I'll be in Denver for the American Christian Fiction Writer's conference, as will be many of us on this blog. In 2000, I helped to found this wonderful organization with several really cool authors. Lynn Coleman called me one day and said, "You know we need a national Christian writer's group focused just on fiction (at that time it was focused even harder on romance). I totally agreed, and the rest is history.


This year's conference will include
keynote speaker Debbie MacComber





It's been a lot of fun being a part of ACFW and this year my husband Jim and I are teaching
the new authors continuing session. I love working with this group. New authors are like sponges. They want to learn and absorb everything they can. They are hungry to hear what experienced authors, agents and editors have to say.

It reminds me of when a person first gets saved. They are hungry for the Word of God and for the spiritual understanding of those who are more experienced. They seek out the Lord and work hard to line up with His guidelines.

As the years go by, as with experienced authors, we can take things for granted. We can stop worrying so much about learning. We can think we know it all or that there's nothing new to experience and see. We can even become prima donnas as authors and as Christians.

For me, I like to come and sit in the beginning classes and see the wonder and feel the excitement of those who haven't yet seen and done it all. I learn new things all the time from those who are seeing things for the first time. It's my way of keeping "new eyes" for familiar things.

I pray, as Paul did in Ephesians 1:18 - that the eyes of your heart will be enlightened

Tracie