Book review by Glenda Faye Mathes Legacy of Mercy by Lynn Austin Bethany; paperback; 400 pages; © 2018 Because I grew to love the main characters in Lynn Austin’s Waves of Mercy (Bethany, 2016), I was thrilled to read more about the lives of Anna and Geesje in her sequel, Legacy of Mercy. My hopes were … Continue reading Mercy to Generations
The 2017 Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded last Thursday to Kazuo Ishiguro, which is good news. Ishiguro writes literary novels that defy genre boundaries and garner popular appeal. Here's the New York Times online story about the award. And here's a Times 2015 interview with Ishiguro that explores his reading opinions and related reflections. … Continue reading Pulitzer Prize Good News
After a recent speaking engagement, I was asked for some book recommendations. Having expended a great deal of mental energy into the talks I'd just given, I felt a little brain dead and came up with only a few favorites. I did recall and mention, however, this earlier post that includes a variety of nonfiction … Continue reading Reading Recommendations
William Boekestein, pastor of Immanuel Fellowship Church in Kalamazoo, MI, was recently appointed as the social media coordinator for Reformed Fellowship, publisher of the The Outlook. In his continuing task to help Reformed Fellowship build an online presence and engage meaningful internet discussion, he posted yesterday (October 20, 2016) a link to my article on Fiction's … Continue reading The Delight and Truth of Fiction
An article I wrote about why Christians should read fiction appears in the November issue of The Outlook. You can page through this online preview to read that article as well as a lovely review of my Matthew books.
Few things thrill a writer more than holding a hard copy of a finally-published book. It's a rush to see your name on the cover, but it's also such fun to see how the colors and artwork look in real life. With all three of my Matthew in the Middle books, I've been pleased that … Continue reading Matthew is moving ahead!
Does the concept of popular literature seem like an oxymoron? Can a book sell well in today's pop culture, while still displaying a high degree of literary quality? The answer is a resounding: Yes! This week I read a newly released book by prolific author Sigmund Brouwer that evidences excellent literary quality and is sure to skyrocket … Continue reading Thief of Glory by Sigmund Brouwer
Letters & Life: on being a writer, on being a Christian by Bret Lott Crossway; hard cover; 192 pages; © 2013 Book review by Glenda Mathes You have to admire a writer who admits to having received over 600 rejections. And who repeatedly confesses that he knows nothing about writing. Bret Lott's work always strikes … Continue reading Writing & Living – a book review
During the fiction workshop at Glen West, the first and most frequent question instructor Larry Woiwode asked was: "Does it work?" That's the primary consideration. Either a piece of writing works or it doesn't. This may seem a rather pragmatic view, but it's crucial to establish a work's viability before going on to other important questions, … Continue reading Pragmatism, inspiration, and redemption
Compressing everything I learned during my intensive Glen West workshop into brief blog posts seems impossible. But I can give you a taste through small samples. Last Friday, I focused on the first day and wrote about beginning to write by writing. Two of the many literary terms we discussed on subsequent workshop days were intention … Continue reading Telling the story eclipses intention and audience
Glenda Faye Mathes 