This has been a busy Spring! A rush of speaking engagements, among others, included presenting a workshop at the Pennsylvania Adolescent Sexual Health Conference: Everyone Counts. My session focused on encouraging the people to include parents in the conversation about adolescent sexual health. Eight-eight percent of sexually active teens say that it would have been easier for them to say no to sexual pressure if they had been able to talk with their parents about this issue.
Two of my stories were included in recently released Chicken Soup for the Soul volumes. “Secrets…to Success” appeared in the volume Inspiration for Writers, and “Lunch with David” was included in the 20th Anniversary Edition volume called Reader’s Choice, Stories that Changed Your Lives. Another article, “Like Father, Like Son,” that was originally published in Sharing magazine appeared in a collection called I Believe in Healing, compiled by Cecil Murphy and Twila Beck. And now I am looking forward to the release of my seventh book, Standing Tall After Falling Short, by WingSpread Publishers. The cover design was approved this Spring and last I heard it was off to the presses!
In early August, I will be presenting two workshops at the Greater Philadelphia Christian Writers Conference (www.writehisanswer.com.Philadelphia). “Say it with Feeling!” will help participants develop skills in creating characters with vibrant emotions, including escalating and escalating those feelings. Then the other workshop affords me with my first opportunity to speak to the teen track at the conference. That workshop will focus on introducing elements of humor into their fiction and non-fiction writing.
