Author: Colleen Reece Author

“The Thief on the Cross” [guest post]

With more than 190,000 books in print, former writing student, long-term friend, and award-winning author of Wholesome Books for Kids, Susan K. Marlow is one of the best writers I have ever had the privilege of instructing.

Her newest post on her popular ANDI’S BLOG, copied with her permission, shows why. It is an excellent example of how deeply a dedicated writer’s work can affect others. This morning’s entry left me in tears and I had to share it with all of you.

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You can see more Peek Behind the Curtain posts in Andi’s Attic >>

Jed Hatton [an old outlaw who has shown up more than once in previous titles] returns to see Andi in “Specter from the Past,” a short story in the new Circle C Milestones book 6, Stranger in the Glade: And More Tales from Memory Creek Ranch.

This peek behind the curtain gives you a look at why I wrote what I did when Jed is about to die. He has endured much abuse at the hands of Mateo Vega [a really bad outlaw] in order to save Andi and baby Jared. He makes his final speech as he’s dying. [scene excerpt follows]

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“I’m tired of runnin’ from the law.” Jed sucked in another agonizing breath. “Tired of runnin’ from God.” He patted her arm. “I told Him so too.”

Andi sat still, daring to hope. What was Jed saying?

“Can I ask you somethin’ . . . little lady?” Talking was becoming more difficult. For sure, Jed’s ribs were broken. His voice fell to a labored whisper.

“Ask me anything.” Andi leaned her ear close to his lips to catch his next words.

“Will that Christ you’re always prayin’ to remember me if I ask Him? I got a hankerin’ to see them . . . golden streets.”

Andi held Jed’s hand. “The thief on the cross asked the same thing, ‘Remember me,’ and Jesus said, ‘Today you will be with me in Paradise.’”

Jed let out a slow breath. “That’s what I want. Will you help me ask Him?”

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I wanted Jed to figure out his wrong ways and find Christ, and I also wanted to make use of a favorite hymn of mine, “Are Ye Able?” I was able to use both ideas in Jed’s “death” scene. But I was not able to use the song itself in the book, like I’ve used other songs. Why not? Because the song wasn’t written until 1926, and this story is set in 1887. Too bad!

The first verse of this old hymn goes like this: “Are ye able,” said the Master, “to be crucified with me?” “Yea,” the sturdy dreamers answered, “To the death we follow Thee!” (but they ran away). The second verse always touches me, so I created a video to go with verse two and the chorus.

Now, you know a little “peek” at how this small but important plot event came to be.

Special Note from Colleen: This scene would not have been believable if Jed hadn’t shown he wasn’t completely bad by risking his life to save Andi and her baby. Thank you, Susan, for giving Jed the same hope the thief on the cross had when he confessed his sins and cried out for Jesus to remember him. Andi will never forget. 

God truly moves in mysterious ways to accomplish His purposes. I learned this in August of 1977, when He unfolded His plans for me in a way beyond my wildest imaginings.

It started with a whisper: Write a novel set in the time of Christ. I immediately dismissed the idea. Who was I, who had only sold a couple of inspirational romances, to even consider such a task? I knew and loved the Bible stories but wasn’t familiar enough with the times and customs to do a Biblical novel justice.

In spite of serious misgivings, characters and events I could include in such a book flooded my mind. The whisper grew louder, accompanied by God’s word to Habakkuk (2:2-3), “And the Lord answered me and said, ‘Write the vision and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time . . . wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.’”

Neither could I tarry. I accepted the challenge with fear and trembling and began writing Belated Follower.

I had wondered from early childhood, “When the shepherds followed the angel message and went to see the Christ child, what about the sheep?” Their keepers surely didn’t leave the flock to the mercy of wild animals. Benjamin, the youngest shepherd in my book, would lay aside his disappointment and remain with the flock so his much-older father and friends could behold this wondrous thing. After they returned, he would go to see the newborn child.

I started waking up at 4:30, typing for two hours, then getting ready for my day job. The story poured out, unlike any before or since. The right scriptures came to mind. Biblical characters, and the fictional ones who interacted with them, became alive and real. Seventy-three-thousand words later, Belated Follower was a reality. I polished and submitted it to a leading Christian publisher. They loved the story, held it for two-and-a-half years, then decided they only wanted to do one Biblical novel, and contracted with a more established author.

During the next seventeen years, while sending to dozens of publishers who praised the book but didn’t want Biblical novels, I revised several times, cutting about 20,000 words. By the early 1990s, I had numerous highly praised novels with Heartsong Presents, which I’d helped launch (Barbour Books). My editor said if I would expand the romance, they would issue as a Heartsong. While revising, I thanked God that the story had not sold sooner. It needed the skills honed during the waiting years.

Fan mail poured in following publication in 1995—more than all my other books combined. Trade paperback and hardback Large Print editions followed. Yet years before the long-delayed success, the book I had feared to write had changed my life.

One morning while driving to my government job shortly after completing Belated Follower, I cried out, “Lord, what am I doing spending my time and energy winning honors at work when I could be helping make the world a better place with my writing?”

I thought of a well-loved passage from Emilie Loring’s 1937 inspirational novel, “There is Aways Love.”

“There is only one common sense move when you don’t like your life. Do something about it. Go somewhere. Follow a rainbow. Who knows, you may find the legendary pot of gold at the end of it.”

I liked my job, but I had dreamed of becoming a full-time author for years. What if simply quit my job at age forty-one and followed that dream?

I thought of the many obstacles inherent in such a decision. Yet the knowledge it was the right choice left me feeling as Peter, James, and John, must have felt when they left all to follow Jesus.

I gave notice that same day.

Forty-five years of writing, teaching, and mentoring others have passed, bringing sales of 175+ titles with 6,000,000 copies sold. None of my other books match Belated Follower. This new, revised edition reflects my current skills.

May you experience the joy and wonder I discovered follows when God calls us to seemingly impossible tasks, such as writing my one and only Biblical novel.

 

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What is better than a good book? A trio of fun, inspirational titles. 

Award-winning authors Colleen L. Reece and Julie Reece-DeMarco present timeless tales to touch the heart. Filled with graphics, all are designed for the youngest through the oldest family members.

God Loves You Whoever You Are.

Old, young, short, tall, fat, thin, big, small. God loves you. Whoever or wherever we are, God loves us.

Katydidn’t

So what did  Katy do?

Large green grasshoppers called katydids sing the Witherspoon family to sleep. The children wonder what Katy did, but the insects never tell. It takes a long, lonely day for a little girl to discover their secret and learn that being “Katydidn’t” isn’t fun after all.

Nine Tail Kitten.

Mother Cat was astonished. Father Cat was amazed. Grandmother Cat raised her paws. Never in all her born days had she seen anything like Christopher, her new grand-kitten. A story of giving.

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Memorial Day, that used to be called “Decoration Day,” is a time of remembering for me. Every year, our family took flowers to the little Darrington, Washington cemetery, and decorated the graves of of those who had gone on ahead of us. Neighbors did the same.

When spring brought more showers than May flowers, we still had gigantic bouquets of lilacs. Decades later, I wrote and sold an article titled, “Always Lilas and Fruit Jars” multiple times. Folks had no money for vases, so we washed fruit jars until they sparkled, filled them with water at the cemetery spigot, and honored both military and non-military friends and relatives.

We then drove to Snohomish and decorated family graves there. Aunt Vera always had snowballs to mingle with our lilacs. A huge family dinner followed. Precious memories.

Another special memory is that on Memorial Day weekend, 1978, Mom and I moved from Vancouver, Washington to my present home in Auburn, Washington. For forty-four years I have lived in a quiet, caring cul-de-sac. Neighbors watch after me as if I was their grandmother. A college student mows my lawn.  A young woman and her family (I watched her grow from child to wife and mother) are doing massive yardwork for me. God and life are good.

May you pause in your busy schedule to give thanks for those who gave and still give so much that we might be free.

 

 

 

In 1997, Julie Reece-DeMarco and I co-authored the first of more than a dozen books. We lost track of how many copies sold somewhere after 500,000.

Our new, revised editions (Kindle and print)  feature a treasury of graphics.

It takes more than a diploma to get an “A” in life.

A Life Well Lived

Pearl Towne Reece 

Mom passed away on 8-15-92, just six weeks before her 96th birthday. My younger brother said, “No one lives forever, but she almost did.”

Born on 10-9-1896, Mom’s family moved from Michigan in the early 1900s to Darrington, Washington, the small western Washington logging town where she spent most of her life. She attended a one-room, all-eight-grade school, never knowing that one day she would be teaching in one that later became our home for 34 years!

Life with three fun-loving sisters and three brothers after Mom’s father died was not easy. Yet faith in God, love for one another, and the belief that things would surely get better made wearing shoes with holes in them bearable. Highlights of Mom’s life

• trailed by a cougar on Thanksgiving Day
• going to the city when she was about 14 to get last two years of high school education
• attending Bellingham, WA “Normal School,” for two years and receiving a Life Certificate to teach
• sending most of money from first teaching job home to help out younger brothers and sister
• being offered position near Darrington and going home
• meeting Dad at his surprise farewell party before being he was scheduled to leave for military service two later and vowing, “He’s mine!” He felt the same.
• rejoicing when the Army stopped taking inductees because the Spanish Influenza struck Camp Lewis (became Fort Lewis) and WW1 ended a few weeks later
• surviving the epidemic
• married in 1923
• living in a home without electricity or running water, washing clothes on a scrub board
• losing first child on Christmas Day, having two more boy, and me\
• being chased by an enraged bull and dragging me to safety
• living through the Great Depression, WW1, WW2, the Korean conflict, and Vietnam War
• influencing kids, and later, many of their parents, for almost three decades of teaching in Darrington
• picking up life and going on after Dad passed away in 1968
• moving with me to Vancouver, WA in 1970
• moving with me to Auburn, WA in 1978 after i was called to full time writing
• becoming “Granny Pearl” to young and old at church (kids and teens loved her stories of the “olden days”).
• serving as my cheerleader, proofreader, and editor
• still looking up Scriptures for my next book the day before surgery

One of the comments at Mom’s memorial service was, “Pearl talked about the past but she didn’t live in it.” Eager anticipation for what lay ahead characterized Mom. Coming home from a 3700+ mile driving trip throughout the western states in the summer of 1991, she turned quiet. I asked what she was thinking.

“I’m just wondering where we will go next year.” She was almost 95.

Mom never considered herself old. She scorned dull colors and wore tasteful scarlet, sapphire blue, and emerald clothing. When asked why, she replied, “Th world can be drab enough without my adding to it.”

Mom in her 90s with friend from decades earlier.

On Memorial Day weekend, 1978, when we moved into the home where I still live, Mom dropped into a chair and announced, “I‘m not moving again until I go to heaven.” She kept her promise.

Me at 86

When I look in the mirror, I see much of Mom. If I can ever be half the caring, godly woman she was, I will rejoice and be glad. 

Happy Mother’s Day 

Empty Manger, Empty Tomb

Easter decorations and a manger, unusual companions.

Last week I put up Easter decorations. An outside banner proclaims, “He Is Risen,” etched against a glorious sunrise and empty tomb. A wooden cross and other Easter symbols adorn my front window. 

Across the room, an empty manger sits atop a bookcase. Gone are Mary, Joseph, Baby Jesus, shepherds, and Magi (who actually came to “the house where Jesus lay” some time later). A gilt star remains on the roof, but no longer does a ceramic angel hover. Even the faithful sheep, cow, and little donkey rest in their packing case and wait for next Christmas. 

Last year when I took down decorations in January, I failed to pack the rustic shelter that houses the Nativity. I decided to leave it as a reminder. The stable served its purpose on the Night of Wonder, then Jesus,His family, and visitors moved on.

Thirty-three years later, Jesus again moved on. The grave, sealed with a great stone, and carefully guarded, could not hold Him. His death and Resurrection, given out of incomparable love, opened the Way to forgiveness and eternal life for all who accept His sacrifice and follow Him.

Easter in Darrington, Washington

As a teenager in the fifties, Easter in my hometown was a time of joy and celebration. The population was only approximately 700, but we had an abundance of churches representing different denominations who often joined for special worship services.

 Easter mornings at 6:00 a.m. found a crowd at the Ski Jump area a little way above town. Bundled like Eskimos against the dawn chill, we watched the sun peek over the hill, yawn, survey the crowd of worshipers, then burst into the sky in a blaze of glory. Birdsong joined voices filling the air with hymns such as “Christ, the Lord, is Risen Today,” “He Arose,” and “The Old Rugged Cross.” Prayer and a short message followed. The half-hour or so set the tone for the rest of the day, which was filled with  church and family dinners.

If it rained or snowed (as it sometimes did!) we met in the Community Center, built with volunteer labor and donated building materials in 1954. 

When I look at the empty manger, and remember the empty tomb, I again rejoice, and give thanks that Jesus came. Because He lives, I shall one day join Him and those I love who are already singing songs of joy and shouting praises in heaven. What a day that will be.

 

A blessed Easter to you all,

Love,

Colleen

A long time coming

Susan K. Marlow wrote her first book (a full-length story about five children who accidentally end up on a spaceship to an alien planet) titled, The Stars Know the Way, in a blank, hard covered book her grandfather brought home from a dump. Decades passed. In the mid-1990s, the homeschooling mom needed something to do while her teenage son took night classes at a community college about 15 miles from their Enumclaw WA home. She signed up for my Creative writing class.

Susan never asked questions or read from the in-class assignments. She simply listened and learned. One evening another student invited her to a meeting of writers from my classes. She reluctantly read the first chapter of a YA novel. We were impressed. She became part of our critique group.

The rest is history: horses, adventure, and the Old West–for a total of over 180,000 copies in print.

Twelve-year-old Andrea “Andi” Carter attracts trouble the way her palomino horse attracts flies on a hot summer day. She would rather ride Taffy than attend school. When she barely escapes a life-threatening situation with her brother’s wild stallion, she takes her horse and leaves the ranch. It doesn’t take long for her to realize that “there is no place like home.” 

The setting for Susan’s first book, Andrea Carter and the Long Ride Home, is the sprawling Carter ranch in the mid-1800s. The title sets the stage for six exciting series that take Andi and her family from early childhood to a home of her own. Her Goldtown books are appreciated by boys, as well as girls, and all series are especially welcomed by homeschooling families.

Circle C Beginnings 6 titles, Circle C Stepping-Stones 6 titles, Circle C Adventures 6 titles, Circle C Milestones 6 titles (books 5-6 hot off the press*), Goldtown Beginnings 6 titles, Goldtown Adventures, 4 titles

*Circle C Milestones #5, Yosemite at Last and other tales from Memory Creek Ranch. How many twists and turns can a honeymoon have? Circle C Milestones #6, Stranger in the Glade and other tales from Memory Creek Ranch. Adventures continue in Andi’s “happily-ever-after.” Read more >>

In addition to her print, Kindle, and audio books, Susan offers a wide variety of study helps, lapbooks, writing tips, contests, and much more available on her website, CircleCAdventures.com >>

You can connect with Susan here:

1. AndiCartersBlog.com >>
2. Circle C Facebook Group Page >>
3. Contact Susan by email >>

A Story to Remember

One of my all-time favorite tales is “The Vision of Sir Launfal,” (James Russell Lowell, 1848). A young knight, steward in the legendary King Arthur’s court, is eager to win glory and fame. He sets out to find the Holy Grail [said to be a dish, plate or cup used by Jesus at the Last Supper]. Just outside the Fearsome Gate, he sees a leper.  Launfal shrinks from the loathsome sight, tosses the man a gold coin, and continues his quest.

Weeks become months, then years.  He continues his search, without success. At last, old and bent, clothed in rags, just before Christmas he turns his face homeward.  A leper huddles near the gate. The once-proud Launfal “parted in twain, his single crust.” He broke the ice of a nearby stream and gave the leper to eat and drink.

A light shines around them. The leper no longer crouches at Launfal’s feet, but stands before Sir Launfal, glorified.

A voice says, “Lo, it is I, be not afraid! In many climes, without avail, thou hast spent thy life for the Holy Grail. Behold, it is here, this cup which thou didst fill at the streamlet for Me . . .

“Not what we give, but what we share. For the gift without the giver is bare: Who gives himself with his alms feeds three–himself, his hungering neighbor, and Me.”

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Sir Launfal awakens. He hangs his armor on the wall. He will take no journey to find the Holy Grail, for he has learned its real meaning just outside the Fearsome Gate: charity, the highest form of love.

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As we look forward to celebrating Easter and the Resurrection, may we search for ways to bring hope and comfort to others.

March can be a capricious month. Sunshine and storms. Unexpected snow flurries. High and low temperatures. Saint Patrick’s Day. Shamrocks. Children chasing rainbows, hoping to find the pot of gold said to be found at the end. Secretly wishing there really were leprechauns, who (according to folklore) if caught, must give up their gold when captured.  

Neither rainbows nor little men in green hats lead to gold, but a new Kindle collection offers pure gold reading pleasure. There are several reasons for Christmas Gold: A Heart-warming Trilogy‘s spring debut.

• Christmas should not be limited to one day or one season.
• Inspirational stories and books are worth reading year-round.
• Unlike November and December, March offers time off.  No decorating for the holidays. No parties, special events, cooking and shopping marathons, gift wrapping, or writing cards.
• Rainy and chilly days set the stage for curling up with a blanket, sipping hot chocolate, losing ourselves in stories of past Christmases, and joyously anticipating those to come.
• A boon for those who like to get holiday shopping done and hidden away in closets long before the holiday rush.

Christmas Gold: A Heart-warming Trilogy, contains three books by popular authors Colleen L. Reece and Juie Reece-DeMarco.

Countdown to Christmas

In the midst of the holiday hustle, it’s easy to lose sight of the reason for the season. Award-winning authors Colleen L. Reece and Julie Reece-DeMarco present touching stories and suggestions for activities to bring families closer to our Lord and each other during the Advent season.

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Patchwork Christmas

Hearts are in tatters. Then, a frayed patchwork quillt arrives. One woman’s treasured blanket brings comfort to a homeless family and later to a man with shattered dreams. Will broken hearts be healed and lives pieced back together during this Patchwork Christmas?

 

Seasons of the Heart

A “happily-ever-after” has passed Emily Ann Carr by while she cares for family members. Her beloved aunt Carolyn has been “terminally single and proud of it” for decades. An unexpected inheritance and the loss of a coveted promotion bring changing seasons. Will they also bring autumn and winter love?

 

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