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Taking a Red Pen to Life

The directions from Zondervan are pretty simple. “Please read through the proofs, marking any changes or corrections in red pen or red pencil.” But every time I sit down to work on the 200-page galley proof for Evolving in Monkey Town, I suddenly think of something more important to do—like check my email or play guitar hero or finish off the rest of that ranch dip left over from Sunday night. Galley proofs are an author’s last chance to make significant ch... read more

On Resenting Anne Jackson

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My friend Micah was the first person to introduce me to Anne Jackson. “You should check out this girl’s blog,” he said in a Facebook message with a link attached. “You have a lot in common. She’s basically living your dream.” I stiffened a little, wondering what made Micah think that I wasn’t living my dream. So I went to Flowerdust.net to find that, like me, Anne Jackson described herself as an “author, speaker, blogger,” with Zonderva... read more

McLaren, Miller, and me

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Happy November! I hope you are enjoying the crisp air, blue skies, and vibrant colors that fall always delivers. Only a few weeks left until winter settles in. So this is going to be an especially exciting month for me, as I plan to attend several local events featuring popular authors/thinkers. The first, beginning this weekend, features Brian McLaren and Tony Campolo. Hosted by First-Centenary United Methodist Church in Chattanooga, the three-day conference is named after a book that ... read more

On God and Publication

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One of the many perks of getting a book deal is the opportunity to network with fellow writers. Over the past few months, it’s been really exciting to meet and correspond with established authors I have admired for years as well as new authors just breaking into the market. I want to offer an especially warm welcome to those who have found the blog through my agent Rachelle Gardner’s site or through my Q&A on Alexis Grant’s site. There’s been a noticeable influx of re... read more

So My Book Might Have a Warning Label on It

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The good news: I’ve finished writing my book. Well, pretty much. I still have some holes to fill in and some significant edits to make before sending it to the publisher on April 1, but the bulk of it is done. I'm looking forward to the next step (collaborating with my editor to make it even better) as well as losing the ten pounds I've gained over the last month working until 3 a.m. with only a one-pound bag of animal crackers to keep me company. The bad news: Once published,... read more

Resolutions for 2009

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I’ve always been extremely goal-oriented...and aside from the relentless perfectionism and crushing fear of failure, this quality has served me well in life. So as you can imagine, I just love making New Year’s resolutions. Here are some of mine for 2009. What are yours? 1. 1. Prioritize my career without feeling guilty about it. 2. 2. Finish the Book (Now that I have a publisher, I have 0 excus... read more

Thanks + Topic Ideas

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I just wanted to take a moment to thank all my blog pals for your readerships and participation this year. I feel really happy that “Evolving in Monkey Town” has become a diverse and active community where visitors feel safe sharing their ideas... Thanks for your civility and thoughtfulness, for shedding new light on things I thought I’d already figured out, for opening cans of worms that often made the discussions much more interesting than my original posts, for listen... read more

My Book is Getting Published!

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This week I signed a contract with Zondervan for the publication of my first book. It’s a spiritual memoir of sorts that will touch on a lot of the subjects we discuss together here. There is no release date yet, as I’ve still got quite a bit of writing to do, but you can expect to see it on shelves within twelve to eighteen months. I can’t tell you how thankful I am for this opportunity. Publishing a book is something I’ve wanted to do since childhood... read more

Maturing in Ape Village: Why I Need Your Help with A Title

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Sometimes publishers like to see a alternate titles for a book before signing off on it, so I’ve been rummaging my brain for ideas that might adequately replace “Evolving in Monkey Town.” After consulting the thesaurus, my husband Dan jokingly suggested “Maturing in Ape Village.” So, to put it mildly, I need some help! At about 2 a.m. this morning, after I’d exhausted poor Emily Dickinson in search of a smart-sounding poetic reference, I thought, who better ... read more

From modernism to postmodernism: evolution vs. accommodation

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A reader recently contacted me with a good question about a topic I address on this blog and in my book: “While reading, I noticed you made the correlation that Christianity has evolved from modernity and now must evolve again into post-modernity. I suppose I would question, ‘Why are we evolving from one cesspool to the other?; I think understanding our philosophical presuppositions is important when addressing Christian Theology, but at the same time I think it's time Christia... read more

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