I had dinner last night with a good friend, who gently chided me about having to get news about my writing life from a mutual friend. “That’s why I follow your blog,” she said.
Now, for someone who works in marketing, that was a pretty humbling reminder of a very basic tenet: people get their information in different ways. Not everyone reads a blog or has accounts on Instagram or Facebook or Twitter or subscribes to an eletter or anything else.
I’ve tried to keep posts here to my Tuesday reflections, Wednesday’s saintly women (more on that shortly), and the monthly Friends in Faith and On the Nightstand items, because I didn’t want to alienate followers with self-promotional messages. I get now that some of you actually would like to know here about what’s going on in my writing and I promise that, starting now, I’ll do just that–sparingly.
- As you probably noticed, this website’s been overhauled, thanks to my webmaster, David Cortner. The About section will give you information about where I’ve spoken and upcoming events (like this one next month). I’m also really happy with the way the Shop section turned
out; I’m often asked for recommendations on spiritual non-fiction works, and if you click on one of the links under Books You Might Like to make a purchase at Amazon, a small contribution will go to Landings International, the Paulist ministry for returning Catholics, at no additional charge to you. - Speaking of books, I have two new ones out: Woman of Worth: Prayers and Reflections for Women Inspired by the Book of Proverbs (Twenty-Third Publications). The response so far has been so positive that I’ll be offering a Woman of Worth Retreat next June 12-14 at the San Damiano Spiritual Life Center in White Post, VA. Please mark your calendars; more details as they become available. Separately, I self-published a little collection of quotes, A Few Seconds with the Saints: Spiritual Direction for Everyday Life.
- I got a great birthday present last week: I’m going to be writing Brotherhood of Saints, Daily Guidance and Inspiration, a companion to Sisterhood of Saints, which came out a few years ago. It’ll be out in the fall of 2020, and I’m already delving into the male saints, well known and not so well known, and listening to the stories they want me to share with
you. I’ll be adding a Monday’s Man here in the next few months. - I’m also excited to share that starting this fall, I’ll be writing about Modern-Day Saints (those canonized women and men who lived in the past 100 years) for Catholic Digest. The first two up are Anna Schaffer and Maria Maravillas de Jesus.
- As if all that wasn’t enough, I’m getting pumped about working with friends on the fourth Future with Hope Women’s conference for Catholic women over 40, set for Oct. 18-19 here in Arlington, VA. That website will be updated with speakers, sponsors and more in the coming week.
Thanks for reading! Please pray for me as I pray for you.
