Lara Lee
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Jackson Hole, Wyoming is a high-class gem in the midst of the Rocky Mountains, but how nice of museum could possibly exist in the middle of a state with less people than most big cities?
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Anyone who knows me knows I research ALOT and yet still manage to do things the hard way. Why? Because for some odd reason I refuse to do anything the way anyone in their right mind would do it.
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One random day, my husband received a text friend, “Would you be interested in an opportunity…” We had not really traveled far in a long time. Not long after this text, our whole family were on an airplane to visit Jackson, Wyoming to see if we would like to move there for my husband’s Job
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The colors solidified to form a tiled mosaic of jewel-tone flowers, fruit, birds, and butterflies. In the center of the mosaic was an arched doorway with a heavy wood door painted blue.The blue door then slowly opened, and a very athletic man with the head of a small elephant walked through.
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The Treasure of the City of Ladies is medieval classic about virtue, being a woman, and living a Christian life.
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I was absolutely shocked by the research I came across. Strong-willed people were not immune to brainwashing, daydreamers were. Often, those resistant to brainwashing were people no one would expect, average looking people with little to brag about. Why is this?
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This is another old post from 12 years ago. It is fun reviewing all my old travels and inspirations for my novels.
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I found this old post 12 years ago about my time in Paris. My memories of my time there are far more positive then they were at the time. The next time I go to Paris, I’ll do the trip better prepared!
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We conclude the book of Job. God’s word are not the bullying that so many people think and Job does not repent. Going into the Hebrew text and scholarly resources, we learn God conforts Job and restores him
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Continuing my revisit of old posts, this is another old post from 12 years ago. It is another place of inspirations for my novels.
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Elihu is a controversial character is the book of Job. Some people believe he speaks the truth, but is that what the Bible really says?
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Bildad’s speech is only six verse, but Job’s reply is five chapters. This is Job’s last speech to his friends, and it includes a section on wisdom and some reflections on his past prosperity. It is worth slowing down to study. I put it all in one post, so here we go!
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This is an old post from 12 years ago. Edinburgh was so special to my that it inspires my faerie world of Gryphendale to this day.
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I am a petite stay-at-home mom with illusions of becoming a chic world-class sword-fighter. Thus exposing my deepest delusions that fuel most of my fantasy writing, I will now tell you about my most recent failed attempt to make this lifelong fascination a reality.
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Sir Edward Burne-Jones used literary themes and fairy tales as symbols for the way he felt about life. I am drawn to him as my favorite artist because he accomplished through art what I dream of accomplishing through writing.
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Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis was truly the most horrific and deeply moving book I have read in a good way. It was C.S. Lewis’s last novel and far darker than any of them.
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Many Christian novels focus on a non-Christian believing on Christ. Pilgrim’s Progress does this at the beginning, but the vast majority of the novel is about how to stay on the Christian walk your entire life. I
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I made a detailed map of Gryphendale. I am very excited about how it turned out. It may not have the polish of a computer generated map could create, but it is full of hidden places for my characters to explore in future stories.
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I am not afraid of writing uncomfortable scenes in my books, but I do have a problem with articles, short stories, and books that relish the ugly. I struggle to read many publications because I often feel dirty, disgusted, or horrified by what they choose to publish. With a world in despair, I want to…
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Gryphendale, the first book in the Legends of Gryphendale series, was published in 2016. Since then, I have had many people try to correct the spelling of that title, which is also the name of the fairy world in my book. I have stubbornly fought back against this “correction.”
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“No one knows what they really want. Only the few who have power and education can rule competently and fairly,” Lord Mao stated to the young Undine woman walking next to him. The older man with almond eyes and dark black hair had the chiseled features of a general and the mannerisms of a king.
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She found a chair and took a glass of wine from a tray. “You’re quite a dancer,” said a deep familiar voice. Cin turned to see the old charlatan wizard sitting a couple of chairs down from her. The dark-haired wizard with prominent gray streaks in his slicked back hair stared at her with emerald
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Before I earned my Master’s degree in Special Education I did not know that there was a debate about the use of classic books in education. I had assumed that classic books was just standard in the American classroom. I was wrong.
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Job has lost everything and has cursed the day of his birth to his three friends. Eliphaz is the first of Job’s friends to speak. Even though we know that Job’s friends become more and more his adversaries, they start out as friends who are there to comfort and speak the truth. Had they not
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What I have been pondering is how so many fanasy novels have women dress like men to accomplish heroic deeds. Why is this? Do women have no God-given abilities?
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To be honest, I didn’t start out writing for the glory of God. I’m too selfish a creature for that. In fact, I wasn’t originally sure that I would even publish my first book. I wrote because I need to be encouraged that everything would work out alright. I needed hope.
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We, the church, are uncomfortable with disability and don’t really have an explanation for why God allows it to exist. My proposal was that God allows… even gives disability on purpose. So where in the Bible, other than Paul, I could possibly get such an idea?
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San Antonio, Texas is the 7th largest city in the USA, yet it retains the feel of rural Texas. People travel all over the world to visit the Alamo and the River Walk which are both worth the visit.
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I have been trying to focus my book reviews on young adult fantasy fiction, but periodically, I also review books that help me on my journey in my writing career.
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Life is hard sometimes, like being run over by a train driven by a half-drunk Irishman in a bad mood and then getting backed over by the same said train for good effect. I had one of those times, and I am sure you have too.
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How to Write Funny is a Writer’s Digest book that is a collection of essays and interviews like many of their other how-to books. In general, I liked the book and learned a lot, but I do have a few complaints.
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Tropes. This evil word used in writing circles describes all the types of stories that are old and overdone. I honestly think that we need to stop worrying about tropes for the most part.
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This week like many on social media, I saw another author quit their dream. This one stated that the spent $4,000 with nothing to show for it. Unfortunately, that isn’t unusual.
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I recently read a post by a well-known author about how he comes up with ideas. This has also been the most common question, in all its variations, I received on my AMA.
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Heart Song is a well-written teen science fiction novel about space colonization. The protagonist is a thirteen-year-old orphan girl who is part of a space colonization program to build the first base on a planet outside our solar system.
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Why have I never heard of this book before! Seriously one of the best books I have EVER read, and I downloaded it on Kindle for free as a lark. This book was written in the 1920s and should be included on the lists of classics that everyone should read.
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When I decided to become an author and actually claim that title as my new identity, I also took on a scope of challenges I never expected.
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I have been reading a large variety of books, and I find the most poignant difference between classics and self-published books is the use of cliff-hangers, open ending, and series hooks. I have read at least three of these kinds of endings this year alone. To be honest, I hate a book that doesn’t end.
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Fantasy fiction is a direct descendant of fairy tales and myths. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and George MacDonald were creators of some of the earliest fantasy fiction novels with the specific intention of creating modern fairy tales and myths.
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Even though I have a very long list of favorite writers, my inspiration usually returns to Jane Austin, C.S. Lewis, and J.R.R. Tolkien.
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This children’s book was written by my husband, Dr. Kerry Lee Jr. and illustrated by me over 14 years ago when we were dating. I had submitted it to many publishers because I had always wanted to write and illustrate books, but it just would get lost in the slush piles.
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Today I helped some people move furniture and was asked if I needed anything they were getting rid of. I visited some people at their home and was again offered some furniture. In fact for the past year I have been generously offered a lot of furniture.
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We are moving back to Texas! It isn’t the same part of Texas that we lived in before, but that is good. Part of the reason for our European adventure was to create a different life, but it will be good to be near the family and friends who live there.
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I had kind of expected this book to be just another cutesy home decorating book which I tend to read one after another like some guilty obsession akin to chocoholics eating chocolate. It turns out this book ended up being more than what I had expected.
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I had been very excited about this book because I had hoped from the description of it that I could learn what good conversation past and present was like and therefore improve my own style of conversing.
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Forever Chic by Tish Jett is a well-written survey of French culture that highlights the strengths that brings so much admiration while dispelling myths such as “French women don’t go to the gym”.
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I pride myself on being thrifty, practical, and efficient. Unfortunately, this arrogance sometimes gets me into trouble.
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Ever since I moved to Scotland I have been wanting to visit the highlands, but for some reason it always has seemed to complicated or too expensive or out of our way.
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I am very happy to say that I was able to attend the Edinburgh School of Art student fashion show a couple of days ago. They were the only school in Scotland invited to show in the London Graduate fashion week this coming June.
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I was thrilled to happen upon a sale on whole frozen duck that made it cheaper than the chicken next to it… as long as I bought three of them.
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I read a biography of Abigail Adams by Phyllis Lee Levin this past month. This is probably one of the best biographies I have ever read (and I LOVE reading biographies!).
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The book I chose was by Justine Picardie. She was very thorough, and I enjoyed her book, but like a lot of modern British writers, she was a bit over dramatic and liberal with her opinions.
