Pages From My Journal

            Writing didn’t just happen. My skills had to grow. I had to practice things over and over before I got them right. But before any of this, there was a starting place. That starting place was the vertical, half lined/half blank paper in the picture above.             That piece of paper was a common homeschool tool my mom used as incentive for me. If I did the work I needed to get done, we could write a story and I could illustrate. My mom taught me the beginning, middle, and end of a story. She would write each sentence on a piece of paper and leave the top blank for me to color. As I got older, I wrote the stories myself and got graded on spelling, grammar, and neatness. At that point in my life I was more excited about coloring, but that is where my stories began. It wasn’t until I was thirteen that I began to pick up the writing again. I had done a lot ...

            I finished my week of staff training at camp and I had a great time. I learned a lot. Not only about doing my job, its importance in the ministry, and getting along with the other staff members, but I had the time to simply sit by myself and seek God.             I am on the kitchen crew so most of my work happens right before, during, and right after meals. This leaves a good block of time in between for my break. I chose to sit on the porch outside the dining hall, read my Bible, and pray. For two hours almost every single day, I had this time to have a one on one conversation with God. I’m used to noise—I had none. I’m used to short pieces of time—I didn’t have that. I’m used to fighting distractions—they were absent.             I’m at camp to minister to kids, but I also will be learning and growing...

Today, I leave for New Life Island. It's a summer camp, and I will be working as support staff. Because it's for the majority of the summer, this may be the last blog post for a while, but I will try to share some thoughts throughout the summer. I will absolutely be blogging about going to a writers' conference in August so look for that. I hope you all have a great summer! ~Alyson

The best books are the ones that never end, that the story never really finishes, the characters never go away, and the reader never stops thinking.   I’m not talking about really big books or endless series. In fact, I prefer shorter books and no longer than a trilogy. The physical pages or spines can only mean so much. The story between the front and back cover should be what never ends.  My favorite books are the ones that keep going in your mind after your close it. I’m the kind of person that likes to analyze things and, many times, over think. I enjoy books that challenge your thinking. I love stories that cause you to replay the story and try to put together pieces that you didn’t notice the first time. I delight over books that I can read over and over again because of the sense of geniuses it produces. I will never forget the books that teach me something every time I read their words.  If you’re thinking that I have high standards for a great bo...

I am almost done my first full length novel! I am so excited I should finish by the end of the school year. I hope to have it edited and prepared to go to the Philadelphia Christian Writer's Conference this summer. The working title of this story is "Brick Walls." Here is the picture and back cover copy. Taylor Peterson decided to take off from work for the summer to spend time with her six year old daughter and make up for their past dreadful summers. But when her daughter lands in coma from an accident, she puts a wall in front of her eyes and refuses to see what God could possibly have in store. Blocking the world from view, she pushes away friends. But, with her husband coming home from the air force, she is forced to make a decision. God has given Jessica Hawkins incredible strength with dealing with an invisible illness that is stealing her breath. She has long sense barricaded her heart against other people in fear of hurting them. She looks forward to he...

Buy Captives on Amazon Title:   Captives  (The Safe Lands, book 1 of 3) - Safe Lands website: http://thesafelands.com Author: Jill Williamson -  www.jillwilliamson.com Genre:   YA Dystopian Here is the back cover copy: When eighteen-year-old Levi returned from Denver City with his latest scavenged finds, he never imagined he’d find his village of Glenrock decimated, loved ones killed, and many—including his fiancée, Jem—taken captive. Now alone, Levi is determined to rescue what remains of his people, even if it means entering the Safe Lands, a walled city that seems anything but safe. Omar knows he betrayed his brother by sending him away, but helping the enforcers was necessary. Living off the land and clinging to an outdated religion holds his village back. The Safe Lands has protected people since the plague decimated the world generations ago … and its rulers have promised power and wealth beyond Omar’s dreams. Meanwhile, their brother Mason h...