Are you staying at home due to the COVID-19 virus pandemic that is all over the world? Are you practicing social distancing so you can actively help flatten the curve to prevent a spike in the coronavirus disease in you county or state or country? (Look at me using all these new fancy terms I didn’t usually use in normal life!)
Readers, while you’re staying at home, are you reading new fiction books? Which contemporary Christian romance books are you reading or re-reading? Feel free to comment.
Are you a little bit curious about what authors are doing during the imposed social distancing? What do you think they are doing at home? I thought that our avid readers might want to know how our InspyRomance authors are handling this new normal, so I asked some of our authors here to tell us what they are doing while in isolation or quarantine. How is their writing affected by the coronavirus disease outbreak? Let’s see what some of our illustrious authors say.
“Writing? What writing? LOL. In all honesty, it’s a struggle to get any work done with my family home. I’m trying my best to adjust my expectations of how much I can do and choosing to focus on the good (ie. health, food, toilet paper!). I’m thankful to still be in touch with readers and author friends on social media.” – Liwen Ho, author of the Spark Brothers series
“Last winter, I came up with my writing plan for 2020 to write twice as many books in one year than I ever had before. In order to achieve that goal, I knew I would need to hunker down to write from Feb through May and ignore all distractions. As it turns out, that schedule is what’s keeping me sane and focused with a sense of purpose during self-isolation.” – Laurie Larsen, author of the Matchmaking Moms of Oceanview Church series.
“I used to be able to count on two hours of writing each day when I went to the gym. These days, any writing happens after toddler bedtimes or during the (rare) nap. Those small bits of time are what is keeping me sane. Well, that and video chats with friends and fellow authors who understand the struggle.” – Tara Grace Ericson, author of the Main Street Minden Series
“Quarantine has been both good and bad for my writing. While I’ve had more dedicated time to writing than I usually manage, the amount of distractions and interruptions has increased. I’m not usually a schedule-follower, but having hubby work from home and the kids needing structure for schooling has actually helped me to carve productive writing time while they’re working.” – Jaycee Weaver, author of Whatever Happens Next
“One silver lining for me is that I have missed my son since he left for college (university) two years ago. He only came home at spring breaks, summer breaks, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. Since he is our only child, we were suddenly empty nesters, and just like that, motherhood became a long-distance thing for me. Unexpectedly, with his college campus closing and moving the rest of the semester online until this outbreak is over, we’re all in the same house again. I rather like that and thank God for an opportunity to be at-home mom again, even as my book deadlines loom.” – Jan Thompson, author of the Savannah Sweethearts, Vacation Sweethearts, and Seaside Chapel series
As you know, writing can be a lonely career in which writers have to spend time alone writing, writing, writing. My happy place is sitting at my desk and writing my books. So when the pandemic reached my country and everyone is told to stay at home… I mean, I’m already writing at home! However, schools and businesses also closed. So now everybody is really home. Our house cat is probably wondering why everyone is in pajamas, like it’s Christmas season! Except it’s coronavirus season…
As a Christian, I can look to God’s Word, which I am reading a lot during this time of social distancing and war against the COVID-19 disease that has attacked over 184 countries (and counting) worldwide (only the continent of Antartica is spared). Vaccines are still months away. Romans 8:37 comes to mind.
“Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us” (Romans 8:37).
Praise the Lord that the biggest news of all is that Christians have hope and protection in God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Nothing can touch us unless the Lord allows it for a reason. God is also the Great Physician. I pray that He would heal everyone who is inflicted with the coronavirus disease. And that He will heal this world.
I think it’s God’s timing for this week to be our holy week, right when the coronavirus outbreak peaks in the USA. We have stayed at home on Palm Sunday, Passover, Good Friday, and now Easter Resurrection Sunday. It is a reminder to me that life is very fragile. All it takes is for someone with the disease to breath at you for your to risk getting COVID-19. However, we don’t live in fear because we have faith in Jesus Christ, our risen Lord who has conquered death!
Praise the Lord that Christ has risen indeed!
“Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them. And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre. And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus. And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments: And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee, Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again” (Luke 24:1-7).
Happy Resurrection Sunday, everyone! And stay safe!
Serving the Risen Lord,
Jan Thompson
USA Today bestselling novelist Jan Thompson writes clean and wholesome multiethnic contemporary Christian romance with elements of women’s fiction, Christian romantic suspense with an air of mystery, and inspirational international thrillers with threads of sweet Christian romance. Join Jan's mailing list for her latest book news: JanThompson.com/newsletter
A thoughtful post thank you.
Nice to see the writers given a voice in these challenging times. Thank you.
Thanks for your thoughts. Wishing you and all the readers lots of health and peace during these trying times
My life hasn’t changed too much with this virus. I already worked from home. The main thing for me has been trying to find things I need, and this past week, God blessed me with finding tp, dishwashing liquid, and table napkins!! I wanted to do a happy dance in the store aisles!! I’m not stocking up or hoarding, just needed things I was running out of!! It’s really the little things that have always made me happy, and these blessings this week topped my list! Along with a wonderful card from a friend, “just because”.
Thank you! Have a wonderful Easter weekend!
Thank you! Wishing you a blessed Resurrection Sunday!
Thank you. These are challenging times indeed!
IKR! I am running out of dishwashing detergent and I’m like, the shortage of household items cannot be happening. I can see why people buy several at a time because they fear they would run out. Of course the TP drama is something else. Maybe they know something the rest of us don’t LOL.
But all that to say that simple things I never thought were a big deal (they always used to stock them in the store) now have become big deals. All else things can interfere with our daily lives. But praise the Lord that we always have Jesus no matter what!
Thank you for your comments. May God bless your Easter Sunday!
Thanks Jan! Happy Easter!
Is there a greater love than this?
To lay aside His rightful power,
And take within His perfect self
Our ugly, selfish violence.
Can passion, pure and blazing white
Be found amid earth’s deadened souls?
While we are still and rotting here
Can we sow life within ourselves?
No, only heaven’s perfect hand
Whose love and justice both prevail
May show such grace and give us hope
Of resurrection even now.
So may our hearts, now brought to life,
Lift joyful praise to Him who died
Who took for us the lash and cross
To own our debt, now paid in full!
Lord Jesus, with our hearts so full,
We come to thank you and to praise
Your will and full obedience
That we may be with you in love.
So, may Your Spirit fill and teach
Our hearts to love, obey, be strong.
May, through us, heaven be seen here
And You, our brother king, now reign.
Oh Hallelujah! Loud and strong!
Let Holy, Holy, Holy ring!
May You, our God, be lifted up
And may Your praise forever sound!
(c) 2020, Lincoln Clark
We are flattening the curve here in my state of South Australia. I have to admit not going out much is different. I have also found going to the supermarket in the mid afternoon is much better than morning way less people there. I find it interesting that some are taking it extra careful not going out or having adult children shop for them and others in the 0ver 70 age group see it as a bit of hype and don’t get why they shouldn’t go out as much as before. Like shop every day etc.
I am about to join church online here today.
It’s always a wonder to be reminded of life with little ones at home, especially with the complexities of combined adult plans and student’s home study efforts.
May Easter Sunday bring peace that surpasses all our anxious thoughts as we dwell in His immeasurable grace and mercy and love.
Happy Easter to you too!
Thank you for your poem! Have a blessed Easter Sunday! God is good!
Thank you for your comments! Attending online church over here too. Can’t be too careful, no matter what age groups. Pretty amazing that each of us handles the curbed freedom in different ways. Stay safe! And happy Resurrection Sunday!
God is indeed merciful and full of grace toward us. Thank you for your comments. Have a blessed Easter Sunday!
Happy Easter!
Happy Easter Sunday to you too!
Thank you. The service didn’t happen I couldn’t get it to work so I joined in a FB service that someone from the State office had suggested a couple weeks back. It was good.
I find Sunday the hardest day of the week with the self isolating. When you are alone and single never married you tend to get forgotten. Normally I leave for church at 9am and get home around 1pm. but with being home it makes it a long day. It would be great to get a phone call but that rarely happens and I have rung a few friends in the past few days. While I have some things to do sometimes I just cant settle to do things. I am trying to make a quilt (never done it before) but am at a stand still. I don’t really know how to do the next part. How to set it out. (Its a quilt 2 other people have said they would do for me. The first one suggested it when I went to America almost 7 years ago so I bought the material then she never did it for me).