Writing Ventures

Over the years, I have written a number of projects of various types.  Several have already been self-published.  The others are sitting on the back burner, so to speak, awaiting something to be done with them. I thought I'd share them with you.

For Kids

Katie Grace Makes a New Friend


There is a new girl in Katie Grace's first grade class. One of Katie Grace's friends, thinks this girl is "weird, definitely weird"...and so is anyone who tries to be friends with her. What is a girl to do? Should Katie Grace go along with Maddie and avoid being called "weird" herself? Or should she try to make friends with the new girl no matter what? 

Where can you find Katie Grace Makes a New Friend?

• On Amazon for Kindle and Kindle Readers.
• On Smashwords for most other formats. (Payment made using PayPal.)
  

Katie Grace and the Me Firsties 

Katie Grace has a bad case of the "Me Firsties". She always wants to be first in everything, from getting to the car first to being first in line at school. She wants to have the most...the biggest...the best.

Unfortunately for Katie Grace, the "Me Firsties" get her in trouble with her friends. Katie Grace learns about being truly sorry, and being forgiven. But when her brother breaks something that is special to her, will Katie Grace choose to forgive as she has been forgiven?

Katie Grace's mother shares several of the parables of Jesus to help her understand about forgiveness and not always trying to be first.


Where can you find Katie Grace and the Me Firsties?

• On Amazon for Kindle and Kindle Readers.

• On Smashwords for most other formats. (Payment made using PayPal.)

Katie Grace and the Sticky Fingers

Katie Grace loves her dog, Mr. Tibbles.When her pet gets lost, she will stop at nothing to find him. When her school project goes missing, she searches until the lost is found. When her "sticky fingers" get her into trouble, she feels lost herself. The three "Lost Parables" help Katie Grace understand how big God's love is for His children when they are "lost".

Where can you find Katie Grace and the Sticky Fingers?

•  On Amazon for Kindle and Kindle Readers.

• On Smashwords for most other formats. (Payment made using PayPal.)

 For Adults

From Captive to Conqueror 

From Captive to Conqueror came into being when 2 Samuel 22 practically jumped off the page at me at a time when God was doing some deep work in my heart, setting me free from things that had held me captive. 

Over the next three months or so, no matter what else I read, I always came back to 2 Samuel 22.  This passage is so special to me because I see in it a beautiful picture of how God had taken this captive, set her free, restored her, and was teaching her to be a conqueror.

At the suggestion of a friend, I began writing down some of the things God showed me in the process.  From Captive to Conqueror is the outcome of that process.

Where can you find From Captive to Conqueror?

• On Amazon in paperback Format.
• On Amazon for Kindle and Kindle Readers.
• On Smashwords for most other formats. (Payment made using PayPal.)

For church groups using dance and drama for ministry

Winning Back My Beloved

This is a love story. You have a King. You have his Beloved. You have an Enemy. The Enemy entices the Beloved away from the King. The King will do anything, even sacrifice himself, to win her back. This story of redemption is intended to be performed as a dance/drama. It is especially poignant and applicable near Easter, but can be used any time of the year. It can be adapted to varying cultures.
Where can you find Winning Back My Beloved?

• On Amazon for Kindle and Kindle Readers.
• On Smashwords for most other formats. (Payment made using PayPal.)

Back Burner" Projects

The Road to Bethlehem – A Christmas play written and performed at Christian Fellowship Church in either 1988 or 1989.  The play tells the traditional Christmas story, but this version places a bit more emphasis on Joseph’s role than is usual.  The Road to Bethlehem is more suited to high school-aged or adult actors rather than children as there is a lot of dialogue.

Giants in the Land – A musical play written for a group of missionary kids in Papua New Guinea for their spring program in 1990.  This musical tells the story of the twelve spies in the land of Canaan, and the refusal of God’s people to move forward in faith.  The message of the play can be summarized in this way. “As long as our God goes before us, there is NOTHING that can stand against us.”

Things I Have Learned From My Daughter – This project is still being written.  Over the years, “Things I Have Learned…” has been a short feature in my newsletters.  I have received more comments about this section than any other part of the letters.  Each chapter of Things I Have Learned From My Daughter would tell a real-life story and relate it to something that God is teaching me.

Humor Across Cultures (working title) - This would be a collection of language and cultural bloopers that people make when living and working outside their own culture.  This would not be yet another list of funny or strange mistakes made in the English language by non-English speakers. There are plenty of lists like that.  With this collection, I would like to give people like me who live and work outside our home cultures a chance to turn the spotlight on ourselves and share some of our own mistakes.  We do it anyway, especially when a bunch of us get together over a meal and start to tell stories.  Inevitably, the comment is made that someone should write these stories down.  Well, I'd like to do just that.  For this project, I would seek input from people around the world as we all have a story to tell.  The Humor Across Cultures page in this blog has a few examples of the kind of stories I would look for.

If you have a story of your own, feel free to put it in the comment section and let me know if you would be willing for it to eventually appear in a collection.  One reminder, though...if we are not careful, some humor could get a bit raunchy.  Please, nothing raunchy.  Embarrassing is OK.  Raunchy, no.  Thanks.

Collection of Short Skits – I also have written several short skits suitable for use in churches, youth camps, and other settings.  I envision a collection of perhaps ten skits. 

One skit that has already been performed several times is entitled “The Box of Secrets”.  In this skit, these words of Jesus’s are explored. “Neither do I condemn you.  Go and sin no more.” (John 8:11)  As one character carries a heavy burden through life, different people try to help.  One emphasizes the first part of Jesus’s words, but forgets the second.  Another focuses on the second part, but forgets the first.  Finally, someone finds a balance, and takes the person to Jesus to be freed of the burden.

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If any of these “back burner projects” are of interest to you, please let me know.  You can leave a comment at the bottom of this page, send me an email at juliemerrin@yahoo.com, or both.  If one project is of interest to a number of people, that will probably be the next one I take up to bring to completion.