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February 2016

February 16, 2016

So You Want to Be a (Better) Catholic Writer? Sign Up ASAP.

Karina Fabian reminds you that now is the time to sign up for the Catholic...

January 2016

January 18, 2016

Hashtags, Prayers, and Progressive Fundamentalists: A Lesson from Sister Simone

Please welcome guest blogger Timothy Scott Reeves. Scott is a philosophy student, father of...

January 12, 2016

Real Things from Fiction

Happy New Year everyone! I'm doing fine, a bit tired and a lot busy with...

December 2015

December 07, 2015

Want to Get Paid to Write? The #1 Make-or-Break Skill

People ask me writing questions sometimes. This weekend I was reminded of an essential skill that aspiring...

November 2015

November 17, 2015

Read Here Much? There’s a Support Group for That

There are even ten steps involved, mind the Caravaggio rule. At my editor's suggestion I've...

October 2015

October 17, 2015

The Coolest Thing About Being a Catholic Writer . . .

. . . is the people you get to work with. Here's a snapshot of...

October 16, 2015

I hate it when I do this:

A year and some ago, I wrote this, now showing live at CatholicMom.com because it's the...

October 11, 2015

Why I Don’t Care About Women’s Ordination

Way back when I was a confused but zealous Catholic teenager, I considered whether I...

September 2015

September 30, 2015

Non-Cantankerous Evangelization with St. Jerome and Team

My top two picks for St. Jerome posts today are Amy Welborn at Charlotte Was...

September 16, 2015

Jesus Gives Us the Haters-Gonna-Hate Talk

I should probably tattoo today's Gospel reading on the back of my hand.* I was...

September 01, 2015

Why I Love Facebook and the #1 Secret to Radio Success

This Saturday (Sept 5th) I'll be on Outside the Walls with Timothy Putnam talking about parish...

August 2015

August 18, 2015

Call for Writers: Catholic Mom’s Annual Gospel Reflection Collection

A reader reminded me I wrote something half-decent that ran this past week at CatholicMom.com....

August 08, 2015

Three Bad Arguments You Should Stop Using Right Now

If there's one thing the latest Planned Parenthood sting videos have brought to light, it's...

May 2015

May 26, 2015

Love, Death, and the Communion of Saints: There are Movies for That

My chief occupation this Memorial Day was doing things to prevent my lungs from making...

May 10, 2015

Survey Now Open: Listen To Me, Catholic Mothers Edition

I've lost my patience with church people who just won't listen to the real stories...

January 2015

January 05, 2015

So, Jennifer, How Do You, Ahem, Pray?

Over at Tom McDonald's blog today, you can find out all kinds of things about...

December 2014

December 12, 2014

More Bad Arguments: The Good Man Defense

Moving beyond any particular example of terrible writing, I want to address a non-argument I've...

December 11, 2014

Is There a Rational Argument in Favor of IVF for Church Employees?

In discussing the recent scandal out of Notre Dame's theology department, a question arose: Would...

December 11, 2014

As Morning Breaks: 2015 Gospel Reflections for Every Day of the Year

Now out from CatholicMom.com: As Morning Breaks, Daily Gospel Reflections. It's available as a Kindle...

December 10, 2014

Debate, Dissent, and Dishonesty: What Makes a Good Argument, and What’s Just Embarrassing?

In discussions surrounding Notre Dame's staffing problem, a question was posed: When is an argument...

November 2014

November 13, 2014

Social Media for Self-Promotion: What’s Acceptable and What’s Just Plain Obnoxious?

Over at Catholic Writers Guild this month, I'm talking about social media for writers. I...

October 2014

October 21, 2014

Why Being a Writer Isn’t as Obvious as All That

Karen Kelly Boyce has a good piece up at the Catholic Writers Guild on cementing...

October 15, 2014

The Go-to Guide for New and Struggling Catechists Now Out in Kindle

Something fun: I was putting together my author bio for the 2015 CatholicMom.com Gospel Reflections...

September 2014

September 03, 2014

Head’s Up, Combox Closing

FYI - the disappearance of the combox is not a technical glitch. I have the...

August 2014

August 31, 2014

Something Good: Christian Soul Music with Actual Poetry in It

Just finished listening to the rough mix of Sam Rocha's freshly released album, Late to...

August 25, 2014

At CWG: Why You Should Experiment Outside Your Usual Genre

Over at the Catholic Writers Guild, I tell the story of my little foray into...

August 19, 2014

Gospel Fan Fiction: When You Give What is Holy to Dogs

The Gospels are written with only the sparest of details. When we use our imaginations...

July 2014

July 17, 2014

Meet-the-Author and Other Fun Writing Events

Catholic Writers Conference registration is still open, and the schedule of events for the conference...

June 2014

June 27, 2014

Should You Be Writing Right Now? And What About the Kids? And What About a Conference This Summer?

Kathy Schiffer reminds you that if, "I'd like to be a writer someday" applies to...