I put my 6-pound, 14-ounce baby in the mail two days ago.

I’m talking about the manuscript of my book, What’s So Great About Adoption. It’s due at my publisher’s today, so on Monday at 4:55 p.m., I dragged my bleary-eyed, unshowered body (yeech) to the post office to pop that baby in the mail so it would arrive at its destination by today.

If you’re a regular reader of my blog, you probably assume I fell off the face of the planet during the past month. I did, kind of. Every waking hour was spent caring for my baby, scrutinizing... more

This is Part 2 of a Q & A that examines the importance of attending a writers’ conference. Part 1: Why It's Critical to Attend Writers' Conferences

How do I “pitch” my writing project at a writers’ conference? It depends on what your project is. If it’s an idea for a magazine article, prepare a one-page (typed) summary/outline of your potential article with a brief writer bio at the bottom.

You will make an appointment with... more

Many of my fellow bloggers harbor hopes of “getting published” via traditional means, such as through writing books or magazine articles, so I thought I’d share a few reflections as to how attending a writers’ conference can help you achieve that.

Why should I attend a writers’ conference?

Three reasons:

1. You get to network. At the conference I attended last week, not only did I meet lots of book and magazine editors, but I traded stories with at least a dozen people who are as passionate about adoption as... more

Pictured: Harvest House authors attending Glorieta (that's me on the right, standing next to senior editor, Nick Harrison).

This is my second live report from the Glorieta Christian Writers’ Conference near Santa Fe, New Mexico:

I met Dena Dyer, who writes humorous books for moms.... more

Reporting live from the Glorieta Christian Writers Conference, near Santa Fe, New Mexico:

Whenever I attend writers' conferences, I keep my eyes and ears open for adoption-related writers and the latest, greatest info about adoption.

I learned about the National Challenged Homeschoolers Associated Network (NATTHAN). I'll provide more information about this organization a future post, but essentially, the group is a network of homeschooling parents who have children with special needs. My sources tell me that they're very supportive of finding adoptive homes... more

This is the final post in a series that examines the book, Two Little Girls: A Memoir of Adoption, by Theresa Reid

Theresa Reid and her husband, Marc, decided to adopt their second child when their daughter, Natalie, was about 3 years old. Reid describes their reasoning, writing:

Our hearts were so full of Natalie that we did not have a burning desire for a second child for ourselves…we wanted Natalie to have a sister…we wanted Natalie—as an adoptive child... more

I love to interview people, and that means I go where people are. I’ve conducted interviews in some interesting locales: coffee shops, crowded hallways, commercial kitchens, women’s restrooms, and the sidelines of kiddie soccer games.

This spring, I interviewed author Grace Fox at a boarding gate in San Jose airport. Grace, an experienced journalist herself, knew I could barely hear her over the din of people chatting loudly all around us, so I just handed her my tape recorder and said, “Have at it.”

She told me about her new devotional... more

This is the fourth post in a series that examines the book, Two Little Girls: A Memoir of Adoption, by Theresa Reid

There is choice in adoption. When you receive a referral for a child or hear the news that a pregnant woman is interested in getting to know you, you’re faced with making a choice: Do I accept the referral or do I turn it down?

Theresa Reid recounts the first time she was faced with making this choice:

Arlene [their case... more

This is the third post in a series that examines the book, Two Little Girls: A Memoir of Adoption, by Theresa Reid

I’m always intrigued when people choose to adopt internationally mainly because they’re scared of interacting with their child’s birth parents. We have a domestic open adoption in which we consider our sons’ birth families members of our extended family (and vice versa).

In our case, there’s nothing to be scared of. The presence of our sons’ birth families... more

This is the second post in a series that examines the book, Two Little Girls: A Memoir of Adoption, by Theresa Reid

These days, when people say they want to adopt a healthy infant, they receive dirty looks from some in the adoption community. “Why not adopt one of the hundreds of thousands of children waiting in foster care?” people ask. “Why not adopt one of the millions or orphans from around the world?”

If you want to adopt a healthy infant, some insinuate that... more