How was your week? Mine was very full, and by Friday evening I was wrecked. On Saturday I was more or less a zombie. Today is better, so I found myself thinking about you, about this solitary community, full of prayers and people. Real people. We do not do "how to write your first novel" here, or "how to make money with books written by AI." What we have here is the real work, and maybe I do not point at it often enough. There is a whole section on screenwriting and creative writing in the Classroom. The screenwriting part even has videos I made with an avatar. You should know that those screenwriting lessons come straight out of a university level course, and they hold up just as well if you write novels. There are parts I would like to finish. I have not had the chance to develop them yet. The thing is, this community was born as an exchange more than as a road to success. Success is in your hands whether or not you have finished your novel. I have written several novels and publishers have put them out. I published before I knew the rules, and after. The rules are a guide. A compass. Originality is where the rules get broken, but they are still doing their work when it happens, and how those rules manage that is often a mystery. So there is a guide in the Classroom. There are instructions. I did not invent them. They are there to become your compass, and they will also tell you whether the people you are handing your creativity to know what they are doing. Out there, too many gurus will inject you with their dose of truth. Often it is poison. Some of them do know their trade. So if you have doubts about your path, this is a place to talk it through and check. It is no secret that there is a whole business of scams and exploitation aimed at authors, because some people's dreams are somebody else's salary, and there are people who will make money on ours. In 2021 I paid a modest sum for a marketing campaign for my book. I wanted to see whether it worked. They promised at least twenty five blogs would write about it, plus other services. The twenty five bloggers turned out to be mostly their own blogs, invented, with long names, impossible to find on a search engine, and every review said the same thing. Anonymous people really.

Sunday, August 23, 2026 Mark 10:15-16 (NIV) “Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” “And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them.” Heavenly Father, thank You for showing us the heart of Jesus. Help us to have faith that is simple, pure, and trusting like a little child. Teach us to humbly receive Your kingdom with joy and open hearts. Bless our children, Lord. Surround them with Your love and protection, guide them in Your truth, and may Your hands always rest upon them. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen. 🦋🙏💕