I used to be a quilter. I made bed quilts, wall quilts, table runners.
Then I jumped to knitting and crochet. I made dish cloths, dinosaurs and rugs. 
In between all of that, I've tackled my outside spaces with varying degrees of success. I call myself a wanna-be-gardener because I don't really know what I'm doing. What I grow well seems to have more to do with the plant itself than my skills as a gardener. And watering regularly would probably help a lot (a lesson I'm learning the hard way as my favourite lychee tree dies. Waaaaa!).
But even without developing my expertise, there's a promise in gardening that has nothing to do with me. A promise of growth, of new things, of hope perhaps. And ​I think it's pottering with this promise that keeps me at it. 

Dienece Darling is a 'former Georgia Belle' who now lives (and writes) in Australia. She's an historical fiction author who loves learning about regency England and incoporating what she learns about life, faith and history into the stories she write. She's also part of Australia's Christian Writing Network, Omega Writers, which is how I heard about her. I enjoyed interviewing Dienece for my monthly author interview series to hearing more about her work and that fascinating way the very act of writing can help us grow.

​God’s love in a Nutshell is a brightly illustrated book about Chitter, an adorable junior squirrel, who is doing their best to understand God’s love. The story begins with Chitter asking Chatter (the equally adorable grown-up squirrel), ‘Can I keep God’s love in my nutchell?’. The answer is obviously no because, ‘God’s love is too big to fit in your nutshell’. This sends Chitter on a quest to figure out how to keep God’s love close all the time. It’s such a cute story opening with an important and relevant question, but there was one line in this adorable book (can you tell I liked the squirrels?) that made me pause... 

I get very excited when new Australian Christian children's books arrive on the scene. This is partly because there aren't very many of them. But it's also because those that do make it through the gauntlet of publishing hurdles are usually saying something rather special. They're looking at things from a slightly different angle, and the truths they explore can be powerful as a result. Simon Camilleri is a poet, speaker, graphic designer and the author of some of these types of books. I was grateful to be able to interview him in the midst of the whirlwind of launching his newest children's book, Read, Think, Pray, Do - a kid's guide to reading the Bible! 

I hesitated writing this post. I mean, why add more words to a topic that seems to be bouncing around the internet like a high speed pinball. Opinions, enthusiasm, suspicion, outrage. It’s all there.
So why add my thoughts to the noise? Well, I knew I needed to wrestle out my position on AI - as an author, but also as a person. I also knew that I'm probably not the only one. So I share my thoughts here. My AI WIP (wrestlings-in-progress)...