Janet Sketchley's Blog: Tenacity

Image by My Assignment Writing Help from PixabayMy Two-Lane Highway on Substackby Steph Beth Nickel

Last month I shared why I don’t “stay in my lane” when it comes to writing. Plus, I shared my Day 1 devotional from my manuscript titled Nurture and Inspire Love: A Study of Jesus’s Commands in the Gospel of John. I post these devotionals on Fridays.

Below is chapter 1 of my YA manuscript. I share a chapter each week on Monday.

Rule and Reign

Chapter 1

My grandmother’s voice...

The good folks curating book recommendations at Shepherd.com collect readers’ three favourite books from November through the following October, which gives them time to post everyone’s top 3 picks before the calendar year-end.

Here’s a link to my top 3, which will also be reflected in my year-end picks:

Janet Sketchley’s 3 Favourite Reads in 2025

I can tell you one’s nonfiction, one’s a mystery, and one’s a new-to-me genre. I highly recommend each one.

All readers are welcome to add...

November 2025 New ReleasesMore in-depth descriptions of these books can be found on the ACFW Fiction Finder website

Amish Romance:
A Daughter���s Choice by Kelly S. Irvin — Henrietta Miller loves animals���especially her goats. She wants to marry and have children someday, but right now her goal is to have her own business selling snacks made from goat’s milk and goat’s soaps. Against her the wishes of her father���who’s also the bishop���she applies for a job as a veterinary assistant to earn mo...

Image by Bartek Zakrzewski from PixabayYou Don’t (Necessarily) Have to Stay in Your Laneby Steph Beth Nickel

As a writer, you’ve likely heard the advice to “stay in your lane.”

This is conventional wisdom that encourages us to write only one genre of novel, stick with nonfiction on a single topic—or clearly related topics, become known as an expert in our field, etc.

However, despite the fact that there are good reasons to do so, it is not the best advice for all writers.

Whi...

Image by Bartek Zakrzewski from PixabayYou Don���t (Necessarily) Have to Stay in Your Laneby Steph Beth Nickel

As a writer, you���ve likely heard the advice to ���stay in your lane.���

This is conventional wisdom that encourages us to write only one genre of novel, stick with nonfiction on a single topic���or clearly related topics, become known as an expert in our field, etc.

However, despite the fact that there are good reasons to do so, it is not the best advice for all write...

How to Pray: A Simple Guide for Normal People, by Pete Greig (NavPress, 2019)

���Help!���

���Thanks!���

���Wow!���

Prayer can be very short. But it can also become a rich, ongoing way of life.

In How to Pray: A Simple Guide for Normal People, Pete Greig provides what Christianity Today called ���An instant spiritual classic.��� The introduction describes it as ���a simple guide to the complex, living landscape of prayer���.But there���s more to prayer than asking, and God is ...

October 2025 New ReleasesMore in-depth descriptions of these books can be found on the ACFW Fiction Finder website��Biblical:

Rescued Heart: The Story of Sarah by Angela Hunt — A master of biblical research, Angela Hunt delivers a series starter that transports readers to the Old Testament world of Sarah and Abraham, making this novel a perfect read for those who love Francine Rivers, Mesu Andrews, Connilyn Cossette, and Jill Eileen Smith. (Biblical/Historical from Bethany House)

Leading Ph...

Don’t Blink: 12 Inspirational Suspense Thrillers, by Terry Toler, Cynthia Hickey, Heather Day Gilbert, Jordyn Redwood, Urcelia Teixeira, Melanie D. Snitker, Camy Tang, Sherri Wilson Johnson, Vikki Kestell, C.D. Gill, Jan Thompson, and Lynn Shannon. (Winged Publications, 2025)

This collection is well worth picking up. Some of the authors were new to me, some were the draw for me to order the book. (Then I scored an advance review copy. My own copy landed in my Kobo app on release day.)

...

Image by Luisella Planeta LOVE PEACE from PixabayBooks, Books, and More Booksby Steph Beth Nickel

My now-grown kiddos pretty much wore out one of the Berenstain Bear movies. In it, Sister Bear sang the song ���I Want It All.���

Of course, the point of the story wasn���t that she should get everything she wanted. But when it comes to books, too often I���m like Sister Bear.

Fiction. Nonfiction. Audiobooks. E-books. Physical books. Quick reads. Massive tomes. And on and on and on...

September 2025 New Releases

More in-depth descriptions of these books can be found on the ACFW Fiction Finder website

Biblical:

Survival Secrets by Lana Christian — The Wise Men���s flight from Herod forces them to flee to the Wilderness of Paran to reach Egypt���s safety. But the trek will test their fledgling faith in ways they couldn���t have imagined. How much will they endure to protect their secrets, including what they know of Yeshua? (Biblical/Historical from Scrivenings Press)

Contempor...