tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62264118725633116762011-12-15T04:36:08.195-08:00Writing, Traveling, and Living joyously on Earth's Wild SideJeanette Windlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15502921369882806758noreply@blogger.comBlogger321100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6226411872563311676.post-44888712319258833292011-09-11T10:49:00.001-07:002011-09-11T11:58:41.171-07:00

Ten years ago, on the morning of 9/11/01, I was sitting in my home office in Miami, scribbling out the closing scene of my then latest work-in-project, The DMZ, set against the Islamic involvement in Colombia's guerrilla zones where I grew up, when my husband called from our ministry headquarters in Miami to tell me to turn on the news. "I can't; I'm finishing my last scene," I told him. "Turn

Jeanette Windlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15502921369882806758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6226411872563311676.post-42453695934043390642011-05-27T15:26:00.000-07:002011-05-27T15:32:33.721-07:00

Advanced Writers and Speakers Association (AWSA) announces the finalists for the 2011 Golden Scroll Book of the Year Awards. Finalists will be honored at the AWSA Golden Scrolls Awards Banquet, Sunday, July 10th, from 1 to 3 pm at the Omni at CNN Center in Atlanta.The 2011 Golden Scroll book awards Novel of the Year finalists are Kathi Macias for Red Ink, Golden Keys Parson for A Prisoner of

Jeanette Windlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15502921369882806758noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6226411872563311676.post-13446656367161292602011-05-25T10:05:00.000-07:002011-05-26T09:34:57.888-07:00

My youngest child has at last cut the umbilical cord and is taking those first tottering steps in the big, wide world outside my hovering embrace. Not some unanticipated late-life flesh-and-blood offspring [my husband just breathed relief!], though the birthing has been far more prolonged and arduous than any of the four humans who list me as parent on their birth certificates.No, it's just that

Jeanette Windlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15502921369882806758noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6226411872563311676.post-70083530126383947042011-04-15T10:39:00.001-07:002011-04-16T12:39:32.767-07:00

"I walked today where Jesus walked . . . through Bethlehem . . . the little hills of Galilee . . . the Mount of Olives . . . I knelt today where Jesus knelt, where all alone he prayed, the Garden of Gethsemane . . . I picked my heavy burden up, and with Him at my side, I climbed the Hill of Calvary . . . I walked today where Jesus walked, And felt Him close to me." BCM Tour Group 2011 on Mt. of

Jeanette Windlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15502921369882806758noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6226411872563311676.post-55438802268859488462011-01-18T08:12:00.000-08:002011-01-28T06:50:37.870-08:00

Freedom's Stand, sequel to 2010 Christian Book Award finalist and 2010 Christy Award finalist, Veiled Freedom, arrives in bookstores May, 2011. It is already available for pre-order on Amazon, Christianbook.com, Barnes & Noble and other on-line catalogs. Here is what some advance readers have to say about Freedom's Stand:STEVE SAINT, author of The End of the Spear: "To be good, a story has to be

Jeanette Windlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15502921369882806758noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6226411872563311676.post-29372406175616231362010-12-24T09:44:00.000-08:002010-12-24T13:44:03.981-08:00

It was worth the wait!In Veiled Freedom, three very different protagonists come together on the streets of Kabul in their own personal quest for truth and freedom. Returning now in Freedom's Stand, former jihadist Jamil Yusof, aid worker Amy Mallory and Special Forces veteran Steve Wilson are about to learn the cost of true freedom. What could motivate any of the three to pay the ultimate price?

Jeanette Windlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15502921369882806758noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6226411872563311676.post-4726950782843343012010-12-06T08:01:00.000-08:002010-12-06T10:32:09.645-08:00

I've been angry recently. Nothing personal. My teenage daughter has been remarkably civil. My adult sons are doing well. I have a wonderful husband. My bank account is in the black. I am warm, fed, clothed, and free to go about my business.No, the anger seething in my veins is for others. For Afghan Christian Sayed Mossa, who sits on death row in Kabul for the crime of freely choosing a personal

Jeanette Windlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15502921369882806758noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6226411872563311676.post-52474637072851064742010-11-22T10:37:00.000-08:002010-11-22T12:45:16.190-08:00

Sayed Mossa was scheduled for trial yesterday in Kabul, Afghanistan. He'd been in jail by then six months without seeing a judge. He was afforded no legal representation. Nor was he allowed advance knowledge of the charges against him. Though he had a fair idea of what those might be, none of them good. Possibly espionage. Treason against the state. Even the farce of trumped-up adultery charges

Jeanette Windlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15502921369882806758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6226411872563311676.post-50331827447076959992010-09-20T09:50:00.000-07:002010-09-20T10:26:03.441-07:00

I had thought I was finished with Afghanistan, the sequel to Veiled Freedom not only turned in, but enthusiastically approved by my editor, my thoughts already stretching ahead to my latest WIP.Not that I will ever be done with Afghanistan. Over these last two years of living, breathing, writing Afghanistan, I have come to care too deeply for its people. The injustice and seeming hopelessness of

Jeanette Windlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15502921369882806758noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6226411872563311676.post-49108476594307552532010-04-22T10:38:00.000-07:002010-04-22T10:42:32.104-07:00

I am often asked how I began my writing journey towards being a published author, as though armed with that knowledge, the supplicant could simply replicate the process and accomplish the same. Like everything else about my life, I cannot really recommend my own path as typical. The truth is, I wrote my first book out of sheer boredom.My husband and I were the only expatriates at the time in a

Jeanette Windlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15502921369882806758noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6226411872563311676.post-31592006544819732712010-02-17T15:49:00.000-08:002010-02-17T17:49:45.531-08:00

Spent the last two weeks on the road, arriving back to Lancaster, PA's biggest snowfall in history, more than 30 inches on the ground. At this rate, we'll need to get used to that white stuff on the ground, and Al Gore needs to make a new movie. Not much of an apology for how long it's been since I've attended this blog; if I did this for a living, I'd be deservedly fired by now. But the two

Jeanette Windlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15502921369882806758noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6226411872563311676.post-50857596134281455722009-12-12T08:35:00.000-08:002009-12-12T08:42:19.997-08:00

Snow fell this past week in Lancaster, PA. It glistened on the branches and hedge in our front yard. Drifted deep over the field across the road. Covered over the unraked leaves and brambles along the creek bed behind our house. Sparkled back the reflection of Christmas tree lights from a window. With candles in windows, wreaths on doors, Moravian stars twinkling a welcome from porch eaves, and

Jeanette Windlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15502921369882806758noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6226411872563311676.post-36685587742165535602009-11-11T09:50:00.000-08:002009-11-12T05:17:08.664-08:00

I've always been quick to insist I am neither pessimist nor optimist, but a realist. Unfortunately, a realistic assessment offers a dark picture of this world in which I find myself. Materialism and self-centeredness of 'have' nations. Poverty, starvation, despair of 'have nots'. Corruption, injustice, and greed on all fronts. Wars and rumors of wars. A planet gasping under the weight of human

Jeanette Windlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15502921369882806758noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6226411872563311676.post-37488162198496171472009-10-28T14:57:00.000-07:002009-10-28T16:21:38.055-07:00

How to change a nation, bring about peace instead of war, transform hatred and greed to compassion and unselfishness? Whether Afghanistan or Iraq, Somalia or the collapsed Soviet Union, on-lookers shake their heads in baffled frustration. Despite trillions of dollars in aid and military expenditure, too much shed blood, and the best of intentions, how is it that introducing principles of

Jeanette Windlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15502921369882806758noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6226411872563311676.post-45603695401959206682009-08-19T18:09:00.000-07:002009-08-19T18:24:51.079-07:00

Afghanistan goes to the polls tomorrow amidst growing violence and little enthusiasm. Many of you have undoubtedly been following the drama on the news. For both Western governments and Afghanis, the toss-up seems to be the continuing rule of Hamid Karzai, which has been characterized by corruption, incompetence, and escalating violence, and 40 or so other candidates, none of which can muster

Jeanette Windlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15502921369882806758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6226411872563311676.post-64655453940613334422009-08-01T06:38:00.000-07:002010-04-08T03:27:13.798-07:00

I'm ready to admit it. I am a terrible blogger. Not because I don't continue to care passionately about the issues I've written on to date in this blog. Freedom of speech and worship. Justice on a national and international level. The consequences of actions made in fear or ignorance on my own nation's future as well as that of billions around the world. The suffering and courage and awesome

Jeanette Windlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15502921369882806758noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6226411872563311676.post-10781451436486396662009-07-02T15:59:00.000-07:002009-07-02T18:48:05.178-07:00

How do you come up with your characters? It’s a question every writer receives on a regular basis. The answer—everywhere and everyone. But a recent interview featuring my new Tyndale House Publishers release, Veiled Freedom, added a twist. What strange real life incident inspired a scene in one of your novels? My mind took instant wing south of the equator.WHAT STRANGE REAL LIFE INCIDENT INSPIRED

Jeanette Windlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15502921369882806758noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6226411872563311676.post-634480743886651672009-06-01T06:35:00.001-07:002009-06-01T17:19:07.950-07:00

Veiled Freedom hits stores today. A literary baby that has taken almost two years of research, writing, rewriting, then months of waiting during the editorial and publishing process, is now birthed. I watch my child take its first wobbling steps in bookstores and on-line catalogs with delight and some trepidation. How will this offspring that tore out my heart and soul and brain in its

Jeanette Windlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15502921369882806758noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6226411872563311676.post-62201812767281389772009-05-25T14:11:00.000-07:002009-05-25T14:59:27.707-07:00

Good won a battle this past month in India.For those who haven't been keeping close tabs on national elections in the planet's most populous democracy, that's understandable. I didn't see much on American cable news, though I would hazard that the BBC did a more thorough job. Suffice it say, over seven hundred million citizens qualified to cast a vote made India's recent elections the largest in

Jeanette Windlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15502921369882806758noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6226411872563311676.post-17884736383632936332009-04-27T17:50:00.000-07:002009-04-28T08:46:23.410-07:00

The juxtaposition of two news events this past week caused no media ripple, but sends a chill up my own spine as I consider the implications. Receiving greater global attention was the U.N. Conference on Racism, dubbed Dublin II. The U.S. and a number of other Western nations boycotted the conference, and for ample reason. Iran and Libya's presence on the organizing committee certainly offered a

Jeanette Windlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15502921369882806758noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6226411872563311676.post-10520464870042149592009-04-12T03:47:00.000-07:002009-04-12T04:10:48.000-07:00

It was a dark and stormy night.So begins one of my most vivid Easter memories. It had been raining when we'd gone to bed, not the monsoon sheets of full rainy season, but a steady downpour. When my husband and I rousted four sleepy, protesting children out of bed at 4 AM, cloud cover blackened any glimpse of stars or moon, a drizzle still dampening our faces as we piled into our rusted, elderly

Jeanette Windlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15502921369882806758noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6226411872563311676.post-30690427729416746262009-03-29T04:31:00.000-07:002009-03-29T11:03:35.241-07:00

Change. A favorite slogan during any election campaign, change is a word we dread as much as desire. We long for change to make things better. We fear change will make things worse. And too often, even when we get the change we've fought for, whether geographical, political, economic, or social, we find ourselves disappointed. Why? Because though our circumstances may be changed, we ourselves

Jeanette Windlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15502921369882806758noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6226411872563311676.post-26524621518695190932009-03-14T15:46:00.000-07:002009-03-15T05:40:09.042-07:00

Can you believe it's been five years already? This August, bumped up from its original schedule of April, 2009, the world will get to watch Afghanistan go through the motions of another presidential election. An estimated 140 million dollars is expected to come out of the pockets of American taxpayers to cover the cost. With Afghanistan falling increasingly into anarchy and violence, the current

Jeanette Windlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15502921369882806758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6226411872563311676.post-71741660948409265322009-02-27T12:46:00.000-08:002009-02-28T12:53:14.231-08:00

I planned to muse today in this blog on Afghanistan's upcoming elections, a fascinating topic for anyone with a taste for humor, world politics and comic tragedy. But an email containing an unexpected name has carried me to the past instead of the future. I first met Diego when he appeared on a bench in the children's club I ran at a Bolivian orphanage. The children came from the streets, where

Jeanette Windlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15502921369882806758noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6226411872563311676.post-2438241350504279692009-02-16T16:10:00.000-08:002009-02-17T07:23:50.249-08:00

The first non-English language into which my political-suspense novels were translated was Dutch. The Netherlands is a delightful country with its canals, houseboats and tall, skinny buildings. A nation of readers. The first place I was ever served raw meat as a main dish--and enjoyed it!The Netherlands is also famous for its laissez faire attitude towards moral issues Americans take seriously

Jeanette Windlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15502921369882806758noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6226411872563311676.post-73462719653063333652009-02-07T18:46:00.000-08:002009-02-08T12:00:33.197-08:00

A favorite query I receive from interviewers who've read my press bio is whether government agencies really have questioned if I've received classified information. The answer is a multiple 'yes', the stories in retrospect more funny than alarming (bottom line, any place on the planet government intelligence can send an agent to dig around, some missionary or aid worker will already be there and

Jeanette Windlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15502921369882806758noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6226411872563311676.post-8676639086317381312009-01-30T17:44:00.000-08:002009-01-31T07:28:40.428-08:00

It was summer, 2007. My husband Marty and I with teenage daughter Ellie in tow were visiting the various Western Europe fields where BCM International, of which Marty had recently assumed leadership, had outreach. We'd arrived in Toulouse, France, sans our luggage initially, and were staying at the local BCM headquarters/camp property.We enjoyed seeing what their outreach, Center Seven, was

Jeanette Windlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15502921369882806758noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6226411872563311676.post-25576505856779359672009-01-26T14:35:00.000-08:002009-01-27T07:31:06.606-08:00

"I want to write about other countries and cultures as vividly as you do, but I don't have your opportunities to travel. I'm housebound in suburbia with a spouse and children. I've researched my setting thoroughly, but how do I make everyday details ring true?"It is one of the most common questions I receive as a writing instructor. Almost as common as commentary from someone who has traveled to

Jeanette Windlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15502921369882806758noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6226411872563311676.post-8779571890742069792009-01-19T07:14:00.000-08:002009-01-19T10:41:31.041-08:00

Ever wondered just how far down the time line consequences of one act can echo? Adam and Eve biting into forbidden fruit, signing Paradise away for their children. Abraham and Sarah, impatient for that promised heir, taking a short-cut through an Egyptian slave girl. The quarrels of their offspring Ishmael (Arabs) and Isaac (Jews) have ripped through the fabric of world peace ever since. I assure

Jeanette Windlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15502921369882806758noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6226411872563311676.post-48495499203375206882009-01-10T10:26:00.000-08:002009-01-10T13:22:14.821-08:00

In recent months, both due to election campaigning and deteriorating political situations, the American public has heard much about upholding the 'fledgling democracies' that are our 'allies' on the other side of the planet. I.E. Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq. A new term has entered the political dictionary: 'Islamic democracy'. Defined, it is a government which permits elected representation

Jeanette Windlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15502921369882806758noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6226411872563311676.post-91707173622257797392009-01-01T09:32:00.000-08:002009-01-01T10:26:53.940-08:00

If there's one holiday gripe I've developed since arriving Stateside from overseas, it's the bombardment of programming and commercials determined to reduce the 'reason for this season' to some nebulous 'Christmas spirit'. From observation to date, this consists in renewed belief that Santa will finally bring an outdated toy you've been obsessing over since childhood. A taste for red and green,

Jeanette Windlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15502921369882806758noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6226411872563311676.post-56601888536515866842008-12-27T06:32:00.000-08:002008-12-28T04:51:59.200-08:00

Growing up as a daughter of missionaries in Colombia’s equatorial zones, I’ve always loved storms. Monsoon rain thundering on roof tiles loud enough to drown out sibling squabbles. Furious tossing of the jungle canopy like surging waves on some wild, green sea. That fresh, earthy scent of raindrops exploding against hot dirt. Mud-brown floodwaters lapping at the concrete edging of our elevated

Jeanette Windlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15502921369882806758noreply@blogger.com11