Allen Brokken 
Storyteller, Author, Technology Strategist.

For Star Wars day... May the Fourth be with You ... I thought I'd share something just a little bit different. At the height of the Clone Wars, there was a Jedi Knight whose fame as a hero of the Republic was only overshadowed by the quantity of food he could eat. His name was Brok Porkins. The only thing he loved more than a double-cheese bantha burger combo meal was his newborn little nephew Jek. Brok was taken from his family at a young age, like all proper Jedi. Still, hi

I (Lauren) spent this morning reading the book Suffering is Never for Nothing by Elisabeth Elliott for class, very timely. At the beginning of the book, she defines suffering as “wanting what you do not have or having what you do not want.” Her definition of suffering intends to cover everything from the most trivial day to day inconveniences to life-changing devastation. Almost everyone is suffering currently. As a collective, we have what we do not want, a pandemic, and man

As I write, I often get inspired to write a rabbit trail that can only be considered world-building. When writing for Middle Grade, there's a focus on showing and not telling. However, a lot of the detailed world-building is just a narrative that just doesn't quite fit. So it goes in this file labeled "the cutting room floor.docx" on my computer. However, now and then, there's a concept that hits my brain that still doesn't fit the story I'm telling right now but is prett

As the Celebrate Lit tour continues, today's review from the Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy highlighted the setting as one of the more interesting aspects of Light of Mine. As a writer, it helps if you can write from what you know. I grew up on a farm in southeast Iowa with a garden to tend every summer, surrounded by crops and woods. I had some really tough jobs like baling hay, chopping firewood, and detasseling. I even had the privilege of raising my own pigs for mark

At the end of Light of Mine, were you left hanging a bit? Were you wondering who's going to take care of the kids? Are they going to go try to save their parents? Would they really follow Mother's instruction and go to Blooming Glen? Well, I'm happy to announce that answers to those questions will be in print on July 24th. Towers of Light Series Book 2, Still Small Voice, is done! It's currently in the beginning stages of the publication process and will be available this sum