Tag: Current

I’ve Already Said It

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There’s a new Amazon documentary on the Duggar Family called “Shiny Happy People,” which exposes the messed-up theology of Bill Gothard and IBLP. I ought to watch it, but I haven’t. For one thing, I literally wrote a novel about life in a high-control group. For another thing, I haven’t heard Bill’s voice for over twenty years and see no reason to alter that trend. And for a third thing, I dislike doing things just because I “ought” to do them (a natural tendency that turned vaguely pathological after years under Bill’s teachings).

Whatever my opinion of the documentary (I suspect it leans into melodrama, but that’s a completely unfounded accusation), my opinion of IBLP/ATI and other similar groups is easy to find. I’ve filled this blog with my thoughts for the past decade.* Groups like this promise security, train their followers to present a smiling successful facade, and then chew you up and spit you out. The details vary, but the script is always the same. That’s what I have to say.

*I ought to link several posts here, but…. you know…. anyway, search the blog for “bill gothard,” “fear,” “teachings,” or “legalism” to find some of what I’ve already said.

New Short Story Collection: A Bowl of Pho

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A Bowl of Pho: very short stories by [Sara Roberts Jones]

I’ve written some short stories for your reading pleasure. Well, to be honest, I wrote them for my writing pleasure. But I hope you like them too.

A Bowl of Pho is a collection of ten very short stories. When I say “very short,” that’s what I mean. The whole project began with a challenge to write a 300-word story. Since I recently had to shelve my 131,000-word novel, telling any kind of story in 300 words seemed both trivial and impossible. I was half-wrong — and fortunately it was about the impossible part.

It turned out that writing these vignettes was therapeutic. I let myself go beyond the 300-word limit, but I still kept them all short. It was fun, low-pressure, and got me excited about writing again.

As my catalogue of “mini-stories” grew, I wanted to prove to myself that I can still bring an idea to completion, despite the smoking wreckage of a novel behind me. So I did it. I didn’t overthink anything (as in, I’m pretty sure the art on the front is ramen, not pho). I just I wrote the stories, designed a cover, and put the collection up on Kindle Direct Publishing.

The stories are similar in style to Go Right: they’re warm, fun, and perfect to read over a cup of coffee. I didn’t tackle anything very weighty. I wrote what I liked and called it done.

It’s currently available on Amazon for $2.99. A “pocket-book” size paperback will be coming soon. I hope you check it out!