What does basketball have to do with writing?

I grew up loving college sports…but football. I’m from Nebraska after all. But when I moved to Indiana, Purdue wasn’t very good at football. Drew Brees had graduated and let’s just say it wasn’t necessarily the glory days. Still I ADORE college football.

There’s just something about it.

And part of that is that Nebraska has been traditionally really bad at college basketball. I went to a couple games as a student, and it was fun, but I don’t even remember if we won.

So why do I have all these photos of Boilermaker basketball?

Because I live in Indiana…and Purdue is good at basketball. Quite good.

If you’d told me a year ago that my husband would stay after two different games so our younger two kids could get a jersey and a ball signed by Zach Edey, I’m not sure I would have seen that coming. But he stays after every game to sign. His mom told a story at senior “night” about a kid asking for his autograph when he was on his recruiting visit, and she laughed thinking that kid got a signature from a nobody. I wonder if that young man still has that autograph…

We spent another couple days standing in line to get Mason and Lance’s signatures and then Braden’s. So why are we doing this? I’ve been thinking about that… as a writer in part because I’m thinking about motivation for characters. But also because I’m curious. I’m not usually a basketball fan, but I’ve sure raised some intense ones.

(BTW three of these photos are from the first NCAA tourney game on Friday night — happy early birthday to me. And I had no idea nosebleed seats were that steep!)

It’s something we can enjoy as a family. We only have two season tickets, but it allows a parent — usually my husband– to spend some quality time with one of our kids on a rotating basis. They are building some core memories and that’s pretty great. Also the current players on the team are good guys. There’s character…and that’s worth supporting. One thing I’ve noticed in the last few years is that God often challenges me to pray for the protection of hearts for people who are in the spotlight. This is an intense one right now. So I’ll continue to pray as I cheer.

Some might call this a quirk in our family. What kind of quirks do you like to see in characters in the books you read or write?

I love this book, and if you haven’t had a chance to read it yet, I wanted to let you know that it’s on ebook sale. Beyond Justice is special to me because it fulfilled one of my writing dreams of getting to work with an editor and write legal romantic suspense. Confirm the sale is still on before you buy. As of Wednesday evening, it was still in effect.

I’m also so excited that We Three Kings finaled in an award. My coauthors and I have come together for a giveaway to celebrate. Click on the image to go to the entry form. Good luck!

And if you haven’t checked out The Vanished yet, reviews are started to arrive on Goodreads, just in time to check out before the book releases April 16.