Big perk of the writing life? The opportunity to travel to the settings of your books!Last summer, after I submitted Turn to Me to my publisher, it came time to dream up a new series. I decided I'd write about three brothers and titled their series Sons of Scandal. Next I needed to hunt for a location. So far, I've set books in Pennsylvania, Texas, Washington state, and the north Georgia … [Read more...]

I recently posted this question on my Facebook author page... "I'm curious! Do any of the following things bug you when reading fiction? 1) Misunderstandings that go on too long. 2) A predictable plot. 3) Unlikely calamities (for example: fire followed by sickness followed by a blizzard). 4) When one honest conversation would really help matters, but the characters avoid having that … [Read more...]

It's summertime and big budget movies are returning to theaters, including Top Gun: Maverick. It released two weeks ago and has already earned 292 million -- making it the highest-grossing release of Tom Cruise's career. Back when the first Top Gun released, in May of 1986, I was finishing up my freshman year of high school. I used to go to the movies very often in those days with school … [Read more...]

I love cover re-creation photos! I was delighted when talented readers staged and snapped a few for my most recent books... The above was created by Shannon. Didn't she do a FANTASTIC job? You can follow her charming Instagram account here. Bonus -- she also created a playlist of every song mentioned in Turn to Me. You can listen to that on Spotify here. And read the first two chapters of … [Read more...]

The cover shoot for Turn to Me took place around eight months ago. The novel released last week. And TODAY I get to share behind-the-scenes photos + give away a fun set of gifts! Here Senior Graphic Designer Jennifer Parker discusses wardrobe options with the Hair and Make-up Stylist. In my cover design questionnaire, I'd explained that Finley dresses with BoHo flair and gravitates toward … [Read more...]