I can’t wait! In one month, the inaugural Going Deeper Conference begins. This writers conference is the brain-child of author-friend Erica Vetsch, and will be held in her hometown of Rochester, Minnesota April 25-27.   Yes, I will be co-teaching a fun class with Erica and Michelle Griep, but what I’m most looking forward to is a weekend with sister writers. There is something so … [Read more...]

This past Saturday, I attended a Jane Austen meeting with author-friend Erica Vetsch. Our speaker was the talented and knowledgeable Candice Hern. She introduced us to a category of small, ornamental, folding fans now called Brisé fans, which were popular during the Regency period. (Although then referred to as ivory fans or pierced fans.) Unlike fans of folded silk or paper, these were made … [Read more...]

When I learned that the Duke and Duchess of Kent and their baby daughter, (Princess Alexandrina Victoria, the future Queen Victoria) visited Sidmouth—the town where my ON DEVONSHIRE SHORES series is set and in the same year I set the first book, I knew I wanted to include them in Book Two, A Winter by the Sea. The royal couple and their entourage rented Woolbrook Cottage (on the same lane … [Read more...]

This past Saturday, I spoke (via Zoom) to the New York Metropolitan chapter of the Jane Austen Society of North America. The topic was “The Pleasures and Perils of Travel in Jane Austen’s time.” I have not spoken on this topic in several years, so it was a good refresher to revisit all that research again. I originally researched travel and coaching inns to write my series, Tales From … [Read more...]

My husband and I watched and enjoyed the Scottish crime series, Shetland (warning: some violence and language). Early on in the series, the likeable hero, DI Jimmy Perez (played by Douglas Henshall, shown here), begins wearing a distinctive wool coat, or peacoat, which was later sold at auction and raised more than £2,700 for a school in Glasgow. I really liked the character and the coat, so my … [Read more...]