Inspired by Life ... and Fiction

Novelists bound by the pen, sisterhood, & more

Rendezvous Surprises

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When my sister Debra retired from teaching in May, we wanted to plan a trip for just the two of us simply because we could. I brought up the Just Reads Rendezvous. Debra is a reader, too, and I’ve long wanted to introduce her in person to some of the wonderful authors whose books she has read. So we signed up, both of us attending as readers. When we discovered we could add on the Christy Awards … [Read more...]

A trip with the grands to the pumpkin patch

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The 3FarmGals (the name of the text thread that includes my daughter, my daughter-in-law, and me—story on that name below) took my two sweet grands to the pumpkin patch recently, and my daughter Kelsey made a quick video... That I may have already watched 247 times. 👀 If I haven't said it lately, I ADORE being Gram Tam to Leo and Ari. It's one of the biggest joys of my … [Read more...]

The squirrel in my garage

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A squirrel has been living in my garage . . . apparently, for a long time. I first noticed when I was cleaning out the garage. I had placed a large sheet of cardboard over a back window, hoping to keep the sun from fading some books I have stored in the garage. That's when I noticed that the cardboard had been chewed away . . . and there were little bits of cardboard scattered all over the … [Read more...]

Something Delicious

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On Monday, I finished writing my 94th book. To Capture a Mountain Man is the third book in The British Are Coming series, and it will release in February 2025. (To confuse things, my 93rd book doesn’t release until summer 2025.) To celebrate typing “The End,” I went to see “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” on Tuesday. I laughed. I happy-cried. It is a delight from start to finish and should … [Read more...]

Six Books I’m Excited to Read

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The rest of this month I have to be nose down, fingers on keyboard, every moment that I'm not teaching, grading or engaged in a most do activity with my family. Those include high school swim meets and Thanksgiving. While I'm being focused and diligent, I'm building quite the to-be-read pile for after I turn this book in. These books look sooooo good that it's taking a lot of discipline to not … [Read more...]

Top Ten Gifts

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Hi friends! Happy Wednesday. I am so happy to be back with you today. With the aftermath of the flood still consuming a lot of time and energy, I completely forgot about today’s post as of yesterday morning. Yikes! Then a sweet friend gave me the best idea. She said to make a list of things readers can give authors they are thankful for. I loved it! And, since she named several gifts that cost … [Read more...]

Gifts for Readers…or You!

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My friend Michelle Griep has opened a new Etsy Shop. She is offering gifts that readers will love: T-shirts featuring cute readerly quotes, stickers, mugs, her fabulous Story Letters, Victorian Advent Letters, and more. With Story Letters, you choose the subscription that intrigues you most. You’ll receive a letter twice a month with an intimate message from a historical character. But … [Read more...]

Writing “The End”

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Today's post will be short because I've been burning the midnight oil (which for me, is really the nine-o'clock oil ;) ) trying to get a book ready to go to press. I finally, finally wrote "The End" on the first book in a new series and sent the final chapters off to my editors and proofreaders (who have already been working on the early chapters). The idea for this series' titles came (as … [Read more...]

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