Inspired by Life ... and Fiction

Novelists bound by the pen, sisterhood, & more

An Hour at a Used Book Sale

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Hi Friends,  Happy Wednesday. I have a special treat for you. My friend and fellow author, Jill Kemerer, is guest-posting today. I'm always excited to read her fun-filled posts. ~Dani One of my favorite things to do as a kid was buying used books. In the summer, we’d go to flea markets and garage sales, and I’d always spend any money I had on books. I tended to gravitate to the boxes … [Read more...]

The Most Fragrant Time of the Year

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Just a short but definitely sweet post today, in honor of my favorite springtime flower and my favorite fragrance in the world: Lily of the Valley. I look forward to these dainty beauties blossoming every year, and then gather stems of the fair bells to perfume my office. Sadly, the flowers don't last long, but are wonderfully fragrant while they do. I would far rather have two or … [Read more...]

A Movie Recommendation

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Ken and I celebrated my birthday early this past weekend and my choice was going to see the movie FINDING YOU, based on a novel by writer friend Jenny B. Jones. I absolutely loved this movie and I'm so excited for Jenny! I can’t recommend it more highly! The faith message might not be as strong as it is in Jenny’s novel, but it is wonderfully, subtly there. This is a sweet, clean romance. … [Read more...]

The Inspiration Behind Stories

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One of the most often asked questions writers get during interviews is: What is the inspiration for your story? Okay, so maybe I’m an anomaly. Maybe other authors don’t get asked that question. But I ALWAYS do! To be honest, it’s not an easy question to answer. Truly, most of my stories come from somewhere deep inside my brain, and they don’t have a whole lot of outside inspiration that I … [Read more...]

Damsels on Railroad Tracks

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No western romance trope is more cheesy or more famous than the old Damsel on the Railroad Tracks trope. Which is why when my research for my upcoming book, The Heart's Charge, revealed a railroad bridge as the main entrance to Kingsland, TX, I knew I had to include a scene with my hero and heroine on this bridge. I removed the melodrama, of course. There is no mustachioed villain cackling in the … [Read more...]

Summer Days

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Summer is coming! And I’m so excited! Now, if you know me, you know this is, frankly, a miracle. I have never loved and longed for summer, as others seem to do. Why not, you ask? First, it’s hot here in Texas. And I don’t like to be hot. Or to sweat. Or to worry about sunburn on my extremely fair skin. Second, summer has always been about non-scheduled days. But the truth is that I … [Read more...]

Friends making French Press coffee

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If you saw Deb's blog post last week, you already know that she and Ken dropped by to see me and Joe on their grand adventure! And oh, what a sweet visit that was. Only problem...it was too quick! We had breakfast with them at their campsite one morning, then they spent the day with us on Mother's Day. Deb and I are both major coffee lovers! So when she mentioned she was going to make … [Read more...]

Together Again

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I came across these wonderful black and white photographs while researching my newest novel, “Chasing Shadows,” which takes place in the Netherlands during WWII. The pictures clearly show the joy the Dutch people felt as they celebrated the liberation of their country after six years of war and enemy occupation. The Dutch still celebrate that day, May 15, 1945, each year. We’ve … [Read more...]

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