Inspired by Life ... and Fiction

Novelists bound by the pen, sisterhood, & more

December celebrations—keeping it in the family

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36 years ago today, Joe and I got married. And a little over a week ago, on December 6th, our son and his wife Kellie were married! CONGRATULATIONS to Kurt and Kellie (Fuselier) Alexander, our son and his beautiful new bride who we absolutely adore. WHAT a fabulous weekend of celebration it was! First, a few more pics from the wedding... At the rehearsal dinner, a group of … [Read more...]

It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas at our house

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I always drag my heels a little when it's time to put up the Christmas decorations at our house, but once I get started, I enjoy it a lot. And once it's finished, I LOVE it! There's just something about twinkly lights and candles and Christmas music and everything else that goes with our traditional celebrations of the most wonderful event in the history of the world. The birth of Jesus...the … [Read more...]

Book Pairings

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In my opinion, a book makes a wonderful present in and of itself. But I also love the idea of "book parings". In other words, a book paired with a gift that corresponds to the novel. Recently, eighteen romance author friends and I who are all members of the A Most Storied Romance Facebook group (which we'd love for you to join) created a Holiday Gift Guide of book pairings. I was so charmed … [Read more...]

Inspired by Christmas

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Hi friends, Is it just me or does it feel like Christmas came on so fast this year? It just doesn’t feel like it’s Christmastime yet. It’s probably because, thanks to the sweet kindness of a friend, my family got to spend two weeks in the Outerbanks and enjoy Thanksgiving there. It could be because I’m working hard on a book and I haven’t wrapped a single present, or because I came down with a … [Read more...]

Cookies & Christmas

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In my first-ever Christmas novella, we included a recipe for a cookie (“biscuit” in the UK) based on a British recipe featuring honey (in honor of Honeycroft cottage in the novel) and adapted to US measurements. The cookie reminds me of a spicy Snickerdoodle in taste, but the addition of colored sugar makes it more festive. I have been so delighted to hear how much people are enjoying … [Read more...]

Meatloaf Ministry

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This past November was the seventeenth anniversary of my sister Bonnie’s death from cancer. As I was trolling through files on my computer recently, I found this article I wrote in 2003. Since Covid-19 has eliminated many of the church’s visible ministries and programs, I thought my reflections might be reassuring to all of the church’s “invisible” workers. The minivan halted in my sister … [Read more...]

The Difference Between Influencing and Reviewing

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One of the major ways I prepare for every book's release is by forming a Release Crew made up of influencers. In the publishing world, influencer is often used to refer to a reader who signs up to help in the promotion of a book in exchange for a free copy of that book. An influencer doesn't just agree to write a review of the book. Although reviews are a big part of influencing, influencers do … [Read more...]

Living History

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Last month, I met my daughter in Brenham, TX for a girls getaway weekend. We rented a cute little one-room house (over 200 years old!) in nearby Chappell Hill. We watched movies and relaxed a lot (Bethany just started a PhD program at Texas A&M, so relaxation was high on her to-do list), but we also spent Saturday afternoon exploring. One of the places we visited was Washington on the … [Read more...]

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