Inspired by Life ... and Fiction

Novelists bound by the pen, sisterhood, & more

A Tale of Two Lawn Chairs

By

Once upon a time...oh, the anticipation of those famous opening words! Well, this isn't exactly an exciting or inspiring story, but it is kind of a fun one. Once upon a time, there were two lawn chairs. I really don't know how their "lives" began, but I know a lot of their story and I'm thrilled that for now, at least, their story has ended at our house. My husband's grandparents, who both … [Read more...]

In the Beginning . . .

By

No, my title for this blog post doesn't refer to the first line of Genesis. I’m talking about beginning a new novel. “There is something delicious about writing the first words of a story. You never quite know where they'll take you.”  ― Beatrix Potter As Beatrix Potter said (I quote her often on this), there is something delicious about writing the first words of a story. And if a writer is … [Read more...]

Contest and Ebook Deals

By

Y'all, I got a really fun call yesterday after missing one a couple weeks ago. Flight Risk, my book about finding truth in fake news world and romance and family and well, you get the idea, has finaled in two contests. Usually, I miss the application deadlines for these. I think about it two weeks after the deadline has passed. Writing has been a tough journey in the pandemic, so it's been so … [Read more...]

Not Perseverance After All

By

Hi friends, Happy to be back with you today! As the title alludes, this originally was going to be a post about preserving through difficult times, but then I realized, to my surprise, it wasn’t about perseverance at all. To say life has been a rollercoaster lately is an understatement. I went in for cataract surgery a couple weeks ago. Everyone told me it was easy. Everyone around me who’d … [Read more...]

Calling All Needlewomen!

By

A few months ago, I participated in an online discussion of the book Jane Austen Embroidery: Regency Patterns Reimagined for Modern Stitchers during a meeting of the Jane Austen Society of North America (MN Chapter). The author introduces the book by saying: “We all know that Jane Austen was an accomplished novelist. Less well known is that she was also a talented stitcher, as at home … [Read more...]

Eating Tulips

By

Have you ever eaten tulip bulbs? I haven’t, and I’m guessing not many of you have, either. Unless you lived in the Netherlands during World War II, that is. A Google search lists quite a few edible flowers including pansies, nasturtiums and marigolds. Tulips aren’t listed. I ate a flower at a trendy restaurant once that looked something like an orchid. It didn’t have much taste. But the Dutch … [Read more...]

Release Time! Let’s Party!!

By

For the past month, I’ve been sharing about my new book, Come Back to Me. (Here’s a post about the characters another post about the inspiration behind the novel).  This week I’m FINALLY  celebrating the release!! As you may or may not know, Come Back to Me is a time-crossing (aka time travel) novel that combines contemporary and historical elements in a suspenseful adventure that still … [Read more...]

The Heart’s Charge

By

Release week is here! I'm so excited to share The Heart's Charge with you. Writing this book stretched me in many ways. First, I wrote two intertwined love stories into one overarching romance novel. All four main characters have their own POVs to allow both stories to share the spotlight equally. It was very important to me that both of these Horseman heroes had full and robust love stories. … [Read more...]

Monthly Archives

Blog Categories

Recent Posts

Disclosure

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the pages on this site may be "affiliate links." This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, someone will receive an affiliate commission. We are disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."