Inspired by Life ... and Fiction

Novelists bound by the pen, sisterhood, & more

Old Books Becoming New Again

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My first book was published in 1984. Those were the days when I wrote my novels long hand on yellow legal pads, then typed them on a borrowed typewriter (using carbon paper and onion skin paper for the second copy). The resulting fat stack of 400 pages was then sent to the publisher at a rather hefty shipping price. When my books released, I had four to six weeks for sales in the bookstore. … [Read more...]

Of Rocks and Trees

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When life get a little rocky, I like to spend time among rocks and trees. There's something about walking in the woods over rocks, roots, and pine needles that calms my worried, weary heart and soothes my soul. Today, as my husband and I hiked along wooded trails past waterfalls in northern Minnesota, words to hymns like "Great is Thy Faithfulness," and "This is My Father's World" repeated … [Read more...]

Have you visited the Chicory Inn yet? (A giveaway!)

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[This giveaway has ended. Thank you for all the wonderful comments. I just drew a winner for the five-book Chicory Inn series and it is...drumroll, please... MARY TULLILA.] No, the Chicory Inn isn't a real place, but after writing five novels set in the charming bed and breakfast run by the Whitman family (alas, they aren't real either), the setting in fictional Langhorne, Missouri feels very, … [Read more...]

London and Paris!

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My husband and I married in 1993.  Which means that, this summer, we're celebrating our 25th anniversary! How can this be?  I married when I was 21.  Still, I'm too young for this! 25.  Years.  The occasion seemed to demand something grand, something memorable. I lived in Germany from the age of 9-13 and traveled through Europe with my parents and sisters extensively during that time.  But I … [Read more...]

When Characters Are More Than Fiction

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God moves in mysterious ways. Chance meetings become blessings that not even an experienced author could dream into existence. In December 2016, I was already several months into the writing of More Than Meets the Eye when a speaking opportunity took me to Lubbock, TX. After conducting a library workshops that morning, I did a late afternoon book signing at the local Barnes & Noble. … [Read more...]

Security Blanket Reads

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We’ve had a long 16 months of stressful events. Not all of those events have been bad. Many have been happy things—like weddings!—which produce stress nonetheless. During such seasons of life, even if we run first to Jesus, most of us grab hold of something familiar, something that makes us feel secure. No unlike the way our infants and toddlers reached for their pacifiers or blankets when they … [Read more...]

From Cartagena and Bogota with love

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Joe and I recently accompanied a Belmont University alumni group on a cultural trip to Colombia. We visited Bogota and Cartagena, which were really interesting places. To be sure, the Colombian culture is very different from the United States. It truly felt another world away. Here are some glimpses. . . San Felipe be Barajas Castle in Cartagena View of the city of Cartagena from San … [Read more...]

On Stage

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While we were in California visiting our son Benjamin in April, my husband and I asked him to get tickets to watch a TV show being filmed. He was able to get seats at Universal Studios to watch the taping of two episodes of “Family Feud” with host Steve Harvey. We sat in the second row, front and center, and had a ball! The young man doing the warm-up act got the audience all fired up with his … [Read more...]

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