Inspired by Life ... and Fiction

Novelists bound by the pen, sisterhood, & more

Making hard choices

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Have you ever had a season where you've had to make hard choices? Choosing to say no to one thing to say yes to another? This week I had to say no to a book contract with an independent collection that I really wanted to say yes to, to make space for my family. I agonized over the choice. I loved working with this team last year. My novel Art of Deception came out in Come What May in … [Read more...]

Spring into Reading

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Happy Wednesday, friends! I don’t know about you, but when a new season rolls around, I like to pick a new batch of books to dive into.  I don’t read much fiction while I write. I primarily read non-fiction until after I finish a book, which I just turned in the first draft to the second book in my Jeopardy Falls series---YAY!  So now I’m ready to binge some fiction before my revisions … [Read more...]

Fun Book News

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A short and sweet post for today. I just want to share some good news. Last week I signed a contract with Bethany House Publishers for four more Regency-era novels. I'm excited! Past contracts have been in paper form, and I would pose while my husband dutifully took a signing photo. Nowadays, the contracts come by email and are signed with a few clicks online. To be honest, I was still in my … [Read more...]

Childhood Chapter Books

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I attended a two-room country schoolhouse, and we had a small, but incredible library. I'm sure I read every book on those shelves before I reached 7th grade, and those books greatly enriched my life. One library book I returned to over and over again was called The Village That Slept. It was the story of two young teens who survive a plane crash and care for a tiny infant survivor as they … [Read more...]

Fear, Get Out of My Way!

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About five and a half years ago, I was invited to write a novel for Guideposts’ new (at that time) Ordinary Women of the Bible series. To be frank, I almost declined. The idea of writing biblical fiction terrified me. And here’s why. If I mess up something in one of my western historical novels or in a contemporary novel, I feel bad and wish I hadn’t made whatever mistake it was (i.e. in my first … [Read more...]

I Have a Real Office!

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. Usually, I am very resistent to change. Habit is comfortable, and I like being comfortable. Ha! However, as my children became adults and my nest began to empty, I started contemplating the possibility of a fairly significant change - a home office. For the majority of my writing career, this is how I wrote: . On my bed with a simple lap desk. It worked, but I dreamed of having a … [Read more...]

Feeding My Addiction (Old books)

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A couple of weeks ago, a friend of mine sent me these pictures and text message:  My response: And she wasn't even sorry! I had some things to finish first, so it took me about an hour to get out of my house. By the time I got to the sale, someone had purchased two entire bookcases of the books, but there were still many, many titles to go through.  You see, my … [Read more...]

Glimpses from recent life

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In no certain order, here are glimpses from recent life. Both the good and bad, LOL... Joe and I are getting ready to move, again (still in the Nashville area, just down to College Grove), and Kelsey, Kellie, and I (all three of us denim-clad) snapped a pic while we checked out the new house. A new house is exciting and I'm so grateful. But oy, I do not like moving. Who does, though, right? … [Read more...]

His Eye Is On The Chicken

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So . . . last month, one late afternoon, I stepped into one of my big chicken coops to refill their water. There's a little white bantam rooster in there who loves to attack me, and while I was busy with the water and keeping an eye on him, one of my hens slipped out of the coop. This would not be a big deal except that Jazzy, one of the mastiffs, was outside with me, and a couple of years ago she … [Read more...]

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