Inspired by Life ... and Fiction

Novelists bound by the pen, sisterhood, & more

So many books, so little time

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When I turned fifty, I realized--with a start--that I would not live forever. That I probably had more time "behind" me than in front of me. I began to look at the books I write in a new way--considering that I have a limited amount of time in which to write, the books I choose to write should matter. REALLY matter. Of course, the Spirit can and does use anything, but I asked Him to guide me so … [Read more...]

Book Club Reads

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Do you belong to a book club? I’ve found that a book club expands my reading a lot simply because I’m not always reading my own choice. I'm not always reaching for my favorite genres or authors. Years ago (circa 2007-2008) I participated in a book club. I don’t remember for how long the club lasted or how many books we read. But I do remember two of the selections: The Kite Runner by Khaled … [Read more...]

How I Write With Chronic Illness

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Writing my latest release, One Wrong Move was so much fun, yet it wasn’t easy. I have Lupus, and while it’s under treatment and doing well in a lot of areas for which I’m very thankful, chronic pain comes with it. And motor skills are not what they should be. I have trouble with my hands in particular. Both of which make writing interesting.  Long hours of sitting and either typing or writing … [Read more...]

The Royal Visit

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When I learned that the Duke and Duchess of Kent and their baby daughter, (Princess Alexandrina Victoria, the future Queen Victoria) visited Sidmouth—the town where my ON DEVONSHIRE SHORES series is set and in the same year I set the first book, I knew I wanted to include them in Book Two, A Winter by the Sea. The royal couple and their entourage rented Woolbrook Cottage (on the same lane … [Read more...]

Well, We Did It!

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Well, we did it! It was a L-O-N-G journey figuring out what should come next after we sold our Chinook camper last summer, and as often seems to happen in our marriage, I went kicking and screaming all the way. But we flew to Florida two weeks ago and just like that, we have an RV again! (Is anybody surprised? ) I took a cold shower the first morning because we couldn't figure out the hot … [Read more...]

Q&A With My Male Narrator

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The audiobooks of both Memory Lane and Rocky Road (which released last week!!!) have two narrators. A female narrator reading the scenes I wrote from my female characters point of view. And a male narrator reading the scenes I wrote from my male characters point of view. Ryan Hudson was my male narrator for both novels and that was extremely fortunate for me because I'M A HUGE FAN of his. I was so … [Read more...]

A Gift for You: Fun Bookmarks

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Today I thought I would do something different as I race toward a book deadline on Monday. I thought you'd enjoy downloading and using these. One can never have enough bookmarks right? So I had fun creating these for you. You can copy and paste these into a Word document and print them to use in your next book as a reminder of all the reasons you love reading good books. If you were to create … [Read more...]

A Marathon of Kindess is available!

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My final book in the Guideposts series Secrets from Grandma’s Attic has been released! In fact, the entire series is now drawing quickly to a close. What a fun experience it has been! But let me share with you a little about this final book of mind, A Marathon of Kindness.  When looking for my last story, I was combing the history of St. Louis (the biggest city near the setting of Canton, … [Read more...]

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