We own a vacation rental house at Lake O the Pines, Texas and were fortunate to spend time there over spring break. The charming old town of Jefferson is only twenty-five minutes from the lake house, and so it has become our "hometown away from home" whenever we're in Northeast Texas. Jefferson was founded in the early 1840's and swelled to a peak population of over 4,000 in 1870. It has a … [Read more...]
Fellowship Time
Hi, friends! I just returned from a wonderful time of fellowship. Twice a year, I host a writing retreat for authors from aspiring to multi-published. Sometimes it’s all pre-published writers, while others, it’s all published authors, but this recent one was a wonderful mix. We spent all of last week together in a lovely home in Orlando, Florida, but I’m still bummed we didn’t have a Pac-Man … [Read more...]
What Makes a Hero Heroic?
Today I’m thinking about romances—reading them and writing them—and in particular what makes a hero seem heroic (even swoony) for you? To help you think about this, let’s first play a game. Match each of the 18 "hero actions" below with the period drama where it occurred. (At least 2 of these things appear in more than one drama.) These heroes are from three of my favorite adaptations: A. John … [Read more...]
Nothing New Under the Sun
The author of Ecclesiastes had it right when he said there is nothing new under the sun. That fact came home to me this past week when my daughter alerted me to a new novel that has a very similar theme to my newest novel, Who Stirs Up the Sea! The heroines in both novels take a DNA test with their book club "just for fun" and discover, to their shock, that they are not who they thought they were! … [Read more...]
Spring Christian Fiction Scavenger Hunt happening now
Have you ever participated in the Christian Fiction Scavenger Hunt? If not, you're missing out. For this year's Spring Hunt, there are 30 authors and over $1800 worth of books and other prizes. All you do is visit the scavenger hunt posts on each site, reading the special articles prepared for you and gathering the clues. Be sure to enter the bonus giveaways at the bottom of many of the author … [Read more...]
A Springtime Game
I'm a Word Nerd, and as such, I love playing word games. Words with Friends, Boggle with Friends, UpWords, Taboo, Scattegories, Bananagrams, Scrabble. I even keep a crossword puzzle by my place at the kitchen table, so I always have some word fun to work on. I figure readers are word nerds, too, right? So why don't we play a word game together? Let's stretch our Word Nerd muscles and with some … [Read more...]
Unexpected Blessing
If you are on my newsletter list or follow me on social media, you might remember that my eighty-eight-year-old, very active dad was supposed to have bypass surgery last Friday, and that at nearly the last minute, it got rescheduled for Monday. (BTW, the surgery went great, and he is already progressing very well.) Anyway, my sister had come back from Budapest (where she lives) to help out with … [Read more...]
Lunch at Miss Mary Bobo’s in Lynchburg
Joe and I recently had the pleasure of making a quick trip down to Lynchburg—just an hour or so away through the gorgeous Middle Tennessee countryside—where we enjoyed lunch with some of the wonderful folks at Miss Mary Bobo’s Boarding House. We had the best time—and enjoyed some of the finest Southern cooking you’ll ever have. We were joined by several of the wonderful … [Read more...]
Numbers
Yesterday I sat down to count the books I'd finished. I've been saying 165 for a couple of years now, so I did a recount and came up with the number of 173. What does that mean? Not a lot, really. It means that 173 times I sat down and put thousands of words together to tell a story or impart information . . . or sometimes both. Sixty-eight is the number of my years . . . and that number … [Read more...]
In Celebration of Bookish Friends
When I first started writing, I imagined the rewards of this work this way . . . Publication of my book! People I don't personally know reading my book! Pay checks! But time has proven that one of the greatest rewards of this work is this . . . friends. And it makes perfect sense, doesn't it? God isn't about worldly success. He's all about PEOPLE. Back in 2018, I felt led to start a local … [Read more...]
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