Inspired by Life ... and Fiction

Novelists bound by the pen, sisterhood, & more

Fleeing Distractions

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After a stressful time that had somewhat drained my creativity and focus, I found myself behind on writing the first draft of next year’s book. (Don’t worry, this year’s novel, A Winter by the Sea (releasing December 2023) is written and edited and on its merry way through production. 😊) Hoping to flee distractions and get back on track, I went on a solo writing getaway for a few days. I … [Read more...]

Cock-a-doodle Roo!

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Four months ago, I hatched nine Silky chicks. They were/are adorable, and now they're mature. I have them all in a separate coop, and it's been fun to listen to the roosters learning to crow. One of them sounds like one of those old "a-oooo-gah" cars--know what I mean? He's really chesty and raspy and masculine. Another sounds like he has asthma and can't get his breath--or like he's too … [Read more...]

Summer Reading

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Well, I don’t have a major anniversary ❤️❤️❤️ to share with you like Becky and Deb. Nor do I have an exciting story to relate like Tammy with her TWO totaled vehicles 🚙🚗 that were parked in front of her home. My week has been spent primarily on the phone 📱 with support people at QuickBooks after making the decision to move my corporate accounting to a different version. Nothing ever goes … [Read more...]

Word Nerd

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I'm not enough of a word nerd to sit around reading the dictionary in my spare time, but I do love learning the stories behind how certain words came about. As a historical author, there are many times when I will stop in order to look up a word I want to use to ensure it existed in the 1800s. I've learned that there are many words that sound vintage that didn't come into existence until the 1920s … [Read more...]

Favorite Romance Heroes in 2023 (so far!)

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I’ve read romance my whole life—along with a lot of other things. But even in my romance reading, I’ve never been the type to have “book boyfriends”. I enjoy the romance as a whole, and I very often feel a connection with the heroine in that. But rarely do I sigh and swoon over a hero after the book is closed. At least not since I was a teenager! (Maybe this is because, as Emma Woodhouse said, “I … [Read more...]

Totaled Truck & Treasured Memories

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Okay, call me sentimental but when I cleaned out my truck this week, I got a little misty eyed. This faithful 2012 Ford F-150 has seen me through a lot, while also racking up a ton of miles. This truck carried me back and forth from Nashville to Atlanta nearly every week for two years while my precious Dad's health declined with dementia. It kept me safe when a deer decided to take … [Read more...]

49 Years…and Counting

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On Friday, Becky shared that she and her husband are celebrating their 30th anniversary this summer. (Happy anniversary!) That post happened to land on the day of Ken and my 49th wedding anniversary. I enjoyed reading Becky's marriage journey so much that I thought I'd share ours too. Ken and I met when his brother and my best friend from high school were dating, and they set us up on a blind … [Read more...]

30th Anniversary!

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My husband and I are celebrating our 30th anniversary this summer. Here's one of my favorite candid shots, taken as we were leaving the chapel immediately after the wedding ceremony... In 1993 we were 24 (him) and 21 (me). Now that I have children around this age, I can fully appreciate how very young we were to be making such a giant commitment. But we were also smart enough to recognize … [Read more...]

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