Inspired by Life ... and Fiction

Novelists bound by the pen, sisterhood, & more

Cover Reveal

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My Texas Ever After series has been officially launched, and I've been so pleased by the reception Fairest of Heart has been receiving! Readers are loving the Snow White retelling with Titus and Penelope, but one of the biggest selling points of this book has been it's fabulous cover. The art department at Bethany House really outdid themselves by capturing the 19th century western setting … [Read more...]

Back to Boston

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We’ve been to Boston many time, but it is fitting that we were in Boston this week as we celebrated our country’s birthday. After all, it was the scene of so many events of the revolutionary era—and home to so many of the main players.  But this trip was a bit different. It was the inaugural education tour trip offered by the organization my husband works for. So we got a bit of fun—doing … [Read more...]

Independence Day!

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I love the Fourth of July because I am privileged and honored to be an American. We are not a perfect country, but for generations we have been the country to whom the world looks for an example of freedom. When I was eighteen, I spent a year traveling with a singing group called "The Re'Generation." We traveled throughout the United States doing unabashedly God-and-country programs at civic … [Read more...]

Subtitles, anyone?

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Do you watch TV with the subtitles (closed captions) on? I recently read an article in THE ATLANTIC that was very interesting! My hubby and I watch TV with subtitles when they're available. It started with foreign films, of course, because if you don't speak Korean, you're not going to understand the language being spoken in a Korean movie. Then we used it when we watched streaming movies from … [Read more...]

Unlazy Summer Days 

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Hi friends and Happy Wednesday!   I hope you’re having a good week and a good start to your summer. Like me, you have  probably heard of the “lazy days of summer.” I love the saying, but I don’t think most summers are lazy. At least not around here now, and in retrospect, not when I was a kid either. As kids, how many of you spent your summer with your friends running through the … [Read more...]

Death By Details

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While creating a novel, a writer (and eventually her editors) go through many stages. From early brainstorming on plot and characters, to research, to proposing the premise, to writing a first draft, to gaining feedback from trusted early readers, to revisions, and then onward to the editorial process. I admit I enjoy certain phases more than others. I like dreaming up situations to put my … [Read more...]

♫♪ And There Was Music ♫♪

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Let me first admit that I took piano lessons for three years as a kid and I hardly EVER practiced. I played by ear, so whenever I sat down at the piano bench, I was much more interested in working out my own version of the latest pop song than practicing. My poor music teacher did manage to teach me a couple of songs, including the one in the video at the end of this post, but when I realized that … [Read more...]

Seven European Road Trip Favorites

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Our family recently returned from a two-week-long road trip to Europe in celebration of our oldest daughter's graduation from college and our 30th wedding anniversary. Here are my favorites from the trip, in the order in which we experienced them... 1. Nostalgic Frankfurt, Germany We began our trip in Frankfurt, Germany where I lived with my family when I was 9-13 years old. I'd never … [Read more...]

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