Inspired by Life ... and Fiction

Novelists bound by the pen, sisterhood, & more

Deb and Dani in the Blue Ridge Mountains

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This week, our own Dani Pettrey and I are both teaching at the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference in the gorgeous Blue Ridge Mountains near Black Mountain, NC. It always feels like a family reunion coming to this conference and so fun for a rare chance to hug Dani's neck. So wonderful to see dear writer friends and soak in the beauty of this campus. I've been teaching at this … [Read more...]

Happy News

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I have two fun things to share with you today... I learned earlier this week that Memory Lane is a finalist in the romance category of the Carol Awards, given by American Christian Fiction Writers. (!!!) Fellow writers read and score books for this award, so it means a lot to me that Memory Lane received this recognition from them. This came as a wonderful surprise and encouragement, … [Read more...]

The Fantastic Gift of Brainstorming Buddies and Beta Readers

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Hi friends and happy Wednesday! Writing can be very singular-focused. You’re the author, you wrote it, and often your eye sees what it expects to see, so you can miss typos or the use of the wrong word, but it goes much farther than that. Being so close to your own work, it’s often hard to step back and take a truly objective opinion. Being so tied into the romance and suspense threads (in … [Read more...]

Tuesday is Gram Tam day

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So this is my today in real time... And now we are back at our place... Both are out for the count, so now's the time to finally get this blog posted. LOL So that's my Tuesday. So far. The rest is TBD...once they wake up. So what are YOU doing today? Anyone else snuggling and loving on grand babies? Love from my corner of Nashville, Tammy … [Read more...]

The SISTERS OF CORINTH–not exactly a Cinderella story

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I'm excited because THE SISTERS OF CORINTH finally releases tomorrow--on the 21st! For The Sisters of Corinth, the second book in the Emissaries series, I wanted to begin with a Cinderella-type proposition: after much primping and preparation, two step-sisters are invited to a banquet where one will be chosen to marry the governor’s handsome son.  But the Emissaries series deals with … [Read more...]

National Idaho Day

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Update: A winner's name was randomly drawn and she has been contacted. Back on February 1st of this year, Karen Witemeyer posted about National Texas Day. She thought, since all her books are set in Texas, that it would make a great post. And it did. I loved reading her list of fun facts. So I wondered if there was a National Idaho Day, especially since I set (almost) all my books in … [Read more...]

Three Celebrations in One Weekend

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This past weekend was packed with family celebrations. I think it will take a week to recover, but they were such a blessing. Event #1 - Graduation My future daughter-in-law, Katy, graduated with her master's degree in Economics from Texas A&M on Saturday night. She and Peter will marry in November. She's worked so hard and has earned both her bachelor's and master's degree in only 4 … [Read more...]

New Seasons of British TV

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We are huge fans of British TV, mostly for the depth of character in the storytelling. And the accents. And the scenery.  Anyway, a whole slew of our shows—almost all of them murder mysteries (which at this moment are not the intense police drama kind) are in new seasons so I thought I’d share.  Note: we have both BritBox and AcornTV streaming services. Some of these shows might be … [Read more...]

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