Inspired by Life ... and Fiction

Novelists bound by the pen, sisterhood, & more

Kept In Suspense

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Hi friends and happy Wednesday! I always look forward to my days spent withyou. I love reading a good mystery and I love writing romantic suspense because itcombines two things I adore—the twists and turns of a thriller and the happy-ever-after of a romance. I love reading and writing both, but in real life, I don’tknow about you, but I’m not the biggest fan of suspense. To be brutally honest,I … [Read more...]

2023 Bloom Conference at Harding University

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Exactly 40 years ago this spring in 1983, I graduated from Harding University in Searcy, Arkansas, which made speaking at this year's Bloom Conference this past weekend even more special. Talk about a come-full-circle moment. Author Serena Miller and I co-keynoted together and it was such a pleasure to meet her. Here are some glimpses from a very busy, but fun weekend . . . It was a … [Read more...]

The Food Forest, part 2

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The "food forest" is in a hiatus--the clean up is done (and the jungle now looks amazing, with new mulched paths running through it), but I'm waiting on the garden design and then the installation of some more plants. In the interim, however, I've decided to install some raised garden beds to grow veggies and flowers. I'm putting them inside rabbit fencing (we have dozens of wild bunnies), … [Read more...]

Anticipation

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As a child, I used to wake my mom up about hourly as Christmas Eve turned to Christmas morning. “Is it time yet? Is it time yet?” Anticipation! I didn’t grow out of it. Unbelievably, I gave birth to two daughters who were quite content to sleep until a reasonable hour, even on Christmas Day. Do you know what I did as a young mom? Starting about 2:00 or 3:00 AM, I would be up, closing … [Read more...]

New Project Coming Soon!

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I have a secret. I'm dipping my toes into the Indie Publishing pool. *Gasp* Don't hyperventilate from shock. It's only for a novella. I will continue publishing all my full-length novels with Bethany House, but I'm excited to experiment with this avenue. My novella will be kicking off a multi-author western romance series, and I'm so thankful that many of the authors in this group have indie … [Read more...]

New Covers for My Novellas!

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What a great time—the day after Valentine’s Day—to reveal the new covers for my two historical romance novellas! Did you know I’ve written two novellas? I have! And with their new covers, it completes my name change from Anne to D’Ann.  Here’s a bit about each book, along with its new cover. See what you think.  No Small Storm September 1815, Providence, Rhode … [Read more...]

Romance On Valentine’s Day

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Since today is Valentine’s Day, and since I’m preparing to discuss "the conventions of mysteries vs. romances” with a crime writer, my mind is full of all-things-romance. And I would love your help! Although romance novels (and the people who write or read them) are sometimes scoffed at, romance has long been the bestselling fiction genre, and that trend shows every sign of continuing. … [Read more...]

Six Steps to Kickstarter Success

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In January, I launched my first Kickstarter project. Kickstarter is a website specifically aimed at helping creatives bring projects to life. I'm a creative and I had a dream project I wanted to bring to life. Namely, an audiobook of my novel Memory Lane. So, after lots of thought and research, I published my project, which ran for ten days. At the end of that time, I met my goal! Here's … [Read more...]

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