Inspired by Life ... and Fiction

Novelists bound by the pen, sisterhood, & more

30 Year Writing Anniversary (And a Giveaway!)

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Thirty years ago, I was a newlywed in my early twenties living on the Caribbean island of Anguilla. In this house... We'd moved to Anguilla because my husband was working as a tennis pro at a resort there. It had been our dream to live overseas and see the world during the early years of our marriage, and we were delighted that we were able to make that dream come true. I look back on … [Read more...]

Dreaming about what’s next…

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Last week I got my book turned in! Y'all, that is such a good feeling. As my husband put it, a monkey is off my back. I might even call it a gorilla. But now it's time to dream about what my next series and books are. I have some ideas, but they are glimmers. I might want to do something of a caper. I have some WWII ideas. I want to braid contemporary and historical together. There are so … [Read more...]

 It’s That Time of Year

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Hi friends!  Happy Wednesday. I'm excited to spend a little bit of today with you. Thank you so much for stopping by. You’re what keeps this blog running. That, and copious amounts of coffee. Just joking…kind of. A girl loves her coffee. But, seriously, this blog exists because of YOU, and I’m so thankful for each and every one of you. To show my thanks, I’m sharing four fun holiday … [Read more...]

A Jane Austen Christmas

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This past weekend I attended the annual Christmas event of the Jane Austen Society of North America's Minnesota chapter. We gather every December to honor Jane Austen, whose birthday is December 16th. This year we enjoyed a delicious brunch at an elegant country club, where we were entertained by a talented singer/songwriter named Monica Livorsi, who performed songs from her album, All About … [Read more...]

Just When I Thought I Couldn’t Squeeze in One More Thing…

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The month of December has found me in my office working on four different story projects. First of all is an edit for our own Robin Lee Hatcher. (You are going to love her next book, To Capture a Mountain Man!) This is the third in Robin's The British Are Coming series, following these two, which I throughly enjoyed as well. Second, I've been listening to the audiobook files for my novel … [Read more...]

Favorite Reads of 2024

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Well, the year is winding down. Christmas is around the corner, and New Year’s Day is less than four weeks away. Can you believe it? I know that many “rabid readers” will continue to read over the course of these last 25 days of 2024. However, today I’m going to ask what your favorite reads of the year (so far) were. When my first book was published back in 1984, a paperback book had … [Read more...]

Waiting for Gilbert with Tasha Hackett

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When Tasha Hackett reached out to me about her new Christmas book, Waiting for Gilbert, I was eager to help her get the word out. I grew up with the Anne of Green Gables books, and I loved that they served as inspiration for Tasha's story. So I invited her here to share about it with you. Take it away, Tasha . . . Tasha Hackett here! A few years ago, I read and re-read all of Karen’s books … [Read more...]

The Things We Do for Love

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The old 1970s song “The Things We Do for Love” ran through my head often last week. And while it’s a song about romantic love, my context was the love of parents for children and grandparents for grandchildren.  You see, we are not beach people. We enjoy looking out at the ocean and hearing the waves crashing while reading a book. We don’t particularly enjoy fighting for a bit of shade … [Read more...]

Snippets from Thanksgiving

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Hey friends, today is GRAND TUESDAY meaning we've got Leo and Ari today, and Leo is a sick little buddy. So I'm off to snuggle and comfort. But real quick... Some snippets from Thanksgiving, thanks to a video my daughter made. (Thanks, babe!) I hope you all had a wonderful time being grateful with (and for) family and friends, too, and that the depth of blessings in your life took your … [Read more...]

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