Inspired by Life ... and Fiction

Novelists bound by the pen, sisterhood, & more

Novel Recipes | Pumpkin Bread

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At the first sign of fall, however slight, I make pumpkin bread. And I whipped a batch up last weekend. Don't get me wrong, daily temps here in Nashville are still hovering in the high 80s/low90s, but this past weekend when we were walking the dogs one evening, there was a touch of cool in the air (high 60s) that was sooo fall like. So out came the bread loaf pans! A baking … [Read more...]

An oldie but goodie story

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Because I have Covid, and because my brain is barely functioning, I'm going to repeat an old story. I told it at ACFW, and as long as people laugh, I'll keep telling it. Back in November 2001, I was on the treadmill during LIVE WITH REGIS AND KELLY and I heard they were having "Super Dog Week." On Friday, they were going to feature the smallest dog and the Guiness World Record dog, a mastiff … [Read more...]

Family Fun

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For those who don't know me well, I am the mother of two daughters, the grandmother of six (two of whom are married), and an exceedingly young 🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣 great-grandmother. One of my daughters, Jenn, and her family moved to Texas twelve years ago. The other, Micki, lives in Boise. It's her daughter and son who are married and have kids of their own, and lucky for us, both live within an hour's drive … [Read more...]

ACFW 2023

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My apologies for being late with this post this morning. Yesterday Ken and I returned from the 2023 American Christian Fiction Writers Conference in St. Louis and I've been playing catch-up since then. But oh, what a wonderful conference it was, and I have some fun photos to share of our time in St. Louis! The conference ran from Thursday through Sunday morning and was packed with activity! … [Read more...]

Awesome European Readers

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In this post, I detailed some of the highlights of the road trip my family and I took through Germany, Switzerland, and The Netherlands in late May-early June. In this post, I'm celebrating some of the awesome European readers that I was honored to meet along the way. German reader Bettina (pictured above) sent me a lovely, encouraging email a few years back. My novels haven't been translated … [Read more...]

The many choices an author makes

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This week was the first week of classes at Purdue AND Acfw board meetings and conference in St. Louis. I also had Art of Deception release Tuesday in the Come What May suspense collection. To say it's a bit of a blur is an understatement. It's also been filling for my soul. I love teaching. And I love writing and being with my writing friends. But I'm also tired. So today I thought I'd … [Read more...]

Author Adventures

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Hi friends and Happy Wednesday!  Writing is a solitary profession. Writing your books can only be done by you. And, it means long hours in the chair, hands on the keyboard. Or, in my case, pen on paper. But it doesn’t have to be completely solitary. There’s the beauty and gift of writing friends. Friends who brainstorm with you, who help you out, who celebrate with you during the highs, … [Read 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...]

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