Inspired by Life ... and Fiction

Novelists bound by the pen, sisterhood, & more

New Release!

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It’s that time again!! Time for another book release! ENSNARED, the third book in my medieval series, Knights of Brethren, hit shelves this past Tuesday June 14. If you missed out on the first two books in the series, then I invite you to go read them right now! ENAMORED and ENTWINED. The series is very loosely based on King Arthur, his knights, and some of the legends surrounding … [Read more...]

24 Hours in Silverton

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My husband and I recently celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary, and in honor of this momentous occasion, my hubby planned a fabulous vacation for us in Colorado. Knowing my love for all things historical, he planned a trip to Durango and Silverton for us. Since we just finished our stay in Silverton, I thought I would share some highlights with you. Silverton is a historic mining town that … [Read more...]

Off to Scotland!

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Tomorrow night we board a plane for London. Friday afternoon in Heathrow Airport, we catch a flight to Edinburgh.  We’ve long wanted to do a Scotland trip, but especially after learning several years ago that Jeff’s family did, indeed, come from Scotland many, many yeas ago. But we had kids to get through college and Jeff had a job where it was hard to take any time off, let alone enough … [Read more...]

Coming Soon: Retreat and Signings in Iowa

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Next week I plan (Lord willing) to meet author-friends Michelle Griep and Erica Vetsch for a writing retreat in Iowa. We’re looking forward to catching up and writing LOTS of words! While we’re there, we’ll also be doing two book talks & signings: Thursday, June 23, 2022 10:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. at Grinnell (1009 Main St) 2:00–4:00 p.m. at Marshalltown (14 W Main St) We'll be … [Read more...]

Conferences are Back!

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Ken and I returned from the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference a couple of weeks ago and I can't tell you how wonderful it was to be back with writing friends in a setting that didn't involve Zoom! Apparently, others felt the same way because there were 600 people at this conference! The conference was held on the beautiful Ridgecrest Conference Center campus near Asheville, … [Read more...]

Every book has a journey of its own

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Last Tuesday (June 7), my latest novel arrived online and in bookstores. I’ll Be Seeing You is my 86th release. (To learn more about the story, visit the book page on my website.) As the title of this post says, every book has its own journey. The journey of I’ll Be Seeing You was bumpy, the kind of journey that can leave a writer feeling “less than.” The lockdowns of 2020 had … [Read more...]

Sun’s Out Top Gun’s Out

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It's summertime and big budget movies are returning to theaters, including Top Gun: Maverick. It released two weeks ago and has already earned 292 million -- making it the highest-grossing release of Tom Cruise's career. Back when the first Top Gun released, in May of 1986, I was finishing up my freshman year of high school. I used to go to the movies very often in those days with school … [Read more...]

Author Newsletters: What do you like? + Giveaway

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I got the nicest email this week in response to a newsletter that I sent on Monday. If you're curious you can see it here. I often write these and wonder if anyone cares or reads them, but lately I've been getting several responses from readers. That's been so much fun. But it also has me thinking about what you as readers love about our newsletters. Each of us on this blog has a different … [Read more...]

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