Inspired by Life ... and Fiction

Novelists bound by the pen, sisterhood, & more

How My Cover Came to Be

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When it came time to design Memory Lane's cover, I knew two things. Courtney is a terrific author. She also owns and runs a childrens' theater with her husband. She also happens to be very gifted at cover design. AND she's one of my closest friends. :) Courtney designed the cover for my Christmas novella You and Me. Collaborating on that cover with her was fun and easy and I was very happy … [Read more...]

The Story Behind the Story

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In April I have a novella releasing in a new collection Across the Shores. But the germ of this story came to me years ago. I was trying to find the original proposal idea and I'm going to guess it was about 2011 or 2012. I'd written two series of WWII novels for Barbour -- Cornhusker Dreams set in Nebraska and the Ohio Brides set in Ohio. Stars in the Night was about to release, and Shadowed by … [Read 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...]

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