Inspired by Life ... and Fiction

Novelists bound by the pen, sisterhood, & more

Writer & Reader Retreats

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Hi friends, Happy Wednesday! I can’t believe it’s nearly Thanksgiving. I hope you all have a wonderful long weekend ahead. Last weekend, I hosted a writing retreat for aspiring and newly published writers. It was so much fun. I knew three of the participants ahead of time, but everyone else was new to me, and most were new to each other. When you have a brand-new group, most who don’t … [Read more...]

Attending the Christy Awards

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I recently had the privilege of attending the Christy Awards in Nashville, TN. The Christy Awards honor excellence in Christian Fiction and were named after Catherine Marshall’s classic book, Christy. (Have you read it or seen the television series?) My recent book, Shadows of Swanford Abbey was a finalist in the Historical Romance category. I have won in the past, but it has been several … [Read more...]

First Century Foods

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I have discovered a wonderful book: Food at the Time of the Bible, by Miriam Feinberg Vamosh. I use it as I write, of course, because I can't have my first-century characters sit down to eat something that didn't exist in their part of the world . . . or I can't have observant Jewish characters eating something that was forbidden. (I was once taken to task for having Samson eat wild rabbits, but … [Read more...]

Decisions, Decisions

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In my last blog post, I shared a little bit about the changing face of publishing since I got my start in 1984. I’m even more aware of the changes as I move more deeply into the indie publishing world. Wide or Kindle Unlimited? One of the decisions an indie author has to make is whether to go wide (meaning ebooks are available across numerous devices and retailers) or whether to be exclusive … [Read more...]

The Art of Reading

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One of the things that I love about Victorian era portraits is that many of them show the connection between women and books. One of my favorite artists from this time period is Charles Edward Perugini. He was an Italian artist who moved to England to study under Lord Leighton. He started painting classical scenes then turned his talents to the more profitable work of portrait painting, … [Read more...]

Saying Goodbye

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As you read this, we are on our way home from the East Coast, where we’ve traveled twice in the past two weeks.  On Oct. 31 we got word that Jeff’s mother had passed away. While she hadn’t been in great health, the conversation the prior week was about moving her to assisted living, not end of life issues. She lived in Pennsylvania, in a small town a 3 hour drive from any major airport. … [Read more...]

Love Down-home Southern Cooking?

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Just in time for Thanksgiving! If you're looking for down-home, delicious Southern Cooking, meet Tammy of Collard Valley Cooks in South Georgia! Delightful. Unpretentious. And a fabulous Southern Cook. That's Tammy (and Chris, her husband, who does the videoing)! I don't exactly remember when I ran across Tammy's YouTube channel. It's been a while. But every recipe I've tried of hers … [Read more...]

Upcoming Event (and a Free Book)

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Ken and I are traveling again. It might seem a little crazy, but we headed north to Michigan! We have a good reason though! Tomorrow evening I'll be signing copies of O Little Town at Baker Book House in Grand Rapids, along with my co-author Janyre Tromp (and we hope our other co-author, Amanda Wen will be able to join us via Zoom sometime during the evening.) If you happen to live in the area, we … [Read more...]

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