Inspired by Life ... and Fiction

Novelists bound by the pen, sisterhood, & more

A Visit To Famous Lyme Regis

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On our recent group trip (English Countryside & Coast Tour), we visited the coastal town of Lyme Regis in Dorset. Lyme's historic Cobb was featured in both The French Lieutenant's Woman and Persuasion--one of my favorites! The cobb wall provides a breakwater to protect the town from storms while at the same time creating the harbor that helped Lyme develop as both a port and shipbuilding … [Read more...]

Reading galleys

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My daily work recently (besides packing for our move to Missouri in two weeks!) has been to read the galleys for my new novel, Chasing Dreams, which releases October 22. Galleys are a PDF file of the pages of my book typeset exactly the way they will appear in the printed version. This is my last chance to catch any mistakes before the book goes to press. Usually, by the time I reach galley … [Read more...]

With This Pledge Revisited (the love story—and love letters—that inspired a novel)

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Have you read my Carnton novel With This Pledge? If you have, then these photographs of the real people who lived and worked at Carnton—and who populate this novel—will mean even more to you. Especially the image of the heroine, Lizzie, that was just unearthed this year! Roland and Lizzie met following the Battle of Franklin on November 30, 1864, and the story in With This Pledge … [Read more...]

Bucket Lists

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What’s on your Bucket List—you know, that list of all the interesting things you would love to do someday before you “kick the bucket?” I had the privilege of crossing off one of my bucket list items several years ago when I worked on an archaeological dig in Israel for a month. Our team excavated the ancient city of Timnah, which is mentioned in the Bible as the town where Samson fell in love … [Read more...]

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