I'm emailing this to readers on my email list and thought I would share it with you dear Inspired by Life and Fiction folks as well. Here's the cover of my new novel, The Widow of Woodlark Cottage, releasing December 1, 2026 (in the US; a bit later elsewhere). It's available for preorder now from major retailers (see below). First, here's a description of the book: Young widow Elizabeth … [Read more...]

Our local Friends of the Library book sale was last week, and Ken and I got there early Thursday night since books were super cheap for Friends members—only $1 for hardcover and 50 cents for paper. But look how long the line already was! After renewing our membership, we got $5 in "library bucks" to spend and came home with a bargain bag full! I was thrilled to find some easy piano books to … [Read more...]

So I was writing along, minding my own business and happily ahead of schedule on a deadline, when life threw me a curveball. I woke up one morning with pain in my neck. It worsened over the following days until I ended up in the ER. Two-plus weeks later (wherein I've accomplished nothing on my book or most other tasks and do a lot of spontaneous moaning), I have begun physical therapy to treat … [Read more...]

I've been thinking about this series because it's still popular and it's been out a while. (That's one advantage to writing historical fiction--it's never dated, because it started OLD.) The Cahira O'Connor series was born when Lisa Bergren, novelist and editor extraordinaire, was acquiring fiction for WaterBrook. She knew I was writing historicals, so she contacted me to see if I'd want to do … [Read more...]