Hello friends. Please forgive the brief post today. I’m down to one week to get a draft of my December 2023 release to my Beta readers on November 1st, so I’m scrambling here! (I’m sorry if you thought the title of this post related to the game Scramble, which I LOVE. I don’t get to play often but do enjoy a few rounds of Words with Friends while I eat my lunch. 😊) For now, I thought I’d share … [Read more...]

[THIS GIVEAWAY HAS ENDED. AND THE WINNER IS… Amy M.!! Congrats, Amy! Please send me an email with your snail mail address to debraney@mac.com and I'll pop your books in the mail to you! Thanks so much for all the nice comments. I loved Amy's "going Dutch" comment. :) ] Gather 'round, friends! I want to share a fun story today that begins back in 2016. Actually, longer ago than that... Maybe … [Read more...]

My husband’s 45th high school reunion was the weekend of October 8 & 9 in Searcy, Arkansas where Joe was raised. He not only went to Harding University (where his mom was my girl’s club sponsor—and how we eventually met after I’d graduated), but he attended Harding Academy too. Here’s the returning class picture we snapped that evening . . . (Joe is back row, first on the left—Steve … [Read more...]

People who are really good at what they do make it look easy--but usually, it's not. Becoming truly expert at something, or even good, takes years of practice. Wasn't it Malcolm Gladwell who wrote that to become expert in ANYTHING requires at least 10,000 hours of purposeful practice? That's more than one full year of doing NOTHING else--no sleeping, eating, or stretching one's legs. And of … [Read more...]