Inspired by Life ... and Fiction

Novelists bound by the pen, sisterhood, & more

Canton, MO

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I love research trips. They are one of my favorite parts of the research process. Visiting a place always enhances the writing, whether because I’ve gotten a “feel” for the area (even if I later fictionalize it) or because of all the great people who help me along the way. On every trip I have had a providential meeting with someone who knew, or knew where to find, exactly the information I was … [Read more...]

My 4th of July Favorites

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I’ve been reminiscing this Fourth of July about all the things I love most about this holiday. I have to say that at the top of my list are outdoor band concerts. My family lived near the West Point Military Academy when I was a girl and we usually attended their outdoor concerts on the Fourth of July. The academy perches on a mountaintop overlooking the Hudson River, and we would gaze out at the … [Read more...]

Damsels on Railroad Tracks

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No western romance trope is more cheesy or more famous than the old Damsel on the Railroad Tracks trope. Which is why when my research for my upcoming book, The Heart's Charge, revealed a railroad bridge as the main entrance to Kingsland, TX, I knew I had to include a scene with my hero and heroine on this bridge. I removed the melodrama, of course. There is no mustachioed villain cackling in the … [Read more...]

Revisiting Savannah

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Savannah, Georgia, was always one of the places I wanted to visit during my lifetime. Mostly this stemmed from my love of Eugenia Price’s books. So for our 25th anniversary (2012), my husband took me on my first trip to Savannah and St. Simon’s Island. It is still one of my favorite trips ever. A couple of weeks ago, my husband had a week-long business trip to Savannah, so of course I tagged … [Read more...]

Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and Mystery

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I promised a full post on this fascinating subject, and I’m delivering! On our last full day in Boston, rain was the forecast. We looked online the night before trying to find tickets for a museum. Any museum. We only found availability at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, which, after looking at the website information, was right up our alley! Works of art displayed in a historic home, … [Read more...]

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