“For one who reads, there is no limit to the number of lives that may be lived, for fiction, biography, and history offer an inexhaustible number of lives in many parts of the world, in all periods of time.” ~Louis L'Amour The soap opera claims we have but "one Continue Reading
3 Ways I Torture Characters
I get emails almost weekly--often multiple times a week--and the question invariably goes something like this. "How could you do that to him/her?" In other words, "How could you torture that character like that?" So, I thought I'd give you a bit of insight into why I do the torturous things I do. Continue Reading
When Did I First Know I Had to Be a Writer?
What do salt breezes, palm trees, sand outside the door, and the Santa Ana winds have to do with turn-of-the-20th-century Brooklyn? Not much—only my introduction to Betty Smith’s A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, a defining moment in my life. (This is a revised post from 2014 and contains affiliate Continue Reading
Through a Kid’s Eye–Sorta
A popular Christmas movie, A Christmas Story, has a humorous repeating theme. “You’ll shoot your eye out.” I always thought I didn’t like the movie for its stupid leg lamp or the way it makes parents look like idiots, but a memory from my childhood revealed to me that my animosity goes deeper than Continue Reading
I Just Have to Share!
Nicole's book, A Cliché Christmas, is selling out at Walmart stores all over the country. I didn't know what I'd think when I got this book, but I love Christmas (you'd never know that, right?) and was dying to read it. When I discussed it with Nicole later, she asked, "So, was the first person Continue Reading
Lessons Learned: De-cluttering Junkie
Background for De-cluttering Junkie: I started writing Confessions of a De-cluttering Junkie on my personal blog a few years ago. I'd been reading blogs and message board posts that seemed to take a good thing (removing the excess from our lives) and almost turned it into an obsession. I admit Continue Reading
What I’ve Been Up To…
Readers have asked me, "Why did you go to Michigan, again?" and I thought I'd take a moment and share now that I've recuperated. ;) The purpose of the trip was to meet with my new publisher and the team who will be working on my January (unless it changes) release, Deepest Roots of the Heart. Continue Reading
Strange Inspirations
Confession: About 10 years ago, I heard the Brothers Four singing "Night Before Christmas" and it sparked an idea I'd never heard before. For fun, this silly mom, who never "did" Santa with her kids, began writing a "Santa story." So... because it is pure fantasy--with no Christian basis other than Continue Reading
The Long Awaited: HEARTHLAND!!!!
Those of you who've been around for a while likely remember fondly our Willow Wednesdays. Each week we would have a new episode of Past Forward that would be free for a limited time. Since each episode came out on Wednesday, we fondly began calling the releases "Willow Continue Reading
“Oldie Friday”: Noble Pursuits
Once upon a time, an aspiring author was writing about a young college graduate who inherited her sister's eight children. It was the first time the author had attempted to write in about fifteen years. I tell you this, because it goes to show just how much said author didn't know about herself AS Continue Reading
The Cool Lessons Learned in Discovering Hope
Before we get started in the lessons learned in Discovering Hope, I thought I'd give a bit of... Background for Discovering Hope: Hope was a NaNoWriMo challenge to myself. I told myself I wanted to write the sappiest book I could possibly fathom. At the time, I couldn't have written anything Continue Reading
Winner of the boxed set of books!!
Did a little drawing tonight for the boxed set of books I mentioned on my previous blog post. And the winner IS: Betty Landesman!! Congratulations, Betty. If you would be so kind as to email me and let me know if you'd like the boxed set or one of my books, I'll get it sent out to you as soon Continue Reading
