What is it? Many have asked if Aggie's story is "autobiographical." While not really, some things in my life were definitely included in the book. But one question/statement alone was Aggie's inspiration. Links in this post may be affiliates that provide a small commission at no extra Continue Reading
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I Spot Spotify: playlists and cool stuff!
So I have a lovely online friend who is all hip to the cool new stuff--you know, like Spotify. That's my way of saying she knows what's out there and I'm an old geezer. She asked if I had it. I said, "Um... probably not?" That would be because I had no clue what she was talking about! I'll admit. Continue Reading
The Quick and Dirty Guide to Easy Book Reviews
We've all seen them. Internet memes urging you to leave book reviews. (Note: links in this post may be affiliate links and as such, I may receive a small commission from them at no extra expense to you. Thank you!) Memes say things like, "Feed an author. Leave a review" or "Help an author. Continue Reading
What’s with My Obsession with Silence?
Maybe it's because I'm too much like Dean from Corner Booth. Perhaps it's because I'm just weird. Maybe both. Yeah. Probably that. But silence seems to be a theme with me. When I wrote Speak Now, I did it because I wanted a less dialogue-driven novel. I thought I could make it work that way. Continue Reading
The Unofficial Glossary to Meddlin’ Madeline: Sweet on You
One of the best parts about writing the Meddlin' Madeline series is playing with words that I grew up using and reading, but most people don't use anymore. I had parents of a literary turn of mind, so I grew up being told to, "Slow down and enunciate." This began at age 3. So while other kids were Continue Reading
Controversy & Writing the Hard Stuff
Let's face it. The world loves controversy. You've seen the news. They don't report on how everyone agreed on something. They report on how the city council broke out in a shouting match over which road gets paved next or the color of napkins at the next mayoral dinner or whatever. Seriously, Continue Reading
OCCWC: or what I did this weekend
WHEW! Well, I'm semi-coherent, so I thought I'd update you on the OCCWC (the conference I was at this weekend). It started early (well, for me) Thursday morning. Had to get up at 7. I survived. This is a testament to the Lord's goodness, and I am not being facetious. My friend, April, and I got Continue Reading
Book Review & Interview: 21 Days Devotionals
One of the best things about joining a "local" (I drive 3 hours to get there so not super local) ACFW chapter is that you get to meet some amazing people. We're all crazy different--appearance, lifestyle, career, writing genre, and I suspect theologically as well. There's Michelle the creative Continue Reading
Books for 2016: It’s gonna be a prolific year
What do I mean about it being a "prolific year?" Some would say I am always prolific. And well, I am. But last year I had a goal--twelve books in twelve months. And really, if you consider HearthLand, I almost made it. So that was cool. I had a prolific year, but not to the extent I'd Continue Reading
Fowl Tears: or how the world changed when a bird died
"Stephen's hurt. Going to the ER. Gotta go." Click. Three super-short sentences that changed a family's life--our family's life. Our world changed that day. Of course, at the time, if you asked Stephen what happened, he'd say, "A bird died." A raven. Just one or the grouping name Continue Reading
Twenty-Seven Years (i.e. WHOA!)
That's how long it's been since our wedding day. Twenty-seven years. Our "wedding day" is not to be confused with our "marriage" day. We got married in Las Vegas on November 25, 1988. But, three months later, on February 18, 1989, we still had our wedding. I was just talking with my favorite Continue Reading
Character Interview: Kaye
I thought it might be nice to check in with Kaye--see how she's doing, and find out if she has had a "freak out" thing this year or not. I mean, she had one before, and it meant a whole life overhaul, right? Chautona: Kaye? You here? Kaye: Yeah... hang on! Purrlock has my phone.... CAT! Continue Reading
