The word trope has also come to be used for describing commonly recurring literary and rhetorical devices, motifs or clichés in creative works. -Wikipedia When I first learned about tropes, I thought they were something to avoid at all cost. Then I noticed many titles in genres that I write for mention tropes. I […]
Technology in Church (And how to have some fun when writing church scenes)
How many of you still carry a “real” Bible with you when you go to church? I’m amazed over how fewer and fewer people are bringing an actual Bible with them to Sunday services. I’m one of them! Why? Well, because the Bible app or a digital Bible isn’t near as heavy as the real […]
The Characters Who Sow Love
Yesterday was National Random Acts of Kindness Day. A lot of stories I’ve read are about the problems between characters who aren’t being kind to each other. That’s where the tension comes in. But this month, after hosting a two-week Countdown to Valentine’s event, my mind has been on things that show kindness. I suppose […]
The Makings of a New Series
I caught a wave… It was on a whim. While looking through various Amazon book lists (I like to see what people are buying, and I look at covers, since I enjoy creating them) Anyway, I noticed all these Billionaire romances cluttering the lists. I remember when it was Mail Order Bride that […]
Making Winter Merry….
I’m not going to lie, winter is not normally my favorite time of the year. I don’t like that the days are shorter. And colder. And drearier. I get the winter blues easy especially after all the bright, festive Christmas decorations have been taken down. So, I’ve had to find ways to beat those winter […]
Love Is Hard…Making Difficult Choices
Life is full of choices. Some choices are as simple as will I eat the chocolate chip cookie or the sugar cookie. (My world, my dilemmas) Ha. Okay, I’m kidding about the cookies, sorta. But seriously, sometimes we are faced with difficult and hard life choices. Especially when circumstances are stacking up against […]
On Changing Seasons and Big Life Events
Some life events are just hard to get over. Like, riding in a canoe for the first time with your husband who thinks faster is better and rapids are fun. We are such opposites. And yes, that stinkin’ canoe tipped. I ended up in that cold, Michigan river. For a minute. I say a minute […]
Beyond the Covers of a Book
When I finish reading a really great story, one of the first things I want to do is go check out the author’s website. I want to see more of this world they’ve created and hope that perhaps they’ll have something extra to offer, outside of the story. When I worked at a bookstore, there […]
Lavender Farms and Escaping to Sweet Places
Last year, I started writing a short mini-series for one of the Kindle Worlds, and since then, Kindle Worlds has closed down and I’ve been given the rights back to my Lavender Vale series. Which I’m really thrilled about. I hadn’t meant to fall in love with this series the way that I did. […]
Settings Are Characters, Too
I’ve been thinking a lot about story settings lately. Building a setting, I think, is nearly as much fun as creating characters and a storyline. With each Madison Creek story, the lakeside Michigan town grows with more details, such as the park down near the end of Main Street where everyone gathers for events and […]
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