About half-way through my second book (Courage to Change), one of the side characters started to whisper quietly in the back of my mind. He was a good guy, he said. He’d like to fall in love. And okay, sure, maybe he was in school right now, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t ready to find […]
All in the Family (and #Giveaway)
Do you like to read books in which the characters are interconnected, e.g. in a community or church or family? Do you like to read a series in which each book features a sibling, a cousin, best friend, or someone in the family? I thought I’d share with you a glimpse of how I planned […]
Finding God’s Message Through His Word
In my new book Finding Love for the Workaholic, releasing August 7, the Matchmaking Moms of Oceanview Church have their hands full. Rose’s daughter Isabelle’s whole life centers around her work. Wikipedia describes a workaholic as “a person who works compulsively. The person works at the cost of their sleep, meeting friends or family. While the term […]
Five Questions for Chef and Restaurateur Piper Peyton (and #Giveaway)
Do you like to read character interviews? Today we’re going to revisit one of my Savannah Sweethearts main characters, Piper Peyton, who is the chef-owner of Piper’s Place in Savannah. Piper Peyton’s restaurant has appeared in every single book in the series, since the days of the prequel, Ask You Later. However, I didn’t get […]
When Happily Ever After Seems Impossible
If you haven’t heard my big news, I found out this week that I’m cancer free!!! This may seem like it has nothing to do with contemporary Christian romance, but for me it makes a world of difference. I can now regain the energy needed to write more books, which is good since I’m supposed […]
Favorite Reading Nooks
I love cozying up with a great book. But, in order to really fall in, I have to be totally comfortable. Like, legs dangling over the side of a recliner, head propped in exactly the right way kind of comfortable. I look at these pictures of “my dream house reading nook” that come across social […]
A Return to Arcadia Valley (+ #Giveaway)
In 2017, I was thrilled to be a part of the the Arcadia Valley Romance project. If you weren’t a blog regular then, this was a multi-author series with contributions by: Valerie Comer, Lee Tobin McClain, Annalisa Daughety, Danica Favorite, Mary Jane Hathaway, and myself. Like most group projects in the history of time, it […]
Novel Mothers (And #Giveaway)
Tomorrow is Mother’s Day in the USA. We all have mothers, whether biological or adopted, so I thought maybe it would be interesting to talk about mothers in real life and mothers in fiction. Feel free to comment for a chance to win an ebook copy of Reach for Me (Vacation Sweethearts Book 2) in which […]
10 Things To Love About Romance Novels
I fell in love with romance novels at an early age. I’d raid my mom’s bookshelves and read everything from Catherine Marshall’s Christy to The Legacy of Lilian Parker by Leslie Holden. The novels were magical and fun. I still remember some of the lines. In one Oregon Trail romance, the hero told the heroine, […]
How Does Your Mood Affect Your Book Choices? + #Giveaway
I discovered something about myself both times when I was pregnant—I couldn’t watch intense movies or read about sad news stories. I know hormones were definitely to blame for this. Pregnancy made me extra sensitive, not just physically, but emotionally, too. And how I felt—cautious, protective, and nurturing—influenced what I did. This brings me to […]