When I was growing up, commercials for Tootsie Pops used to ask, “How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop?” Even the wise owl didn’t know the answer, because no one could be that patient about enjoying the candy, or so the commercial went. University studies have been […]
Christmas in Iceland
Is it a spoiler to tell you that my recent release, A Jilted Bride for the Cowboy, wraps up at Christmas? I mean, you all know who’s getting together in the end, right? You knew it from the first couple of pages, even if you didn’t read the description. So is Christmas really a spoiler? […]
Behind the Scenes + #Giveaway
Last week my novel, The Love Script, released. I’m always tickled when a new book baby releases into the world. I’m also a little nervous that all the hard work I poured into the novel won’t be met with great reception. Fortunately, the early reviews are favorable towards my Hollywood celebrity romance. So let’s go behind the […]
How Does a Story Come Together?
Ask a dozen different authors this question and you could get a hundred different answers. It’s fascinating to look back on the process of how a story comes together, so the story has enough weight and oomph that it can sustain many thousands of words that readers want to read. I was thinking about this […]
Review Time
So, I was having a conversation with another author and we were talking about reviews. As in book reviews. Reviews we write and reviews that are written about our books. She brought up a review that was written on her current release. She told me how the reviewer really liked the book, and left a […]
When Someone Has a Past (with a #Giveaway)
Almost everyone has a dating past, but some of us have more of a past than others. When it comes to romance, those pasts can be even trickier to deal with. I’ve got to be honest, though. I was twenty-one when I got married. My dating “past” is pretty finite. I was talking to someone […]
What I Don’t Know (Could Hurt My Book)
I know all about love and moments that make your heart skip a beat. I’m familiar with the sights, sounds, and smells of Western North Carolina in every season. I can describe a variety of weather, characteristics, and emotions. So, when I’m writing a romance set in the Blue Ridge Mountains in the summer, I […]
I Can Explain … (Behind the scenes of an author’s search history)
Writers are notorious for having crazy search histories. And to be fair, we aren’t the only ones whose search history can be somewhat alarming. When I posted on social media about searches I’ve done for my work-in-progress, a friend who’s studying to be a lawyer said her search history is looking shady these days because […]
Riding the Waves
As with any full-time job, writing is exhausting work, and after awhile I find my creative well has been thoroughly drained. My go-to in order to fill up my creative well has always been live music concerts and musicals, as well as other types of live shows. I also love to travel, though I rarely […]
Cowboys and Commitments
I gotta say, I’m excited for 2023. So much happened in 2022 that I’m still processing, but that doesn’t dim the excitement of a new year with new challenges and new books to write. I feel like I failed a lot in 2022, and I was forced to reevaluate my commitments. I’m currently finishing up […]