You can learn a lot from reading fiction. As a reader, I love when an author paints a rich story between the covers of her book, complete with settings so well described you can picture them in your mind, back stories of the characters meted out gradually so I understand why they act the […]
The Power of the Epilogue
Happy February! How is 2020 going so far? I can’t complain. We’ve had pretty mild weather for Ohio, and found our routine after Christmas. Now it’s time to see what God has in store for the “love month.” Speaking of love… When Entrusted first released, a reader expressed her disappointment that there wasn’t a wedding […]
Dressing Characters
by: Staci Stallings When readers think about the joy an author must feel when creating characters —the sheer exhilaration that here is a person under your complete control, that you can mold and form and make them do whatever you want (HAHA right!), I’m quite sure very few of them ever think about the issue […]
Planning a Wedding
One of the things I find most fun when writing Christian romance is planning a beautiful wedding at the end of a book. Of the five books out so far in my Abundance series, three of them end in weddings, including the most recent books I’ve written, Love and Roses and Love, Lies, and Homemade […]
An Opossum in Fiction: Janet W. Ferguson’s The Art of Rivers
I’ve had cats and dogs in my novels, even a hairless cat, but in The Art of Rivers, I wanted to have a more unusual pet. I asked my good friend who is a veterinarian for suggestions. She had a friend with a possum. (Technically, they are opossums, but in Mississippi with don’t say or […]
A Research Trip to Peacock Hill (+ #giveaway)
I have always loved old houses. And new ones, for that matter. I suspect it’s to do with my mom. We grew up touring historic homes whenever the opportunity arose. And, if it’d been awhile since we had the chance, there were usually model homes somewhere we could to wander through. (I’m sure that’s a […]
I’m Working…Really, I Am
I know there have been several posts here on Inspy Romance regarding travel research and specifically cruises. Today I have the pleasure of adding to those posts with a story of my own. The indie book I’m currently writing, the second in my Last Chance Ranch series, is called Serenaded by the Singer, and it, […]
Hello, Disneyland! It’s Research! I promise! & #Giveaway
“No. Really! It’s research!” My new accountant wasn’t sure whether or not he could believe me. Because, well, it’s Disneyland! Of course, everyone’s going to try to find a way to make it at least a little cheaper. But it really was research. And I even managed to convince him. Now, I wasn’t traveling from […]
Rolling with the Changes
Sometimes, you can plan all you want. But a book changes on you. I’ve had my French guy in my head for at least thirteen years. I’ve got about twenty-five thousand words I’ve managed in between contracted books and deadlines. After all these years, I have time to devote to it now, but I’ve struggled. […]
Do Awards Really Matter?
Do readers care if an author has won an award? A writer friend of mine recently contacted me, asking if I’d entered my book for the Rita Award. The Rita is an award presented by Romance Writers of America (RWA). The award is given to romance novels in various categories. The Rita is presented during […]