I dedicated The Baby’s Christmas Blessing to my sister because she inspired some of my heroine’s quirky tastes in food. How quirky, you ask? As a kid, my sister used to mash up her Christmas dinner into a big pile and eat all the different foods—turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy—in one bite, and we used […]
Fall Books I Love
I’m wrapped in a blanket, wearing fuzzy socks, and drinking hot tea. No, it’s not winter, but this Texas-born girl feels cold as soon as the temps dip below 75. And seeing how northern Virginia got the fall memo on September 22nd, I’m permanently wrapped in layers. So I thought the perfect way to commiserate […]
An Anniversary and Books with Mature Couples
Last month my husband and I celebrated our 20th anniversary and I’m still feeling sappy about it. So, I hope you’ll indulge me another post inspired by my own real-life romance! With every year that passes, I appreciate more and more how romance changes and gets better with time. That’s not to say it’s been […]
Beach Reads
Do you have a beach where you live? Growing up, I didn’t, but my family would travel to Cape Cod every summer to visit my grandparents, who owned a beachfront inn. For two or three weeks, we’d go to the beach every day, often with a whole cadre of aunts, uncles, and cousins. We’d swim, […]
Baseball & Books + #Giveaway
It’s August and baseball season is up and running. Now I’m not a huge fan. I grew up with a grandma who loved it and would watch more than one game on TV. However, I always thought it a tad bit boring (pardon me if you’re an avid fan). However, I recently won some free […]
Summer Love and Cookouts
It’s a gazillion degrees outside here in New Mexico. We’ve spent weekends in Arizona, Colorado, and Kansas in the past two months, and it’s been H-O-T hot there too. I know it’s not summer for half the world right now, but many of you still know the sticky, sweaty, blazing sun, furnace-blast-to-the-face feeling of a […]
Love Across the Miles (and Screens) + Giveaway
Last week, my husband and I celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary. Naturally, a milestone like this has one reminiscing about beginnings. We first “met” back in the late 90s on AOL, but neither were looking for love. I was living in Florida and had recently decided to attend college in North Carolina. I wandered into […]
Runaway Brides or Jilted Brides?
Which do you prefer to read about, brides with cold feet? Or their grooms standing them up? As I was planning out my Cavanagh Cowboys Romance series, I knew the fifth novel would be either a runaway or jilted bride… but it took me a while to decide which! Noah Cavanagh had previously been cast […]
You Had Me at Hello
Let’s talk about the first lines of a book. In the industry, they are called the hook. Probably because, like an angular, the author wants to hook the reader right away and reel them into the story. As a reader, I love a really well-written first line/paragraph. They aren’t make it or break it […]
Books, Birthdays, and Birthdays in Books! (Plus a Giveaway!)
It’s my birthday in a couple of days, so I have birthdays on the brain. I had a big party for my fortieth birthday a few years ago, but since this one isn’t a milestone, we’ll most likely have a quiet celebration at home. Books make the best Christmas and birthday gifts, don’t they? And […]