Well, I turned forty last weekend. I’m surprisingly okay with that number. I mean, it took a little bit of processing and a whole lot of emotional taking of stock (oh my gosh, <insert life event> happened how long ago?!), but more than anything, I feel like I’m standing on this great mountaintop and I’m […]
What do you mean by “realistic”? (+ giveaway)
One of the things I hear a lot when I’m poking around in reader groups is how much readers want “realistic” fiction. For the longest time, this gave me a lot of hope. My stories are full of realism! Over time, however, I’ve started to wonder if maybe my definition of realistic is different than […]
Art Imitating Life? Life Imitating Art? (And #Giveaway)
Have you read a book and said, “Hey! I’ve done that!” at least once? Do share your stories in the comments below for a giveaway (giveaway ends Saturday, July 13, 2019). There I was, writing and cooking on the same day, as I have done for years. This time, I was revising Call You Home, […]
Photography: A Source of Peace and Inspiration + Giveaway by Melanie D. Snitker
I’ve always enjoyed taking pictures, even before digital cameras were popular, but I never considered learning about photography until after our son was born. At that time, my dedication to reading and practicing in order to take a better photograph was born out of necessity. Just like other new parents, my husband and I took […]
On Our Beloved Four-legged & Furry Characters
I’ve always been a dog lover and grew up having a wagging tailed friend following me around. There’s something about teaching a child to care for something besides themselves, that I think brings out the compassion in them. Well, this was the theory I went with while raising my own kids. I’ve noticed that Hallmark […]
Who Are My Country Music Fans Out There?
This weekend, I’m attending the Carolina Country Music Fest! A huge celebration of country music with 30,000 attendees, and currently, thirty four artists playing! As a birthday present for myself, I splurged on a three-day pass and my sister-in-law, also a country music fan, is flying in from Philadelphia to go with me. I can’t […]
Summertime Means Homemade Ice Cream
Hello! Jolene Navarro here checking in from my front porch, eating homemade ice cream. It’s summer so it’s time to make creamy vanilla ice cream. If you have never made it before, it’s not difficult and so much fun. When I was growing up we had to take turns hang cranking the ice cream…that was […]
Heading Back to Rainbow Falls
It is 5:30 in the morning as I type this, and I’d honestly much rather be asleep. Sleep hasn’t been my friend lately, though, with many a way-too-early-for-humankind morning to prove it. I could be grumpy. After all, I’ve already been up for over an hour, and my alarm won’t go off for another 50 […]
Love sees with the heart
In reader groups, I’ve seen many readers complain that there are very few romances with less-than-model-perfect heroes and heroines. I’ve written a romance with a plus-sized heroine (Teapots & Tiaras), a highly unconventional heroine with a stuffy upper-class hero (Least Expected), an eighty-something heroine (Innamorata), and a couple of stories where the heroine needs a […]
Secrets and the Writing Journey
The tasks in a writer’s life are akin to the ebb and flow of waves that lap along the shoreline. No matter how many are checked off the list, there’s always another heading in. Sometimes, like a boat caught in those waves, a writer can become overwhelmed. A few years ago I was tackling a […]