One of the “rules” of indie publishing is that writers shouldn’t make their own covers. I imagine some writers who have done just that to great success are shaking their heads right now. The reason I put “rules” in quotes above is that really it’s just a suggestion (albeit, a strongly worded one, sometimes). Indies […]
What’s in a character’s name?
In my upcoming novella collection, We Three Kings, I’m writing a contemporary story to follow two historical stories. It’s basically three billionaire romances where the heroes come from the same family, and they make their money from gold in the 1800s, frankincense in the 1900s, and myrrh in modern day (my story). The family name […]
Real-Life Romance
A few weeks ago, my husband and I had the chance to attend the Love Always Marriage Conference at Gateway Church in Southlake, Texas. We’ve been married 26 years, and it’s been a long time since we’ve had a chance to get away–just the two of us. We tagged along with my brother-in-law and sister-in-law […]
When Books Don’t Quite Hit
There’s a lovely and ultra-successful romance author who amuses me by referring to her books as being racehorses or donkeys. Her “racehorses” are the titles that sell many copies, while the “donkeys” perform far less well. The author I refer to has written hundreds of books, some of which have been tremendously successful, giving her […]
Using Bad for Books
Do you ever wonder why things happen? About fifteen years ago, my husband and I found out we had a journey ahead of us in trying to get pregnant. That was the same day he also found out there wasn’t a teaching position for him the next school year. Needless to say, the next few […]
Romancing the Holidays
Happy Monday! November is half-way through and we’re about to hit Thanksgiving–then full on holiday mode until January! With the holiday season upon us, doesn’t it just bring romance into the air? It does for me. In my romance world I love reading and writing holiday romances. (We won’t even get into the movies, because […]
Sunday Edition
Happy Sunday! I’ve spent part of today doing one of my favorite things (reading, of course!), and I was disappointed to be stuck indoors this afternoon. We have headache-inducing spring storms hanging around with a lot of rain falling, and I had hoped to sit outdoors in the shade and finish my reading. The photo […]
Ten Terrific Thanksgiving Reads
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 […]
The Flash…Fiction
Show of hands, how many of you know what flash fiction is? I’m guessing maybe some of you but probably not a majority. Flash fiction is simply a complete story told in under 1,000 words. That’s usually less than 2 pages guys. Kinda crazy, right? While I haven’t written any flash fiction in a long […]
May I Have Your Autograph
I was in fourth grade the first time I ever got a book that had been signed by the author. Children’s author Barbara M. Joosse had come to visit our school to talk about writing (and I even got to work with her on my own story). At the end of her visit, I was […]