Have you had enough turkey and stuffing yet? What about reading time? Is there any such thing as ‘enough’ reading time? I’ve read a lot less these last few months than normal, but I’ve been writing up a storm and while I take a short break from that, I wanted to share some news with […]
It’s Beginning to Look Like a Lot of Christmas… (& a sale!)
A few years ago I had my first Christmas novella published as part of the ‘Joy to the World’ collection, and discovered just how voracious readers can be for Christmas stories. Last year I wrote a contemporary Christmas novella (Originally Yours) as a special free gift for newsletter subscribers, and a full length Christmas contemporary […]
Books That Make Me Cry
Is there anything more powerful than a redemption story? This month I’ve been writing my next Christian hockey book, The Love Penalty (out January next year), and because I like to give my readers different types of stories so they don’t all sound the same, I figured it was time to explore some aspects of […]
Love in Fiction
I’m sure we’ve all seen the memes about how certain movies or stories gave us unrealistic expectations for love. I laugh at them and can sometimes agree. Some things are unrealistic. But then this year my parents celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary and I heard from so many others who are about to hit 60 […]
Love in the Kitchen (+giveaway)
Did you know September 10-16 is Chef Appreciation Week this year? How exciting is that?! I know, I know, it’s back-to-school season, but I’ve already written a back-to-school post. Yeah, I’ve already written a food post too, but this time I thought it would be fun to talk about those who fulfill our fictional food […]
Birthdays and Holidays and Books (Oh My!)
July is always a little crazy. Not as chaotic as December or May, mind you, but close. We have several birthdays (including mine tomorrow), Independence Day, and loads of summer activities for starters. Since becoming an author, I’ve had fun adding bookish events such the FaithBooks Free Book Blast and Christmas in July to the […]
Love Somebody Like … a Cowboy?
My latest book, Love Somebody Like You, released last week – woohoo! This is the fifth book in the Trinity Lakes Romance series, a multi-author Christian contemporary series that has been several years in the making. A number of years ago I discussed with fellow Aussie author Narelle Atkins about how we could create a […]
Reader Help Needed!
Sometimes writing a book takes an author by surprise. Take my upcoming book, Fire and Ice, the first book in my new Northwest Ice Christian hockey romance series. There I was, all happily writing about a female sports reporter and a gentlemanly rancher’s son who plays in the NHL, when suddenly research took me to […]
Never Underestimate the Power of Christian Fiction
Writing teachers often tell us to “Picture your ideal reader in your head and write to them.” I usually picture my mother. She is such a voracious reader that it would be a struggle to find a Christian romance she hasn’t read. But my mom did not grow up in a Christian home. She met […]
How much do you love a sale?
Authors and publishers rely on a number of factors to try to get the attention of readers: pretty covers, enticing back cover descriptions, price points, blog tours, giveaways, Bookstagram, Booktok, the list goes on. One of the most effective ways is to schedule a sales promotion, with a discount or free book designed to get […]