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 […]
Football, Romance, and the Underdog
It’s Bowl Season in America. No, no, no. I’m not talking about red crystal dishes filled with lemon drops and candied almonds. I’m talking football. The college football bowl season kicks off today, and a whole slew of bowl games is scheduled over the upcoming weeks. People tend to either like football or not like […]
Nancy Naigle: Delicious Snickerdoodle Recipe
From Julie Arduini: Merry Christmas from Julie Arduini! As I type this we are 85% decorated and our shopping is well underway. We’re excited because our entire Wisconsin family (we’re a blended family so we have two adult children there, their spouses, and our three grandchildren) driving before Christmas to kick off the week. I’ll […]
Loneliness v. Connection
Have you ever felt like you didn’t fit in? Like you didn’t belong? It’s a lonely place to be, isn’t it? And loneliness… Well, let’s just say that loneliness isn’t fun. We might feel lonely at school, on the job, or even at church. Sometimes we feel lonely within our own families or even in […]
Doin’ It Right by Mary Manners
“If you’re going to do something, then do it right.” Those words, spoken by my father, came to me the winter of my thirteenth year as I delivered newspapers along my route on the streets of Elmwood Park, a suburb of Chicago. It was the winter of 1976 and we were in the clutch of […]
My Second Chance at Romance
There was a time when I quit writing romance. Ten years ago, I sold my debut novel, Love Finds You in Sun Valley, Idaho, then my husband left me. Being that I’d sold the book on proposal alone, I had to write a love story as my own marriage fell apart. I didn’t believe in […]
Backstory
By: Staci Stallings Many, many moons ago on a writing loop I was on at the time, there was a massive discussion about backstory. For those who don’t know, “backstory” refers to a character’s story that happened before the current story starts. Basically, where did this person come from and how did they get here? […]
Food in Romantic Fiction
Ah, food. One of my favorite subjects. If you follow me on Pinterest, you’ll get a taste for just how much I love food in all its forms. Cooking, baking, eating, sharing, and even reading about it. It’s our fuel for life. We fuel our bodies, our spirits, and our relationships over food. Today, I’d […]
When the Book Won’t Write #giveaway
Confession: I’ve been pedaling as fast as I can on a stationary bike for a long time now. Barely keeping my head above water with a multitude of life tasks, a family health scare, and raising a teenage boy. Last spring, our son went to Junior prom with his lovely girlfriend, which means this year, […]
National Resurrect Romance Week
Did you know the second week in August is National Resurrect Romance Week? I like to look for quirky holidays to blog about. When I found this one, I knew it was perfect for a blog that features romance books. Why the second week in August? The answer: It is six months after Valentine’s Day. […]