I know all about love and moments that make your heart skip a beat. I’m familiar with the sights, sounds, and smells of Western North Carolina in every season. I can describe a variety of weather, characteristics, and emotions. So, when I’m writing a romance set in the Blue Ridge Mountains in the summer, I […]
We Don’t Talk About That Story…
Some months ago, Jaycee Weaver wrote a blog post about the love-hate relationships authors have with their first books. Along with other InspyRomance authors, I shared with Jaycee about my first ever published book which, while flawed, still has a special place in my heart, and I love it despite its awkwardness. There is, however, […]
First Lines and Fresh Starts
Recently, I started drafting a new contemporary Christian romance book, thus ending a writing break that had lasted several months. The time off provided exactly what I’d needed—a chance to rest my creative muscles and not feel the need to produce. It was a lovely respite, but I knew the time would come that the […]
How Readers Help Combat Author Burnout
Do you ever feel burnt out and in need of pulling back from something for a bit? This is a hypothetical question, of course, as burnout seems to be a universal symptom of humanity—at least for most of us in modern day. It is for sure true for authors, and you may be surprised to […]
We’ve Got Personality & Giveaway
Do you like to take personality quizzes? There are quite a few different kinds out there. Do you ever wonder where a character would fall on one of those personality scales? Well, good news. My friend Sarah Anne Crouch has agreed to join us and give a sneak peek into how she developed her main […]
Team Work Makes the Dream Work (+ Pre-Order!)
It takes a team of people to get a story from a bunch of words to a polished book ready for public consumption. If you’ll allow me to bend the sports team metaphor a bit, even in writing we have those who play on the offensive side and others on the defensive side. I’d like […]
We Are All Works in Progress
Some authors possess an amazing superpower. They can write their books in just one draft and barely need revisions. They pass the manuscript over to an editor who then makes some minor copy edits, and the book is ready for publication. It’s all so neat and civilised. I am not one of those writers. My […]
The Case of the Messy Manuscript
Before we get into messes: last month I asked about whether or not you preorder books, so I wanted to share the results of that survey with you: After reviewing these results, I’ve been convinced to give preorders a try. Right now! You can find the link to preorder the first book in my upcoming […]
When Writers Don’t Want to Write (+Giveaway)
As a writer, I’ve experienced my fair share of obstacles on the harrowing journey of drafting a new story. At the most inopportune times—usually when a deadline looms—writer’s block strikes or any of life’s other obligations can get in the way. While I flit around running to school events, attending church functions, or seeing to […]
Research and Writing (plus a sneak peek)
Some writers love to research. I have a few author friends whose favorite part of writing is heading to the library and returning with a stack of informational texts or opening a dozen internet browser tabs and clicking through page after page. I am not one of these people. I’m sure it goes along with […]